[Canon] Demi | February 1963
Demi
The Olympus-Pen, introduced in September 1959, was the first camera in Japan to offer the half-frame format, which doubled the number of exposures on a roll of 35mm film. Canon had also started development of a compact and luxury-looking half-frame camera.
The resulting Canon Demi offered high-performance features in a pocket-size package. These included a direct viewfinder, a 28mm f/2.8 lens (5 elements in 3 groups), and a match-needle selenium exposure meter that used a behind-the-lens light value program for accurate metering. By the time the Demi was released, there were already twelve competing models on the market, but the Demi proved to be popular. "Demi" comes from the French word meaning "half."
- The Demi 2 had front and back covers made of lightweight aluminum instead of brass.
Specifications:
- Type: 35mm Lens Shutter, zone-focusing, half-frame camera
- Picture Size: 24 x 18 mm
- Lens: Canon SH28mm f/2.8 (5 elements in 3 groups)
- Shutter: Seiko-sha L with behind-the-lens light value program. EV 8 (f/2.8, 1/30 sec) to EV 17 (f/22, 1/250 sec.) and X-sync flash.
- Viewfinder: Kepler finder with 0.41x magnification and 90% coverage.
- Focusing: Lens focusing ring to match zone focusing marks. Pictographs for near (1 m), medium (3 m), and far distances (15 m). Focusing range from 0.8 m to 15 m (infinity).
- Exposure Adjustment: Built-in selenium photocell meter with moving needle and program to determine correct exposure with the shutter speed and aperture combination. Metering range of EV 8 – 17 (at ISO 100). Film speed range of ISO 10 – 400.
- Film Loading & Advance: After opening camera back, insertion onto spool. Advances with camera-top lever. (145 single or partial strokes with extra 20 stroke)
- Frame Counter: Counts up. Resets automatically when camera back is opened.
- Film Rewind: Camera-top crank.
- Dimensions & Weight: 115 x 68 x 37mm, 380g.
