The Nikkorex 35 was the first model of the Nikkorex series, produced in 1960. To keep costs low compared to the flagship Nikon F, the Nikkorex 35 used a fixed four-element Nikkor-Q 5 cm f/2.5 lens instead of an interchangeable F-mount; a Citizen MVL leaf shutter instead of a Leica-inspired focal plane shutter; a fixed, mirror-based viewfinder and fixed focusing screen instead of a glass pentaprism; no instant-return mirror mechanism or mirror lock-up option; no provision for motor drives; and lesser build quality.
Built-in metering — a first for a Nikon camera — used a selenium cell above the lens. Controls for meter-coupled aperture, shutter speed and film speed settings are on rings around the lens.
Optional attachments via the filter ring were available to convert the lens into a 3.5 cm/5.6 or 9 cm/5.6 lens.