Konica EE-Matic (1963)

The Konica EE-Matic is a 35mm rangefinder with automatic exposure, introduced in 1963. "EE" stands for "Electric Eye". That's a battery-free selenium meter cell around the lens, and it sets both aperture and shutter speed. Konica was doing point-and-shoot before the term existed. It sold for around $70 new.

Several variants followed the original through 1967. The Deluxe added a self-timer and, from November 1965, a shutter speed indicator in the viewfinder. Then came the Deluxe 2 and the EE-Matic S. The base model's viewfinder does not show the selected shutter speed. A red flag rises instead when light is insufficient. The line also sold under other names. Montgomery Ward marketed versions as the Wards XP 500/500a, and Revue sold it as the Auto-Matic.

The standard lens is a Konica Hexanon. Most sources cite a 40mm f/2.8, though some list 42mm f/2.8. The body is metal, in silver, weighing roughly 513g and measuring 140 x 80 x 66mm. Film speed setting covers ASA 12-400. The metering system needs no battery. There is no built-in flash, just a sync socket.

Lomography described the camera as "deceptively easy," praising the selenium meter as similar to the one found in the Olympus Trip 35. The EE-Matic's automatic exposure made it a genuinely accessible shooter for its era, and it remains a popular restoration project — Tobias Eriksson's 2022 piece on 35mmc documents reviving a non-working EE-Matic 260 alongside an Ilford Sportsman C.

Konica produced seven EE-Matic evolution models between 1963 and 1967, when the series gave way to the C35 line. The EE-Matic S used a dial near the shutter release with a limited set of film speeds: 200, 160, 100, 64, 50, 25, and 10.

Type: 35mm rangefinder, manual focus, auto exposure
Lens: Konica Hexanon, 40mm f/2.8 (some sources: 42mm)
Meter: Selenium cell around lens, no battery
Film speeds: ASA 12–400
Size: 140 × 80 × 66 mm
Weight: 513 g
Original price: approx. $70