One of the smallest 35mm film cameras ever made, the Fujica Mini is a half-frame camera like no other. It has some awesome design aspects that set it apart from other half-frame cameras and an interesting history to follow.
What is the Fujica Mini?
The Fujica Mini is a half-frame 35mm film camera made in September 1964. If you don't know what a half-frame film camera is, don't worry - we will go into this later in the article.
The Fujica Mini camera has a built-in light meter that is powered by a selenium cell. This is the same thing that powers the Olympus Trip and Olympus Pen EE cameras.
The camera also has fixed shutter speed and fixed focus, but this does not stop it from producing some super sharp images.
The only setting you can adjust is your aperture. This is done by moving the ring around the lens. This makes using the Fujica Mini super quick and easy.
What makes the Fujica Mini special?
There are several things that set the Fujica Mini apart from the crowd of point and shoot film cameras.
Firstly, it is one of the most compact 35mm film camera ever made. It quite literally fits in the palm of your hand. The clever design by Fuji means that the camera is not much taller than a 35mm film canister, and the half-frame image size means it is not as long as most other 35mm film cameras.
Secondly, the camera features some cool design aspects. For example, one side of the camera is rounded and the other side is square. As well as this, your winding mechanism and rewinding mechanisms don't protrude from the camera as seen on so many other 35mm film point and shoots.
Thirdly, it has a cool history. The unique design aspects wasn't just Fuji's way of having fun. This camera was designed for the fashionable women of the 1960s. Not only can the camera fit in a handbag or pocket, it is also super stylish and some models feature a chrome frontage.
What is a half-frame camera?
Half-frame film cameras are a really simple concept; they create an image on one half of the frame at a time. Normal full-frame film cameras create an image across the entire frame that measures 36mm by 24mm, whereas a half-frame will create two images on one frame that each measure 18mm by 24mm.
You can read more about half-frame film cameras here.
Where can I find Fujica Mini sample photos?
Seeing the results of a camera is what really makes it stick in your mind. Lomography have a great resource of Fujica Mini sample images taken by photographers from around the globe.
What other half-frame film cameras are there?
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Article written by: Max
Max is the owner of Cameras By Max. They work full-time repairing and refurbishing all the 35mm film cameras you see on the website. Their favourite camera (at the moment) is the Olympus XA, and their favourite city in the world is Edinburgh.