A look at the Fuji Cardia Travel Mini Dual-P, a twin lens autofocus 35mm compact film camera from the 1990s with a 28mm 1:3.5 and a 45mm 1:5.5 lens.
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The Fuji Cardia Travel Mini Dual-P, a dual-lens autofocus 35mm compact film camera, was the smallest and lightest 35mm full or panorama frame film camera when it was first released in 1990. The camera is fitted with a switchable wide-angle 28mm 1:3.5 lens and a normal 45mm 1:5.5 lens, selectable via a slider switch on the camera's top plate. The switch will also activate the viewfinder system to sync with the focal length setting. The camera was seen with a couple of iterations with early models distinguished by an auto-retracting lens barrier, whilst later copies launched after 1991 come with an integrated UV filter as lens protection.
Technical specs for the camera included a shutter speed range from 1/2 to 1/125 seconds, support for DX-coded film speeds from 50 to 1600 ISO, autoexposure shooting with a minimum focus distance of 0.45 meters, and a data back function for time and date stamping. The camera is also designed with a simplified film loading system, where the film spool is inserted into the camera without the need to fully open the camera back, and a pre-load system where the camera automatically winds the film onto the take-up spool, and retracts exposed frames back into the film spool.
As denoted by the 'P' in the camera's model name, the camera also allows panoramic shots, which is a rather poor implementation. The mode is indicated just by a pair of horizontally etched dashed lines on the viewfinder display. No other setting is required or done, or blinds to set the panorama frame on the film frame window to adjust or activate.
For the US market, the camera was designated as the Discovery Mini Dual Date, and it comes without the panorama feature.
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Another quirk that might catch users off-guard is the requirement that the camera needs two batteries to function, a CR123A 6-volt Lithium pack within the battery chamber on the side of the camera body, and a CR2025 3-volt button cell located under the metal film leader inside the film back, that needed to be unscrewed open before the battery can be replaced.
Fuji Cardia Travel Mini Dual-P
The camera will not work without the two batteries installed, or with one having insufficient power to run. When the internal battery is low, as indicated by a dim or empty screen, the camera will re-spool the film without warning and will even do so with a new roll of unexposed film inserted into the film chamber.
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