Carena DF-300

The Carena DF-300 is an SLR camera for 35mm film. The original model was developed by Minolta and licensed to a company in China. They produced it as Seagull DF-300 and sold it to Photo Porst. The German photo dealer offered them under the house brand “Carena”.

The Carena DF-300 comes with interchangeable lenses. Lenses with a Minolta SR bayonet are usable with the camera. The lens is focused manually. The Carena DF-300 does not have an autofocus system.

The Carena DF-300 is equipped with a built-in light meter. The light meter was designed for films with a sensitivity of ISO 12 to ISO 3200. The light meter is built to measure the exposure through the lens of the camera. The shutter speed and aperture can be selected by the photographer in manual mode. In this mode, the maximum exposure time is 1 second. In aperture priority mode, it is 4 seconds.

A Bulb setting for long exposures is available. An external flash can be triggered via the built-in hot shoe.

The Carena DF-300 has a built-in self-timer. It also comes with a connection for a cable release and tripod. The dimensions of the 35mm camera are 13.7 x 9 x 5.1 cm. It weighs 470 grams. The required power for the camera comes from two LR44 batteries (eBay / Amazon*).

Films for the Carena DF-300

Cartridges with 35mm film are exposed in the Carena DF-300. 35mm films are still produced by various manufacturers. Possible films for the SLR are the Kodak Portra 400* and the Ilford FP4 Plus*.

Color film is processed using the C-41 process. C-41 films are developed by almost all photo labs. Developing a 35mm color film is possible, for example, at most drugstore chains in Germany.