10 Half-Frame Film Cameras for Under $500

You can save lots of money on film with a half-frame camera, but why stop there and not save on the camera itself? This overview lists nine better-than-good vintage cameras and a brand-new one for less than $100!

Half-frame cameras under $500: Pro-level: Olympus Pen F. For beginners: Konica Recorder. Brand new: Kodak Ektar H35N. So ‘90s: Yashica Samurai. The exquisite: Olympus Pen W. The pretty: Ricoh Auto Half E2. The cult classic: Canon Demi. For collectors: Ricoh Caddy. ‘50s chic: Welta Penti 0. ‘60s chic: Pentacon Penti II. Bonus: Lomography Diana Mini.

Pro-level: Olympus Pen F.

Olympus Pen F (see: full review & more sample photos by Danilo Leonardi) is the most capable half-frame camera ever built. It’s a true SLR with a good selection of lenses (from microscope to pancake to super tele). It’s compact enough to fit in a pocket with this lens but also accepts an insanely fast (for the format) Olympus 42mm 1:1.2 H.Zuiko Auto-S lens.

This vintage camera usually sells for $100-300, depending on condition. Most of them are in Japan. If this is the first time buying a used film camera, consider this guide.

These SLRs are fully mechanical, give complete manual control, and you don’t need a battery to operate one. The FT variant of this camera had a built-in uncoupled light meter, but the first version, the F, and the last version, FV, do not have a meter in favour of a brighter viewfinder.

If the above sounds complicated, don’t worry; even beginners can use a free light meter app to make perfect exposures with this or any manual film camera. You can also learn how to measure light by eye without any additional gadgets.

Olympus Pen F has a top shutter speed of 1/500s with the slowest speeds of 1s and bulb. The body weighs 450g and measures 130mm × 38mm × 70mm/16oz and 5.1” × 1.5” × 2.8”.

I reviewed several lenses for this camera on Analog.Cafe:

38mm 1:2.8 E.Zuiko Auto-S (pancake).

38mm 1:1.8 F.Zuiko Auto-S (kit lens).

70mm 1:2 F.Zuiko Auto-T (a pricey portrait lens).

42mm 1:1.2 H.Zuiko Auto-S (an ultra-fast lens for low light & bokeh).

150mm 1:4 E.Zuiko Auto-T (telephoto).

250mm 1:5 E.Zuiko-T (super telephoto).

For beginners: Konica Recorder.

Konica Recorder, a.k.a. Konica AA-35 (see: full review & more sample photos) is an ultrawide point-and-shoot camera that folds and fits in a coat pocket. It has a built-in motor for film advance, autoexposure, autofocus, and flash.

All you need to ready this camera is set your film’s ISO number (100-400); some versions of this camera can even do it for you automatically.

This vintage camera usually sells for $200-300, depending on condition. Most of them are in Japan.

These cameras were made in the 1980s, and their appearance is almost always scratchy. The most common issue is the “ready” lamp not lighting when your flash is fully charged to fire. If this is the first time buying a used film camera, consider this guide.

While these cameras are no longer new, AA-35s have more features and a more compact design than even the hot new Pentax 17.

At 112mm × 77mm × 30.5mm 250g (4⅖” × 3” × 1⅕” and 8.8oz), Konica Recorder/AA-35 is narrower, shorter, a lot slimmer (by 21mm/.8”!), and 40g/1.4oz lighter than the new Pentax camera.

Konica Recorder takes common AA batteries to power its motor and flash. Rewinding film is a little tricky (you need to remember to stop the motor), but it’s fully automatic, same with film advance. This can help you take more photos of fast action in rapid succession.

The Recorder’s fastest shutter speed is 1/250s, and the slowest is 1/60s. With its 𝒇4-16 lens and an ISO 200 film (e.x., Kodak Gold), this camera can be used in full sun and well-lit indoors/outdoor shade without turning the flash on.

Brand new: Kodak Ektar H35N.

Kodak Ektar H35N (see: full review & more sample photos) is a new reusable plastic half-frame camera with a unique set of lenses for sharper images. It sells for just under $100 new.

This camera features a coated glass front lens and a resin aspherical element that keeps most of your scene in focus beyond 3m/9’. This means there’s no need to adjust anything while taking a shot other than being mindful of your film’s ISO rating and the light.

The lens is a 22mm fixed-aperture 𝒇8 that is equivalent to about 30mm on a full-frame. It gives a 62°-wide angle of view.

Outdoors on a sunny day, H35N works best with ISO50-100 films, such as CineStill 50D or Kodak Ektar 100 (naturally). It comes with flash so that you can use it indoors — and it even lets you do long exposures. See this guide for how to do that. Note: you’ll need a single AAA battery for the flash.

So ‘90s: Yashica Samurai.

Yashica Samurai, a.k.a. Kyocera Samurai (see: full review & more sample photos), is the funkiest-looking camera of the bunch. It’s the size of a small camcorder that you may remember from the ‘90s — but it does not shoot videos. Instead, this camera shoots horizontal half-frame exposures with full automation and a 𝒇3.5-4.3 25-75mm motorized zoom lens.

This vintage camera usually sells for under $100! If this is the first time buying a used film camera, consider this guide.

Yashica Samurai is larger than most cameras on this list, but it may also be the easiest one to use — without any sacrifices made to image quality. It’s a sleeper.

Kyocera/Yashica Samurai uses a single 2CR5 battery, which should be good for about 700 photos. There’s also a “secret” internal battery — but it’s easy to replace (see how).

The exquisite: Olympus Pen W.

Olympus Pen W, a.k.a. Olympus Pen Wide is the classiest-looking vintage camera on this list, thanks to its exquisite black-on-brass finish that only looks better with age and wear. And that frame counter is something to behold: as you advance after your shot, the camera makes a series of ticks as the entire clock-like face dial rotates 180°.

Pen W is not a complex camera to use. It’s fully manual, and it will require you to zone focus — but those are not difficult skills to learn. Its viewfinder is bright and uncluttered, the shutter button is perfectly balanced, and it features a sharp Olympus E. Zuiko-W 1:2.8 25mm lens — a 35mm equivalent on a full-frame.

The Wide is one of the first Olympus half-frame cameras ever created. It was dreamed up by the famed Japanese camera designer Yoshihisa Maitani, who believed in quality at a reasonable price. Pen W, however, was a top-of-the-line, made in limited quantities between 1964 and 1965.

This camera feels in hand like nothing else on this list, but it is also the most expensive one on the list. Selling for just under $500, it’s a collector item. If this is the first time buying a used film camera, consider this guide.

But its relatively high price and fancy looks should not stop you from taking it everywhere you go. The Pen is a pocketable, durable, and capable camera with precision distance marks, a fast 𝒇2.8-22 lens and a variable-speed mechanical shutter that fires between 1/8th and 1/25th of a second.

This camera has everything you need and nothing you don’t. Beginners who trust themselves with nice things can use a free light meter app to make perfect exposures with this or any manual film camera. You can also learn how to measure light by eye without any additional gadgets.

The pretty: Ricoh Auto Half E2.

Ricoh Auto Half E2 is a vintage camera that bends the laws of physics with its genius mechanical automation. It needs no batteries for its selenium-powered autoexposure mechanism and a wind-up film advance system. Incredibly, its 25mm 𝒇2.8-22 lens is focus-free.

All you need to ready this camera is set your film’s ISO number (25-400), wind it up and go! You can take multiple photos in succession without lifting your eye from the bright viewfinder.

This vintage camera usually sells for $100-200, depending on the faceplate design condition. Most of them are in Japan. If this is the first time buying a used film camera, consider this guide.

Oh yes, there are a few faceplate designs for this camera, with some rare copies costing over $1,500! The pretty-pretty orange swirl version you see pictured above cost me $200.

These cameras also have a flash hotshoe and a manual mode that lets you shoot at 1/30s with an aperture of your choice. Otherwise, Auto Half will fire its shutter at 1/125s and choose an aperture automatically.

The one thing to watch out though is its selenium meter — the bubbly material on the front. These unique meters powered battery-free vintage cameras for the past 70 years, but they can expire. Thus, you should always ask your seller if it’s functional and tested.

The cult classic: Canon Demi.

Canon Demi (see: full review & more sample photos) was one of the most recommended pocketable half-frame film cameras to me when I started this blog. The base version comes with a fast 𝒇2.8-22 28mm lens, whereas some fancier versions have even faster or interchangeable lenses.

The Demi weighs 380g and measures 115mm × 68mm × 37mm (13oz and 4.5” × 2.7” × 1.5”).

This vintage camera usually sells for $50-150, depending on the faceplate design condition. Most of them are in Japan. If this is the first time buying a used film camera, consider this guide.

There are a few versions of this camera, mine featured a unique coupling between the shutter and aperture that gave me the freedom to meter the light for Demi manually or use its internal meter with just a single setting — explained here. I also had to zone-focus my Demi (which isn’t that hard).

Demi’s lens produces a very pleasing bokeh with just a touch of aberrations and distortions to make the scenes look interesting without sacrificing sharpness in the middle.

For collectors: Ricoh Caddy.

Ricoh Caddy (see: full review & more sample photos) isn’t very expensive, but it’s the rarest camera on the list. You can still find a few copies of it today, but this camera doesn’t come in nearly the same quantity as the others.

This vintage camera usually sells for $100-200, depending on condition. Most of them are in Japan. If this is the first time buying a used film camera, consider this guide.

Caddy is a manual camera with an uncoupled meter, which’ll give you full creative control over the scene with its 𝒇2.8-22 25mm lens and 1/4-1/250s shutter. You may choose to trust its battery-free light meter or use a free light meter app to make perfect exposures with this or any manual film camera. You can also learn how to measure light by eye without any additional gadgets.

The Caddy weighs 390g and measures 112mm × 69mm × 34mm (14oz and 4.4” × 2.7” × 1.3”). Note that the lens on Caddy requires you to zone focus (guestimate the distance).

‘50s chic: Welta Penti 0.

Welta Penti Type 0 (see: full review & more sample photos) is one of the quirkiest (in a good way) -looking cameras on this list. It also has the simplest shutter design, no-frills zone-focusing controls and an unmatched gold-anodized look.

This camera has a jewel-like appearance and yet its lens is surprisingly sharp for the age. The only downside to using Penti today is the need for special cartridges that will have you load 24 half-frames (about 1/3 of a standard 35mm roll) in a dark bag. While this isn’t difficult by any means as long as you know what you’re doing, this camera makes the most sense if you develop film at home.

The upside to those special cartridges and the simplified design is weight and size reductions for this genuine all-metal & coated glass camera. It weighs just 216g and measures 10cm × 4cm × 7cm (7.6oz and 4” × 1.6” × 2.8”).

This camera is fully manual, which means you’ll need to learn how to use a light meter or estimate light using the Sunny 16 rule and how to zone focus.

This vintage camera usually sells for $50-100, depending on condition. Most of them are in Europe (please also be mindful of the special cartridges you’ll need to get for this camera). If this is the first time buying a used film camera, consider this guide.

‘60s chic: Pentacon Penti II.

Pentacon Penti II (see: full review & more sample photos) is an updated version of Penti 0 with a built-in uncoupled battery-free light meter to help you with the exposure settings. It’s just as gold as the 0 but it has a nicer viewfinder and a slightly different look.

Penti II is a little taller and slightly heavier — but it can still fit in a coat pocket. This camera can also sync with modern flashes properly (the 0 could only work with vintage “slow” flashes).

Despite their age, Penti II’s selenium light meters still work in 2024 (as your seller to verify), and they aren’t bad — I found the readings quite useful and easy to understand. A small pointer in the viewfinder will slide up and down as you adjust the settings — a correct combination of aperture and shutter speed will center it.

This vintage camera usually sells for $50-100, depending on condition. Most of them are in Europe (please also be mindful of the special cartridges you’ll need to get for this camera). If this is the first time buying a used film camera, consider this guide.

Bonus: Lomography Diana Mini.

Lomography Diana Mini (see: full review & more sample photos) was my second film camera ever. Though my dad shot with FED 5 and later a Minolta SLR, these cameras weren’t given to me until I started this blog. This little toy cam had eventually set me on a path to start this blog.

Dianas are cheaply made plastic cameras that can switch between a square-frame or a half-frame format. They come with a shutter that fires at 1/60th of a second plus blub. The lens is a fixed-focus 24mm dual-aperture 𝑓8 and 𝑓11.

You can pick one up today for just under $100. Or you can shop used from $20-80 (choose the eBay link from the popup). One thing to keep in mind about this camera is that it isn’t nearly as reliable as any of the vintage shooters mentioned in this article. Its build quality is comparable to Kodak Ektar H35N.

Only a few half-frame cameras were made in the past 200 years. This list has almost all the best-known ones. But of course, there are more than ten.

Have I missed any good or notable half-frame cameras in this list? Which one is your favourite? Let me know in the comments!