Chinon Industries Japan produced cameras from the 1960’s through to the early 2000’s for 35mm and 110 film, plus two digital models in the Nineties. Their build quality ranged from truly terrible compacts to amazing SLR’s - meaning you have to choose wisely when considering which model to buy.

Unfortunately the list of bad models is a long one in this category! From poor build quality to unreliability, Chinon seemed to put the majority of their efforts into SLR’s, and churned out tons of consumer grade compacts. When I started collecting Chinon, I had no idea the rabbit hole I was entering - there are so many different models through the Eighties and Nineties. There are around 65 different 35mm compacts in my cupboard plus colour variations of some, and there are still some I do not have - the more research I do, the more I find…

To add a splash of colour to the usual black or grey, Chinon did produce colour variations of some models, which obviously adds another whole dimension to having every camera - some like the 35FS came in four varieties!

My Chinon journey started by accident with this CE-5 (left), which was in the bottom of a box of cameras bought from a flea market. It was buried under some ‘better’ brand SLR’s, but somehow felt like a nicer camera.

After shooting a roll, I fell in love with it! The viewfinder is excellent with easy to read metering, and even though it has a plastic body feels really nice - with a gorgeous Eighties vibe.

It failed during the second roll, so I bought a new one on eBay which has been my go to SLR for the past few years. It got me thinking what other Chinon cameras were there? This turned out to be a slippery slope…

Now with north of 130 different models in the collection, what better time then to give my verdict on the best and worst.

Single Lens Reflex cameras is where Chinon shines, and there are a lot to choose from. Starting with the original Chinonflex TTL of the Sixties to the fully electronic CP-9AF of the Nineties.

My top pick of the earlier fully mechanical models is the humble CS (left) which has just enough of what you need, with no frills, good build quality, good shutter speed range and a massive selection of M42 mount lenses to choose from to go with it. Lighter than the Memotron range it is easier to handle, and I have taken some awesome images with it.

From the two electronic models, I would go for the CP-7m (right) for it’s styling, although not autofocus like the later CP-9AF, it is quite a bit smaller and is a joy to use.

It may look like I am being harsh on the compact sector, but it is not all bad!

From the early 35 and 35EE which are awesome and match the Ricoh 500G for style and quality, to the M-series (M-6200, M-7501 & M9500D) from the very tail end of Chinon as a camera manufacturer in their own right.

My biggest problem now is finding the uncommon ones, or the few that didn’t make it to Western markets. At this stage, I am not fussed about working condition just add them to the collection. The latest is the AF-8, which I have only ever seen one - and now it is mine!

In between fully mechanical and fully electronic models, you are really spoilt for choice, and there is not a bad one to speak of. It is more a case of personal preference really - I really like the DSL which is compact, looks nice and has a simple match metering system with red and green LED’s placed on the side of the viewfinder. On the other hand I found the Memotron’s to be heavy and clunky and haven’t really gelled with them. I didn’t really like using the CP-5 and CP-6 with their program dial instead of shutter speed dials, but pretty much anything else is a good bet.

When it comes to point & shoot compacts, you have to be a lot more careful! There are some truly terrible models - in fact far more than you would hope. It is almost like Chinon didn’t care in this category! All is not lost though, as they did produce some absolute crackers too…

The top of the range Auto 3001 Multifocus can compete with the best of rest with it’s 35mm f2.8 lens, and is by far the best compact Chinon made.

The lens is sharp and fast, the sliding front means you can power it up one handed and never miss a shot making it a fantastic street photography tool. It is the most expensive Chinon P&S on the used market, but still comes in at a fraction of the cost of the big boys from Yashica and Contax - I know which I would rather buy.

A tier below the 3001 comes the 21Street (35M-AF), which is good but feels a bit cheaper than the 3001, but still packs a 35mm f2.8 making it great value.

Other honourable mentions go to the Auto 6001, the cute little MC-340, the beach fun of the Splash AF, and the rare AF-8 which are all great little pocket cameras in their own way.

The other lesser used formats that Chinon produced was a handful of 110’s and APS cameras, which frankly none stand out from the plethora of options on the market. You can easily pick up a far better camera than a Chinon in these sectors, and unless you are obsessed like me - that is exactly what you should do!

Who needs a basic Bourbon biscuit shaped basic 110 camera, when you could have a Minolta SLR Auto 110 or Pentax Auto 110 which are peak cameras for the format. On the same note, why buy a run-of-the-mill APS compact made of cheap plastic when you can have a Fujifilm Fotonex 4000i or top tier Canon EOS IX which will make the most of the aging expired film stocks that are still available online.

In addition to the vast number of standard models, there are some specials too…

From limited edition special versions like the CARP 35F-II to full on medical setups such as the CG-5 with Elicar V-HQ Medical Macro lens, and small production runs of Chinon badged models made for other companies like the 1000S. It seems that the more you look, the more you find!

Some appear as a single image on the internet, which are probably never going to be found in real life like the CP-9AF Stereo or CP-9AF with clear plastic body.

What stated as looking at an attainable list of models on Camera-wiki.org has turned into an endless hunt for new ones - but that is all part of the fun!