September 24th 2023

 Chinon Belami AF

The Bellami or Belami?

In the 1980s era of Chinon, the camera design department flew completely off the rails and made some incredibly wacky and crazy camera designs. Wild curves, intense angles, and sculptured shapes featured heavily in their compact camera lineup. Sitting comfortably amongst the likes of the Genesis II and Handyzoom 5001, you can really see that Chinon was carving out its own style. The original 1980 Chinon Bellami, with two ‘L’s for whatever reason, came out almost a decade earlier to favorable reviews. Within contemporary articles, the Bellami was always close to the top of compact 35mm comparisons. One of the smallest cameras on the market with a f/2.8 lens, and a lightning fast 1/1000th of a second maximum shutter speed. Years went by, with Chinon making many other excellent and innovative cameras like the Infrafocus 35F-MA, Auto 3001, Genesis, and 35FA Super before looking to the Bellami name once again.

As the start of the 90s was looming, competition for compact cameras around this time would have been coming from every angle. Any and all camera brands had their hand in the market one way or another. Even still, you had new players like Samsung entering the scene with cameras like the highly acclaimed AF-Slim. An autofocus camera that did the job would not cut it anymore and something had to set it apart.

The Belami AF at first glance looks like every other throw away point and shoot from the 80s into the 2000s. All black, all plastic, all boring… that is until you look closer. There are quite a few design flourishes of raised grips, slight angles, and texturing, leading to an overall understated but comprehensive design. The camera is very solid with a significant weight to it, not feeling like other cameras in this smaller form factor.

This camera will not function without a battery. Located near the hand strap under a cover, the Belami AF takes a three volt CR123A battery. You are unable to look through the viewfinder or press the shutter button until you open the lens cover, which hinges to the right while looking at the top of the camera. This cover is essentially the on/off switch. Opening the cover extends the lens into position and releases the flash on the left hand side, causing it to immediately charge. A press of the shutter button, without film inside the camera, will only wind and not fire the shutter. This is a safety measure for the camera, designed to let you know when film is not loaded properly. To open the film door, look to the left side underneath the flash and slide the switch down. The door has a decent amount of heft to it, coming either blank or with a simple date back. Loading the film is like most other point and shoots of the era. Pull the leader, unusually from right to left here, to the indication mark. After closing the door, nothing will happen until you half press the shutter button. This will wind to the first mark. The camera is still not ready yet until you fire the shutter a few times and see the ‘1’ frame on the counter. Film speed will be automatically selected between ISO 100 and 400. An ISO of 200 will default to 100, including uncoded films, and all films 400 and higher will be set to 400.

Looking through the viewfinder, now that the lens door is open, you can see standard frame lines and an autofocus spot in the center of the frame. A half press of the shutter button will lock the focus and allow you to recompose the image. There is also a red LED that will light up on the top of the viewfinder in low light. This will automatically fire the flash if illuminated and is also used as a pseudo battery check. However, you must wait for the amber ready light on the top corner of the camera to glow before you can properly use the flash. Turning the flash off is easily done by pushing the pop out flash back into the camera and holding it there. There is a bit of conflicting information online about the shutter speeds, apertures, and how they default to one or another, but this is what makes the most sense to me. The camera exposes using one of the two shutter speeds, 1/60th or 1/125th, with an aperture of f/3.9, f/8, and f/16.

Once to the end of the roll, the Belami AF will wind as far as it can and stop if it cannot reach the threshold of another frame. The rewind is not automatic, and you will need to flip the switch on the bottom of the camera to rewind the film. A very useful feature of the camera, intentional or not, is that it leaves the film leader out once rewound. Other things you need to be careful of is your left hands position on the body. Look out for the AF and flash sensor windows near the door. That is all the controls and functions on the Belami AF. One last thing to note is around the same time in the late 80s, a fixed focus version named the Monami was made. It had a slightly slower f/4.5 lens, fixed 1/125th shutter speed, and was made in three different colors.

THE SPECS AND FEATURES

Shutter Speeds - 1/60, 1/125th

Aperture - f/3.9, f/8, f/16

Meter Type - CdS

Focus - infrared active autofocus

• 3.3 feet (1 meter) to infinity

Shutter - mechanical, leaf shutter

ISO - 100 or 400

• an ISO of 200 will default to 100, all films 400 and higher will be set to 400

• no DX code films at 100

Lens - 35mm, 3 elements in 3 groups

Flash Option - built in, cancelable

• ISO 100 [4.3 - 10.5ft (1.3 - 3.2m)] range

• ISO 400 [4.3 - 15.1ft (1.3 - 4.6m)] range

Batteries - CR123A

Film Type - 35mm

Other Features - focus lock, low light warning, film wind failure prevention

The Experience

I wanted this camera ever since I got my hands on the original Bellami. They were not the easiest to find, and there seemed to be only a few articles of the AF version online. I really wanted to see how it performed through my own gambit of tests. It took around a year of serious looking, as the prices for this camera went and continue to go all over the place. I found a decent looking untested camera for a good price, and gave it a chance. Once the camera arrived, I noticed a bit of damage to the back buttons, but overall it was in great shape.

Everything seemed to be working, but I still took precautions and loaded in a short roll of Fuji Superia X-Tra 400. I ended up throwing the camera in my backpack and taking it everywhere for around a month, using it very sparingly. Once that roll was developed, I was initially impressed at how the Belami AF hit the focus every time. However, only half the roll was usable. You can really underexpose an image if your not careful indoors and really overexpose outdoors as well. There is a definite range were the Belami AF can expose well. The pictures were typical off the cuff test shots, but there was one that stood out to me. It was an incredibly underexposed picture I took in a laundromat, and I decided it would look much better in black and white. I loaded a very short roll of some Ultrafine Finesse 100 and got the shot again. The picture of the soap dispenser came out perfect, to me at least. Focus was spot on and the exposure is slightly under, but I think it adds to the image. For whatever reason I like how the small details really bring you into the space. One of my favorite pictures I’ve taken this year and it only made me want to use the Belami AF more.

I decided to use this camera to test some questionable film one weekend. Looking through the freezer, I chose some very expired Agfa APX 400, and biked down a path near me on an absolutely brutal summer day. It was not the best choice all around, being in full sun and 90 plus degrees out (around 32°C). With the expired film and limited range of the Belami AF, I thought it may just even out. After stand developing, a large portion of the images ended up having a light leak on one side of the frame. I was almost certain that this was not the camera, as there are no foam light seals besides on the film door window. This brick of APX 400 I found has given me very odd results, so I chalked it up to that. I was sadly left with only a few usable images.

In my freezer travels, I found a roll of Fuji Superia X-Tra 400 of an unknown age, and decided to tape the DX code and shoot it at ISO 100. The camera once again traveled around with me for around a month, taking random pictures now and then. I find that I like more of the pictures I take doing this. Still not through all 24 exposures, I cut the roll about halfway through, and saved the rest for another test camera. These images were very grainy, but I quite like the look in some. Most pictures came out great and only now was I really beginning to understand how the Belami AF exposes.

The camera only sat for a few days before I loaded it up again, with another roll of Ultrafine black and white film. I went to a kite festival the day before, and decided to go back the following day with a camera that had a wider lens. Along with a Maxxum 700SI, I brought the Belami AF as a backup per say, and took a few pictures on the dock and around the park at the event. The whole roll turned out pretty good, but it became apparent that landscapes are not the cameras strength. The 4 to 12 foot (about 1.2 to 3.5 meters) is where this camera shines. You can really see this in the difference between the picture of the park with the city, and the dog. The lens cannot resolve small details at distance, but up close the lens can render images very sharp and well exposed.

After using the Chinon Belami AF, does it deserve a spot in history and next to a notable camera like the original Bellami? Looking back, there ended up being almost no fanfare or mention of the Belami AF in contemporary articles, besides Chinon paid advertisements. By 1991 the camera was all but forgotten and relegated the the backs of magazines in the ‘Call’ to order purgatory.

I carried this camera with me for around six months, taking pictures here, there, and everywhere. Only towards the end did I come to the realization that it does deserve to have a spot. I really like this camera. One of the best things about the Belami AF is how fast you can shoot. From pocket to ready is seamless. When I found an interesting subject, I would quickly shoot, hold the shutter button in, and not wind until I walked away. Great for quick shots, but not perfect. The exposure range can be lacking at times, the lens can be slow, and the camera renders images better at a closer range. However, these are all things that you can work with. Knowing how to shoot a camera and lean into it strengths, can lead to better understanding of its limitations and help you create excellent images. The Chinon Belami AF is a great point and shoot that continues to impress me, and will always have a spot in my camera bag.