Want to Buy WTB - Canon Demi (working)

[John Austin]

WTB a functional Canon Demi single frame/half frame camera

The half frame thread has got me thinking about fun projects with cheap and nasty film

John

 

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[teleugeot]

Hey, I've got an Olympus PEN EES-2 half-frame if you're interested. It works perfectly and is in super-good condition!

 

[BrianL]

The problem with the Demi is the spring wound advance drive system. The spring is easy to break. I'd opt for an Olympus but make sure if it a selenium metered version the meter is accurate as they are at an age when many of the cells are out of spec. Quality Light Metric can repair the metering.

 

[John Austin]

Thanks for the advice and PM sent - My 10x8" work is very serious, so a fun project running in tandem with the two LF projects should keep me relaxed

I have already added a couple of drawings for fun 1/2 frame images in my planned 10x8" to large print Naked Portrait exhibition to give a bit of levity to the show - There is too much seriousness in photography these days, actually there always has been

 

[John Austin]

The problem with the Demi is the spring wound advance drive system. The spring is easy to break. I'd opt for an Olympus but make sure if it a selenium metered version the meter is accurate as they are at an age when many of the cells are out of spec. Quality Light Metric can repair the metering.

Hello Brian,

Are you sure you are not confusing the Canon Demi with the Canon Dial, which was a wierd looking thing with a handle/winding knob on the bottom and a set of different film speed apertures around the lens?

I think the Canon Demi is a simple thumb driven camera

John

 

[Newt_on_Swings]

Yes the canon/bell&howell dial is the one that is spring driven. The Demi comes in a few variants. The higher end models are the Demi s and ee17 which both have the same f1.7 lens though their light meters differ. The others are f2.8 and there was one body that allowed interchangeable lenses, but there were only 2 that were made to fit.

I have a demi s. It's a very simplistic hand wound camera, zone focus, but it retains all manual apertures and shutter speeds. They are coupled together only at the extremes of the exposure range depending on the GN you set so not a big deal. Single stroke.

They are not difficult to fix if you take a chance on one through auction. I fixed mine that arrived covered in mold, with a stuck shutter button, and frozen shutter blades. There is a bit of info online for them as the demi's are fairly popular.

 

[BrianL]

Yep, I did confuse them. I went through 2 of the Dials 1 ebibg the Bell & Howell and the other the Canon. Neither's spring wind lasted very long and I then found the Konica slr and never looked back. As for the comment as to cost, the cost was the result of lack of film availability in Japan. By the mid '60s the issue was dead and lie the slide rule going up against the calculator, 1/2 frame cameras quickly hit the closest shelves. Konica was about the last still trying to market the format and I think the AA-35 may be one of the last but not sure as I did not follow the market that closely but, have not come across another 1/2 with the same level of electronics.