Panasonic's late-1980s 35mm snapshot — fixed-focus 38mm f/5.6, manual-switch flash, meterless
The Panasonic C-310EF is a basic 35mm snapshot camera from the late 1980s — camera-wiki dates it to about 1987 — also sold as the National C-310EF in some markets. It sat alongside the near-identical C-300EF, from which it differs mainly in having a manually switched flash rather than an automatic one.
It is a fixed-focus viewfinder camera with a 38mm f/5.6 lens, a single fixed shutter speed of about 1/50 sec and no exposure meter. A sliding door protects the lens, the small built-in flash is switched on by hand when needed, and film advances via a thumbwheel on the back with manual rewind at the end of the roll.
This is a point-and-shoot in the most literal sense, suited to casual daylight film snapshots and the lo-fi look popular with lomography shooters. The fixed f/5.6 aperture and single speed favour ISO 200-400 film outdoors, and results lean soft towards the edges — part of the charm rather than a fault.
The shutter is mechanical, so the camera fires with no batteries at all — power is needed only for the flash, and a flash that no longer charges is the most common fault. Check the sliding lens cover moves freely, the wind-on thumbwheel turns smoothly, and the back closes light-tight.