A Quick Review of the Nikon Lite Touch AF600

A while ago, I had this camera sort of drop into my lap. The Nikon Lite Touch AF, also known as the Lite Touch AF600, is a very compact 35 mm point and shoot with a plastic body, and a 28 mm f/3.5 lens.  As far as street cameras go, this could be a winner.  The camera has a retractable lens when not in use, and a blind that covers the lens when it is off.  The LCD on the top deck indicates the frame number, flash mode, and self-timer option.  The 3 tiny control buttons,which are rubberized for tactile feedback, are the on/off switch, flash mode, auto-infinity mode and self-timer.   The shutter button is on the far right, as is a rewind-button that is depressed with a ball-point pen, should you want to rewind the film before the roll is finished.

simple controls, albeit tiny buttons

in the off mode

Panorama switch to the L of the tiny viewfinder

turned on, with lens extended.

The back of the camera features a PANORAMA switch, which activates the crop mask inside the camera, giving you a 13 x 36 mm frame.  The flash indicator led is next to the eyepiece.  On the bottom, is the battery chamber (CR123A battery), and tripod socket.


Quick Specifications:

• Date Introduced - 1993
• Weight - 5.5 ounces
• Dimensions - 4.25" W x 1.5"D x 2.5" H
• Lens - 28 mm f3.5 fixed lens, 3 elements.
• Aperture range - f/3.5 - f/16
• Shutter speeds - auto, unknown as to the range.
• ISO range - DX-coded cassettes, 100, 200, 400, 1000.  Non-DX coded are set at ISO 100. Film reminder window on film door.
• Film transport - Autoloading, winding, rewinding.
• Exposure - automatic, autofocus
• Flash - integral, non-pop-up
• Focus range - 12" - infinity, "macro" close focus ability
• Power - CR123A battery
• Tripod Socket

Now, this is a small camera, about the size of some of the smallest one-time use cameras.  When you turn it on, the lens telescopes a bit from the body and the lens cover is supposed to retract upwards.  I say supposed to, as my example has to be coaxed upwards with a finger nail.  Not paying attention to this will result in unexposed frames. Apart from this, I like the camera -- it can easily fit into a pocket, and while I have only shot with it a bit, the images are respectable.  It certainly takes up little space, and is easy to carry along.  The viewfinder is tiny, as you would expect, and includes the crop lines fir the panorama mode.

The Nikon Lite Touch AF 600 retailed for $210 in 1993.  Pretty pricey for a tiny P&S!  On eBay, I see them going for nearly as much, though the range is mostly from $70-$165.  Certainly cheaper than a p&s with the Yashica T or Contax T name on it.

Overall, so long as the camera and LCD are in good working order, and the lens blind opens, this could be a gem of a camera.  It's rather unassuming, and there are few wide-angle P&S cameras that are as tiny and have a fixed 28 mm lens.  The panorama mode is of course, just a frame crop, but some may find it to be a nice creative feature.  It is fully auto, so you really have little to control except the flash.  You can set the focus to be on auto-infinity, which makes it a pretty quick camera to shoot with.  The self-timer can be set to take one or two images in quick succession.   The flash features red-eye reduction, auto, always flash, auto slow, and no flash settings.  Of course, the top buttons are tiny, so you have to use a fingernail to activate them.   I would probably use this camera more if I didn't have to mess around with the lens blind each time I turned it on. That may the weakness of this model.

Sample images, shot on Fuji Superia Xtra 400, and home developed in the Film Photography Podcast C-41 kit.