Suntone MM350

The Suntone MM350 is a simple 35mm format snapshot camera. It has a plastic case and was made in China. Similar models were offered under different designations and brands.

The likely manufacturer is Haking from Hong Kong. Nevertheless, another company with production facilities in the People’s Republic of China could have been responsible for the production. One possibility for this would be the New Taiwan Photographic Corp. (Ouyama), which had a factory in Shenzhen and also produced cameras.

Camera features

The range of functions of the Suntone MM350 is quite limited as it only has a few features. It is equipped with a fixed focal length, probably 28 mm. Both the aperture and the shutter speed are fixed.

The camera does not have a light meter or autofocus. The focus is fixed between 1 meter and infinity. A distance of at least 1 meter to the subject should be maintained to ensure sharp images.

No batteries are required to operate the Suntone MM350 as all functions are mechanical in nature. Features such as a flash, tripod thread or self-timer are missing, but there is a device for a wrist strap.

The panorama function

A key feature of the Suntone MM350 in its marketing was the panorama function. However, this is not a true panoramic camera.

A standard 35 mm camera exposes a format of 24 mm x 36 mm. The Suntone MM350, on the other hand, exposes 13mm x 36mm, giving the photo the appearance of a panorama, especially when printed accordingly.

These ratios are achieved by an internal mask that hides part of the image. One could theoretically remove this plastic mask, exposing 24mm x 36mm again, but the plain viewfinder would still show the panorama format.

Such panoramic functions were found on many compact cameras of the time. In some models you could switch between normal and panoramic shots.

Alternatively, you could also use image editing software for panorama effects.

Films for the Suntone MM350

Of course you can still use the camera. 35mm films are used in the Suntone MM350. There are still producers of 35mm film that can be easily processed by most development services.

Possible films for the Suntone MM350 are the Kodak Ultramax 400* for color shots and the Ilford HP5* for black and white shots. There are of course many more suitable films for this model. Both films offer reliable results and have a capacity of 36 frames. Other film options are available from Fujifilm, Adox, Rollei, Foma or Lomography, among others.