Yashica Half 17 EE Rapid

Half 17 EE Rapid image by Achim Pfennig (Image rights)

The Half 17 EE Rapid is a 35 mm half-frame viewfinder camera made by Yashica in the mid-1960s. It is an improved version of the Half 17 Rapid, which is itself an adaptation of the earlier Half 17 to use Agfa's Rapid film cassettes instead of regular 135 cassettes.

The lens on all three cameras is a 32 mm f/1.7 Yashinon, and all three have a Copal shutter and a selenium light meter. The Half 17 has programmed exposure between 1/30 second at f/1.7 and 1/800 second at f/16. The Half 17 Rapid uses the meter output in a match-needle system in the viewfinder, by which the exposure is controlled according to the same program. The Half 17 EE Rapid has the same straightforward programmed exposure as the original Half 17, without a match-needle system. Like the other two cameras, it also has manual aperture settings for use with flash at a fixed shutter speed of 1/30 second, and a 'B' shutter setting, which automatically sets f/1.7. Thus it has the same exposure features as the original Half 17.

Since Rapid film is wound from one cassette to a second on the uptake side, the camera does not have a rewind crank. Also, a metal tab on the Rapid cassette signals the film speed to the camera, so there is no need for a film speed dial on the camera.

Links

• Half 17 EE Rapid] at Japan Family Camera.