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 3 (1965) is a half-frame 35mm camera producing 18 x 24mm negatives -- two frames per standard 35mm frame -- in a compact, fully automatic body. Exposure is handled by a selenium photocell that drives a programmed aperture-shutter combination with no battery required at any point, which remains one of the camera's most practical advantages today. Focus is by zone symbols. The fixed lens is a Hexanon 30mm f/2.8, the standard optic across the Eye family.
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
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Before you buy used
About this camera
A battery-free half-frame automatic from 1965, pairing a selenium cell with the reliable Hexanon 30mm f/2.8.
| Field | Value |
|---|
| Format | Half-frame 35mm (18 x 24mm) |
| Lens | Hexanon 30mm f/2.8 (fixed) |
| Year | 1965 |
| 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 |
Konica entered the half-frame market in the early 1960s, following Olympus's success with the Pen series. The Eye line was Konishiroku's primary half-frame offering, differentiating itself from the Pen with the Hexanon lens specification and a fully selenium-driven AE system that avoided the battery dependency of competing CdS designs. The Eye 2 preceded the Eye 3 in the early-to-mid 1960s; the Eye 3 represented a cosmetic and ergonomic update rather than a major mechanical redesign.
Half-frame cameras lost mainstream momentum in Japan by the late 1960s as standard-frame compact cameras became lighter and more affordable. The Eye line was not significantly updated after the Eye 3.
The Eye 3 benefits from the same core advantage as all selenium-cell cameras: it works with no battery and will continue to work as long as the selenium cell retains output. For half-frame shooting today, a working Eye 3 produces approximately 72 exposures per 36-exposure roll, making it economical for color negative and slide film. The Hexanon 30mm f/2.8 is a capable optic; half-frame negatives enlarged to standard print sizes show the frame boundary but hold detail well under the Hexanon.
The camera occupies the same conceptual space as the Olympus Pen D, though the Pen line is more widely documented and collected; the Eye 3 consequently trades at modest prices.
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 3
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