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 Ricoh Auto Half EF (1976) is the last and most fully specified model in Ricoh's Auto Half series. It retains the series' defining traits - spring-wound automatic film advance, fixed-focus 25mm f/2.8 Ricoh lens, program-only selenium-coupled AE, and a leaf shutter running 1/30s to 1/125s - and adds a **built-in pop-up flash unit** powered by two AA batteries. The EF is the only Auto Half variant with an integral flash; earlier models relied on an accessory shoe. The body grew slightly to accommodate the flash mechanism, and the camera now requires batteries (for the flash), breaking the battery-free purity of the earlier models. The selenium cell still drives exposure independently of battery state; the batteries power only the flash.
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
The spring-wound half-frame, now with a built-in flash. The final evolution of Ricoh's clockwork compact.
| Field | Value |
|---|
| Format | 35mm half-frame (18x24 mm) |
| Lens | Ricoh 25mm f/2.8, 3 elements, fixed-focus |
| Years | 1976-~ |
| Shutter | 1/30s - 1/125s + B, leaf |
| Flash sync | All speeds (leaf shutter) |
| Meter | Selenium photocell (flash requires 2x AA) |
| Modes | Program AE |
| Flash | Built-in pop-up, AA-powered |
| Advance | Spring-wound automatic |
| Battery | 2x AA (flash only) |
Ricoh launched the Auto Half in 1962, the Auto Half E around 1966 with cosmetic refinements, and the Auto Half EF in 1976. By the mid-1970s, built-in flash was becoming expected on compact consumer cameras. Adding an integral flash to the Auto Half was a direct response to that market shift; it let Ricoh keep the model current and relevant against newer program compacts from Canon, Olympus, and Konica that included flash capability. The EF represents the end of the Auto Half line; no successor with the spring-wind mechanism followed. By the late 1970s, the market had moved toward full-frame auto-advance compacts, and the half-frame segment contracted sharply.
The EF is the most practical Auto Half for everyday use: the built-in flash removes the need to carry a separate flash unit, which was the main operational limitation of the earlier models for indoor or low-light shooting. The spring-wind advance mechanism remains intact, so the rapid-fire sequential shooting capability is preserved.
From a collector standpoint, the EF is the most commonly encountered Auto Half variant in working condition, partly because it is the newest and partly because the flash electronics, while sometimes failing, are not as mechanically fragile as the older selenium-only units. Working EF examples with functional flash command prices at the high end of the Auto Half range.
The integration of flash into the spring-wind design creates a genuinely unusual camera: you can wind the spring, then fire 36+ half-frame exposures in rapid succession with automatic flash cycling between each shot, provided the capacitor has time to recharge.
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.
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 →Ricoh Auto Half EF
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