C41
Kodak Portra 400
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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compact-35mm
The Konica EE Matic (1963) is a programmed-AE 35mm compact built around a fixed Hexanon 40mm f/2.8 lens and a selenium photocell that fully automates exposure without a battery. The "EE" designation stood for Electric Eye, referring to the selenium metering cell that drives shutter and aperture selection via a coupled program. Zone focusing via a scale on the lens barrel was the only user input required for shooting. The camera was aimed at the growing Japanese and export amateur market that wanted simplicity without sacrificing Konica's optical heritage.
Reference
Recommended film stocks for the 35mm format your camera takes.
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 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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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.
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Before you buy used
About this camera
Konica's 1963 entry into fully automatic exposure - point, focus by zone, shoot.
| Field | Value |
|---|
| Format | 35mm |
| Lens | Hexanon 40mm f/2.8 (fixed) |
| Years | 1963 |
| Shutter | Programmed auto leaf, up to ~1/500s |
| Meter | Selenium (battery-free) |
| Modes | Program (full auto) |
| Finder | Direct-vision optical |
| Focus | Zone (scale focus) |
| Battery | None required |
By the early 1960s Japanese camera makers were racing to offer fully automatic exposure to the mass market. Konica's response was the EE Matic, which arrived in 1963 as the most stripped-back automatic body the company had produced to date. The selenium cell required no battery, which was a meaningful advantage in an era when battery-dependent cameras could fail in cold weather or when cells were unavailable. A Deluxe variant followed with a faster lens and additional features. The EE Matic line fed into the later C35 family, which refined the formula substantially through the late 1960s and 1970s.
The EE Matic is significant as an early marker of Konica's shift from rangefinder-centric bodies toward the mass-market compact format that would culminate in the C35 and, eventually, the Big Mini. The use of a selenium cell rather than a CdS cell (which required a battery) gave it a long operational life - selenium cells frequently still function after sixty years. For historians of Japanese photographic industry development, the EE Matic sits at the inflection point where Konica began designing for breadth of market rather than precision-tool buyers.
The Hexanon 40mm f/2.8 on this body is a modest but competent design that benefits from Konica's strong optical manufacturing base of the period.
C41
Kodak ColorPlus 200 is an affordable, consumer-oriented daylight-balanced color negative film at ISO 200. Known for warm, slightly muted color rendition, fine grain, and wide exposure latitude, it is currently in production and widely available in Asia and select global markets.
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Kodak Tri-X 400 is a classic black-and-white film known for strong tonality, visible grain, and documentary character.
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