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 Canon Demi C is a variant of the original 1963 Canon Demi, distinguished by a **supplementary interchangeable front element system** that allows optional tele and wide conversion lenses to be attached ahead of the fixed 28mm f/2.8 SH lens. It is not a true interchangeable-lens camera in the SLR sense - the base optical assembly is fixed - but Canon marketed supplementary front elements for the C that altered the effective focal length, a system found on a small number of other compact cameras of the era. The underlying camera is otherwise identical to the standard Demi: selenium-coupled program AE (no battery), zone focus, 1/8s to 1/250s leaf shutter with all-speed flash sync, and the same aluminum-alloy body. The Demi C is rare; relatively few were produced compared to the standard Demi, and complete examples with supplementary elements are uncommon in the used market.
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.
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Before you buy used
About this camera
The rarest Demi. Canon's half-frame with a supplementary interchangeable front element system, selenium AE, zone focus.
| Field | Value |
|---|
| Format | 35mm half-frame (18x24 mm) |
| Lens | Canon 28mm f/2.8 SH, fixed; supplementary front elements available |
| Years | |
| Shutter | 1/8s - 1/250s + B, leaf |
| Flash sync | All speeds |
| Meter | Selenium photocell (no battery) |
| Modes | Program AE |
| Focus | Zone (scale on lens barrel) |
| Weight | ~ |
| Battery | None |
Canon introduced the original Demi in 1963, aiming at the Japanese amateur half-frame market that the Olympus Pen series had established. The standard Demi used a fixed 28mm f/2.8 lens; the Demi C added a bayonet or screw fitting at the front of the lens to accept supplementary elements. This was an attempt to address one of the persistent criticisms of fixed-lens compact cameras - no flexibility in focal length - without the complexity and cost of a true interchangeable-mount system. The Demi C appears to have been produced in small numbers and sold primarily in the Japanese domestic market. Its production run duration and exact discontinuation date are not well-documented in available Western sources.
The Canon Demi line evolved through several variants: the standard Demi (1963), Demi C (circa 1963), Demi S (1964, faster lens), and Demi EE17 (1966, CdS meter and faster f/1.7 lens). Canon discontinued the series in the early 1970s as the market shifted toward compact full-frame cameras.
The Demi C occupies a narrow but interesting niche in half-frame history: a battery-free selenium AE half-frame camera with a rudimentary system for varying the effective focal length. In practice, the supplementary front elements were simple optical attachments; image quality at the edges with conversion lenses in place would have been noticeably lower than with the native 28mm configuration.
For collectors, the Demi C's rarity is its primary draw. A complete set - body, standard 28mm configuration, tele supplementary element, and wide supplementary element - is genuinely uncommon. The selenium meter requires no battery, which is a practical advantage. Zone focus and program-only AE keep the handling uncomplicated. Used prices are substantially higher than for the standard Demi, reflecting scarcity rather than optical superiority.
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.
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Kodak Tri-X 400 is a classic black-and-white film known for strong tonality, visible grain, and documentary character.
View profile →Canon Demi C
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