Hey Y'all! Hope your week is going well. This week I want to review yet another film camera that I have picked up. It's a half frame camera that shoots twice the shots that a normal 35mm camera shoots. It's the Canon Demi EE17. This camera came out in 1966 as a response to all of the success that Olympus had with their half frame cameras the Penn line from the 1950's into the 60's. Canon had some other Demi models prior to this one but this was the last one I believe.  This is a sleek modern looking camera for the 1960's not as boxy as some camera's in this era. It shoots 35mm film but shoots photo's at half the size of a
normal 35mm negative giving you more exposures over 35mm cameras. If you follow me you know I wrote a blog on the buying process of this camera and in this blog I want to go over the specs of the camera . Half frame cameras have become more popular the last couple of years due to the price of film and processing. So much so the camera's that have been made in the last couple of years have been half frame from cheap plastic cameras to a new real camera from Pentax. Pentax's camera is the first real camera to be manufactured in decades proof that film is not dead.

Film: This camera uses 35mm film. Normal negatives are 36mm X 24mm this camera shoots 18mm X 24mm giving you twice the shots. So a 36 exposure roll now shoots 72 shots. Resolution can be a problem with grainer shots. But from what I've read that for social media and prints up to 8 X 10 come out just fine. I'll let you know.

Viewfinder: The viewfinder is Portrait oriented. Much like most of us use our cell phones to take a shot. To take a landscape oriented shot you must rotate the camera just the opposite of most cameras. Inside the viewfinder is the meter readings and focusing distance.

Focusing: To me this will be the biggest challenge while using the camera. This is not a SLR or a Rangefinder it uses zone focusing. You have to guesstimate the distance you are shooting and then put the lens to that distance focusing. I have an olympus camera that does this and surprisingly you get pretty sharp photo's most of the time but trying to shoot wide open at a close subject will be a challenge.

Lens: The lens is a Canon F/1.7 lens. I have been very impressed with Canon's film lenses and maybe that is why I'm buying a lot of Canon film cameras. This camera makes my 4th Canon film camera.

Exposure: This camera does have a built in meter which will allow you to shoot in Shutter priority. In the mid 1960's mercury batteries were the norm. The meter uses a 1.3 volt mercury battery that you can't get anymore. In my Canonet I have the same situation but I use a 1.5 alkaline battery. Which works but is not as accurate as with the mercury battery.
If I have problems with this there are ways around this . First I could use an external meter which will work fine. There is also a regulator that you can get that drops the voltage from 1.5 to 1.3 volts if necessary. 

Self Timer: This camera does have a self timer but with all vintage cameras self timers seem to be the weak link and you are advised not to use them because if they break usually your camera becomes inoperative.

One thing I like about this little camera is that you don't need a battery to shoot it! You can shoot it manually and use a meter or the sunny 16 rule. So where will this fall in my film camera arsenal ? This camera will become my go with me anywhere film camera. Even if I go on a digital shoot like a wildlife shoot I can take this little camera with me and still get some film shots. If I go on film shoots with my Canon AE-1 35mm or my Bronica ETR SI medium format this will be a great backup and fun camera to use.  Is this the best film camera in my collection?  No but it might become the funnest one to shoot not worrying about how many shots I take. I think it will become a good travel companion. If I want super sharp clinical photographs I can always shoot digital but for feel and mood I shoot film. So until next week get out and shoot!

Update: I have put a couple of rolls of film through this little camera and I'm really liking the camera. The lens and the zone focusing has been going great and I might only have maybe 1 or 2 out of focus in a roll. The meter is working great and pretty accurate. I haven't had any out of exposure shots yet. I am shooting Shutter priority which makes this camera very fun to shoot. Its small but solid feel is great. It is fast becoming my favorite film camera. I included a couple of diptychs in the blog that I took and scanned. I like trying to tell a story with the diptychs. Cheers!