The Reflex I: the first update to the 35mm SLR system in 25 years

Date
8 November 2017
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The Reflex I

There’s no doubt that the widespread use of analogue photography is on the rise. However, for newbies to the medium, the only real affordable place to start has been with the purchase of a second hand camera. Reflex, a modern re-imagining of the classic SLR 35mm camera is trying to change that with the first update to the SLR system in over 25 years.

Created by an expert team of photographers, designers and technologists, Reflex combines “contemporary mechanical and electrical engineering with the classic design and function of an analogue camera”. It aims to embody more modern and modular thinking by creating a camera with an open-source ethos, enabling photographers to personalise their own systems. Instead of building on existing models, the team behind Reflex designed from the ground up to truly explore and update the 35mm ecosystem. As a result, the camera features three “firsts” to a manual SLR: the I-Plate, I-Back and Reflex App.

The Reflex I comes with a standard M42 mount, however, the I-Plate (an interchangeable lens-mount plate) allows for adaptation of most manual legacy glass including Nikon, Canon, Olympus and Pentax. The camera also features the I-Back, a daylight interchangeable back – pulling on the technology from medium and large format cameras – that enables easy film loading and the choice of having multiple film backs ready and loaded at all times.

As well as these updates to the camera’s hardware, Reflex aims to bring analogue photography into the 21st century. The system offers connectivity to users’ smartphones via the Reflex App which automatically records the camera settings for each shot. This allows photographers to easily revert back to previous settings at a later date, as well as prompting them with push notifications to make a digital note of the photo they have just taken. This innovative addition means that Reflex is “both building on the past and ensuring the future of analogue photography,” says Laurence Von Thomas, founder and CEO of Reflex.

The camera has been developed by the creative team behind If You Leave, the established photography publisher and social community. The Reflex I is the first of its products and will be followed by a range of accompanying photography products, accessories and technology. The company launched via Kickstarter yesterday (7 November) which will run until 7 December.

Above

The Reflex I

Above

The Reflex I

Above

The Reflex I

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About the Author

Ruby Boddington

Ruby joined the It’s Nice That team as an editorial assistant in September 2017 after graduating from the Graphic Communication Design course at Central Saint Martins. In April 2018, she became a staff writer and in August 2019, she was made associate editor.

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