C41
Kodak Portra 400
Kodak Portra 400 is a professional C-41 color negative film known for flexible exposure latitude, natural skin tones, and fine grain.
View profile →compact-35mm
The Konica Recorder (1985) is a half-frame 35mm compact that exposes 18x24mm frames on standard 35mm film, yielding approximately 72 exposures from a 36-exposure roll. It is built around a fixed Hexanon 24mm f/4 lens - a focal length that approximates a normal lens on the half-frame format - paired with programmed automatic exposure driven by a CdS metering cell. The body is compact and plastic-heavy in the 1980s fashion. The Recorder was positioned as an economical choice: more shots per roll reduced running costs, and the modest lens and fixed focus kept the camera accessible for casual shooters.
Reference
Recommended film stocks for the half-frame-35mm format your camera takes.
C41
Kodak Portra 400 is a professional C-41 color negative film known for flexible exposure latitude, natural skin tones, and fine grain.
View profile →C41
Kodak Gold 200 is a daylight-balanced C-41 color negative film with warm color, moderate grain, and a classic consumer-film look.
View profile →C41
Kodak UltraMax 400 is a versatile consumer-grade ISO 400 daylight-balanced color negative film with T-grain emulsion, delivering warm Kodak colors, fine-for-speed grain (PGI 46), and wide exposure latitude. Currently in production and available globally as a single-roll and multi-pack.
Develop half-frame-35mm film
We're growing the lab directory near you. Browse all labs.
Before you buy used
About this camera
A 1985 half-frame compact that doubles your frames per roll with Hexanon 24mm glass.
| Field | Value |
|---|
| Format | Half-frame 35mm (18x24mm) |
| Lens | Hexanon 24mm f/4 (fixed) |
| Year introduced | 1985 |
| Shutter | Programmed auto leaf |
| Meter | CdS |
| Modes | Program |
| Finder | Direct-vision optical |
| Focus | Fixed (hyperfocal) |
| Battery | ~2x AA |
The half-frame format had its commercial heyday in the 1960s with cameras like the Olympus Pen series and Canon Demi, offering economy of film at the cost of smaller negatives and somewhat lower resolution from the emulsions of the day. By 1985 the format had largely been eclipsed by cheap full-frame point-and-shoots and increasingly fine-grained color negative films. Konica's Recorder was a late entrant into a declining niche, aimed primarily at buyers who valued economy over ultimate image quality.
The half-frame orientation means frames are shot in portrait orientation on the film strip; cameras are typically held in the conventional landscape grip, rotating the frame.
The Recorder is a minor but representative artifact of 1980s Japanese camera manufacturing pragmatism. Half-frame cameras in this era served markets where film cost was a genuine constraint - student photographers, developing-market buyers, and high-volume documentary shooters where resolution was secondary to frame count. The Hexanon branding on the 24/4 lens gave the camera marketing credentials even if the lens design was modest.
For 2026 film photographers the Recorder offers an unusual creative option: the half-frame format encourages diptych compositions and yields fine-grained results on modern emulsions like Kodak Gold 200 or Fujifilm 200 that would have outperformed the films the camera was designed for. A 36-exposure roll becomes a 72-frame document.
C41
Kodak ColorPlus 200 is an affordable, consumer-oriented daylight-balanced color negative film at ISO 200. Known for warm, slightly muted color rendition, fine grain, and wide exposure latitude, it is currently in production and widely available in Asia and select global markets.
View profile →BW
Kodak Tri-X 400 is a classic black-and-white film known for strong tonality, visible grain, and documentary character.
View profile →Konica Recorder
Image coming soon