Another family gathering, and another camera gifted from my cousin which he found on his attic. This time it is a newer one, and a really odd one too. It is also the first 35mm camera with autofocus in my collection. As information is quite scare on this camera – I got nearly all information about the camera from Thang Nguyen’s superb article on 35mmc, so I suggest reading it first – and it is so easy to operate, this post is a bit shorter. So it was written quickly on a train ride from Stuttgart to Berlin. As Wi-Fi on our high speed trains is, to put it mildly, often challenged, I might add some more sources later.

About the Chinon Auto 2001

As this is the first Chinon camera in the collection, (I already received a Chinon lens with the Canon FT QL), I had to look up the scare information about them: Founded as Sanshin Seisakusho in 1948 in Chino, Japan as a manufacturer for lens parts such as barrels and frames, they started to bolt their own 8mm movie camera lenses in 1956 and from 1962 8mm movie cameras as well, the year they changed their name to Sanshin Optics Industrial Co. Ltd. In 1971 they started the production of 35mm photo cameras and changed later their name to Chinon (in 1972 or ’73). The SLRs were often sold under retailers brands, like “Revue” from the German retailer “Quelle” or similar brands from “Sears”. In 1985 (we will get back to this later) Chinon started building 35mm cameras for Kodak and from 1993 digital cameras, which encouraged Kodak to become the major shareholder in 1997 until they sold Chinon to Flextronics (now flex).

My camera, the Chinon Auto 2001, is the child of the OEM for Kodak phase and hat a technical twin in the Kodak VR35 K14 with a different design but the same optics and electronics. Obviously a kid of the 80ies, it was introduced in 1987 as the successor of the Auto 1001. The straight angles and the hard grey plastic remind me of the Alfa-Romeo 164 interior, the winder sounds like Robocop in the first movie. It is equipped with a 2.8 35mm lens (like the Olympus XA), a built-in flash (like my Konica C35 EF which has as well a 2.8 35mm lens) but comes with autofocus, DX encoding, and if no DX code is recognized (or over painted) a manual ISO selector. It also has a built-in winder, which in combination of a hard plastic housing makes the Chinon the loudest camera in the collection, a position hold until now by the mirror sound of my Zenit TTL and Zenit 11. Self-timer and tripod mount are there as well.

Sadly the plastic housing has some cracks, but with some superglue these could be fixed.

Taking pictures with the Chinon Auto 2001

First, you might need a battery. While the original CR-P2 had enough juice left for the first roll, I had to buy a new one afterwards. Luckily they are moderately priced (around 7€ in 2024), easily available and obviously last very long (the prize tag on the original one was till in DM). The battery cover might be quite loose without a battery, but as soon as one is in the compartment, it holds tight. Then open the back, insert your film and close the door. The camera does the rest: recognize the film sensitivity and forwards to frame 1, at least if you filed has a DX code. If not, set the ISO manually to 100, 200, 400 or 1000 (which is used instead of 800, and no, I don’t why). You are ready to shoot now.

Open the slider to uncover the lens and the viewfinder. The red LED next to the viewfinder window will blink red signalling the flash is ready. It will fire if needed but can be deactivated with the slider next to it, or set to fill-in e.g. for backlight situations. Slowly depress the shutter button and a symbol will show the subject distance measured by the autofocus (person, two people, group & mountain). Full press and you just took a picture. The camera will wind automatically to the next frame. If you want to use the self timer, use the little slider under the lens, marked “S.T”. After you pressed the shut, a small red light over the “Autofocus” label will start to blink. S.T is reset when you close the camera.

When the roll is finished, activate the rewind with the level on the bottom, marked “R”.

The Chinon Auto 2001 is an odd camera from a design period which did not age as well as other design periods (just have a look at the timeless Olympus OM 1), and if I had seen in it a store, I might not have bought it. But I would have be wrong: It delivers surprisingly great results and made me mentally revisit my teenage years. Compared to other cameras with similar specs (Olympus mju or the likes which are might have better lenses and are smaller) used ones cost a fraction, so if you see one, grab one.

Brand	Chinon
Model	Auto 2001
Year built	Most likely 1987
Serial number	107088
Lenses	Chinon 35mm f/2.8
Shutter	Electronic shutter 1/45 – 1/500 as reported here
Film format	35mm
Special features	Autofocus, built in winder
Accessories	Camera strap
Manufactured by	Chinon
Date of purchase	10/2023
Price	–
Place of purchase	Gift from my cousin

Tips & Tricks shooting with the Chinon Auto 2001

First a tip: this thing is loud, so maybe not the best camera for silent places. Now the trick: if you want to play with expired film, tape the DX coding.

Film purchase & processing

The camera can use any type of 35mm film, but be aware that one roll might double the value of the camera.

Useful Links

https://www.35mmc.com/23/02/2021/chinon-auto-2001-kodak-vr35-k14-review/ (Review and comparison with the sister model and main resource for this post)
http://www.collection-appareils.fr/x/html/camera-5202-Chinon_Auto%202001.html (Specs and the copy of a mail-order catalogue comparing it with a Pentax PC 555 and Olympus AF 1)
https://kenrockwell.com/tech/chinon/auto2001.htm (Ken Rockwell has one and likes it)

Pictures

Chinon Auto 1001/2001/3001 pool on Flickr
My pictures on Flickr