C41
Kodak Gold 200
Kodak Gold 200 is a daylight-balanced C-41 color negative film with warm color, moderate grain, and a classic consumer-film look.
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The Konica Eye 2 (1962) is the second model in Konica's Eye half-frame line, producing 18 x 24mm negatives -- two frames per standard 35mm frame. Like its successor the Eye 3, it relies on a selenium photocell to drive a programmed aperture-shutter couple with no battery required. The fixed lens is a Hexanon 30mm f/2.8. Zone focusing via pictographic symbols on the lens ring provides the only user input for focus; exposure is fully automatic.
Reference
Recommended film stocks for the half-frame-35mm format your camera takes.
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.
View profile →BW
Develop half-frame-35mm film
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About this camera
The second-generation Konica half-frame automatic -- battery-free selenium AE and a Hexanon 30mm f/2.8 in a compact 1962 body.
| Field | Value |
|---|
| Format | Half-frame 35mm (18 x 24mm) |
| Lens | ~Hexanon 30mm f/2.8 (fixed) |
| Year introduced | 1962 |
| Shutter | ~1/30s - 1/250s, leaf, programmed AE |
| Flash sync | X-sync |
| Meter | Selenium, programmed AE |
| Modes | Program only |
| Finder | Optical direct-vision |
| Focus | Zone (symbols) |
| Battery | None required |
Konica entered the half-frame market as Olympus was establishing the Pen line as the dominant half-frame platform in Japan. The original Konica Eye preceded the Eye 2; the Eye 2 followed as an updated body in 1962. Konishiroku chose selenium metering rather than the CdS cells that competing cameras (including later Pen variants) were adopting through the early 1960s. The selenium approach traded ultimate sensitivity in low light for the practical advantage of battery independence -- a real differentiator in markets where replacement cells were unreliable.
The Eye 2 was succeeded by the Eye 3, which refined the cosmetics and ergonomics without fundamentally changing the mechanical formula. Neither camera achieved the commercial breadth of the Olympus Pen line, but they occupied a distinct position as selenium-powered alternatives with Konica's Hexanon optics.
The Eye 2 represents one of the earlier examples of Konica applying its Hexanon lens manufacturing to a format beyond the standard 35mm compact. The selenium cell -- which requires no battery and, when intact, continues to function after decades -- gives the camera a practical advantage over CdS alternatives for users today who want a working camera without battery sourcing complications.
At 18 x 24mm, each frame is approximately half the area of a standard 35mm negative. A 36-exposure roll yields roughly 72 frames. The Hexanon 30mm f/2.8 covers this format adequately; when enlarged to standard print sizes or viewed digitally via scanning, the half-frame negative requires careful lab handling but is capable of acceptable results in good light. The Eye 2 sits slightly below the Eye 3 in the collector hierarchy -- both trade at low prices, but the Eye 2 is less well documented.
Ilford HP5 Plus is a flexible ISO 400 black-and-white film with classic grain and strong push-processing tolerance.
C41
Kodak Portra 400 is a professional C-41 color negative film known for flexible exposure latitude, natural skin tones, and fine grain.
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Kodak Tri-X 400 is a classic black-and-white film known for strong tonality, visible grain, and documentary character.
View profile →Konica Eye 2
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