Kodak KE40

The Kodak KE40 is a 35mm fixed-focus compact camera, the kind of point-and-shoot Kodak made in volume for casual snapshooters. It is not a glamorous or historically significant model, and the record shows it: no production years, no original retail price, no dimensions. What survives is a modest pile of owner's manuals and marketplace listings, mostly in Russian and Portuguese, which tells you where these cameras ended up.

The manuals and listings agree on the basics. The KE40 uses a 29mm f/5.6 EKTANAR lens, fixed-focus, with a reverse-Galilean viewfinder. The built-in KODAK SENSALITE™ flash has automatic, forced, and off modes, and it powers down automatically to save the batteries (2× AA). The camera reads DX-coded film automatically, has a mechanical frame counter, and uses Kodak's EasyLoad drop-in film loading system. That's the "easy" in the full product name, "Kodak camera 35 KE 40 easyload." The body is compact and lightweight, with simple controls, and it complies with part 15 of the FCC Rules. One manual notes that if the camera has a date-back, you'll need to reset it after changing batteries.

Surviving examples show real use. One owner in Minsk shot Kodak Color Plus 200 through a KE40, and another in Rhodes, Greece used it with Kodak 200 film. The lens specs match what you'd expect from a budget fixed-focus compact of its era - sharp enough in good light, nothing more. Market prices are modest. Russian listings show the KE40 selling for 600 to 2,546 ₽ (roughly $7 - $28 USD), often with a strap and batteries included. One combined lot bundled the KE40 with a "Sunpet" and two other cameras for 1,250 ₽. An eBay listing offers a tested example with film included, described as suitable for outdoor field photography.

Some sources describe the similar Kodak KE50 as a "compact digital camera." That appears to be an error. The KE40 is consistently documented elsewhere as a 35mm film camera, and the KE50's own manual (27 pages, same as the KE40's) suggests a film point-and-shoot as well. Treat the "digital" description as a mistake.

Known specs:

Film format: 35mm, EasyLoad drop-in loading
Lens: 29mm f/5.6 EKTANAR, fixed focus
Viewfinder: reverse-Galilean
Flash: KODAK SENSALITE™, auto/forced/off, automatic power-down
DX-code reading: automatic
Frame counter: mechanical
Battery: 2× AA

No production years, original pricing, dimensions, shutter speed range, or country of manufacture are documented. If you own one and know more, the archive would welcome the details.