Glass Bodies a variant-level encyclopedia of vintage lenses and cameras by iwillpat

Fujica Half

Fuji · Fixed lens · 18×24 mm on 35mm film · 1963

Also known as: Fujica Half 1.9 · Fujica Drive · フジカ ハーフ · フジカ ドライブ

Variants & identification

Variant Mount Years Serial ranges Production
Fujica Half (1963) Half-frame 1963 — No figure published
Fujica Half 1.9 Half-frame 1964 — No figure published
Fujica Drive (1964) Half-frame 1964 — No figure published
  1. The top speed is 1/300 in Mike Eckman's account and 1/250 in others; the Seikosha-L shutter was marked 1/300 on some Fuji cameras of the period and this entry follows Eckman, who had the camera in hand.
  2. The Half 1.9 is a different lens on the same body. It is here as a variant because it was sold as a trim of the Half and no source read for this page describes it separately; by the strict rule it could stand alone.
  3. Fujifilm's 2025 X half is a digital camera that borrows the idea and the name. The exclusion list keeps it off this page.
How to tell them apart (expand)
  • Shutter speed selector and frame counter on the base of the camera, not the top
  • A five-element Fujinon that every reviewer singles out: sharp and contrasty from f/4, soft at f/2.8 in a way that suits faces

Fujica Half (1963):

  • Fujinon 28mm f/2.8, five elements
  • Seikosha-L shutter, B and 1/30–1/300 (1/250 in some accounts); selenium cell driving shutter-priority automatic exposure with a full manual override — rare for the class
  • Zone focus at P (0.7 m), G (3 m) and ∞ (7.5 m); ASA 12–200

Fujica Half 1.9:

  • An f/1.9 lens in place of the f/2.8 (Mike Eckman)

Fujica Drive (1964):

  • The Half with a spring motor: a large flat winding disc on the base — Mike Eckman's 'small Oreo cookie' — that cocks and advances after each release
  • Under $75 in the United States, about $15 over the Half (Mike Eckman)

Specifications

Format
18×24 mm on 35mm film · 72 exposures
Finder
Direct-vision optical finder · no rangefinder image
Shutter
Seikosha-L leaf · B, 1/30 – 1/300 (Mike Eckman; 1/250 in other accounts)
Film advance
Thumbwheel; spring motor on the Drive
Meter
Selenium, shutter-priority automatic with manual override and meter guidance
Country
Japan

What reviewers say

History

Fuji’s half-frame arrived in 1963 with the best lens in the field. The Fujica Half carries a five-element Fujinon 28mm f/2.8 — Mike Eckman found it approaching full-frame sharpness, and a 2013 review calls it very sharp indeed, contrasty from f/4 and softly flattering wide open — in front of a Seikosha-L shutter from 1/30 to 1/300. Its exposure system is the other thing that sets it apart: a selenium cell drives shutter-priority automation, and unlike nearly every rival the photographer can switch to full manual with the meter still advising. Focus is by three zones, marked P, G and infinity at 0.7, 3 and 7.5 metres. The speed selector and the frame counter sit on the base, where nobody expects them.

A Half 1.9 with a faster lens followed, and in 1964 the Fujica Drive: the same camera with a spring motor and a large flat winding disc on the bottom, which Eckman compares to an Oreo, that cocks the shutter and advances the film after each frame. It cost about fifteen dollars more than the Half and, in his judgement, bought nothing but a knob that snags in coat pockets. No production figure has been published for any of the three. Fujifilm reused the name in 2025 for a digital camera; the two share an idea and nothing else.

Expand Collapse

This history is AI-written, from the sources listed at the foot of the page. Where the record is silent it says so rather than filling the gap — but no human wrote these sentences.

Example photos

Sample photo wanted — shot with a Fujica Half? We'd love to feature it (with credit).

Live listings

Asking price, USD: a median of $87 across 10 fixed-price listings on 2026-10-19 (middle half $80–$100). Tracked since 2026-09-06, 10 days: down 13% from $100.

By day
DateMedianMiddle halfListings
2026-10-19$87$80–$10010
2026-10-18$87$80–$10010
2026-10-17$87$80–$10010
2026-10-16$87$80–$10010
2026-10-15$90$80–$10011
2026-09-21$100$85–$18011
2026-09-18$100$85–$16014
2026-09-09$100$71–$10012
2026-09-08$100$71–$10013
2026-09-06$100$71–$10013

Asking prices from the listings scanned, not sales; junk-flagged rows and auction lots excluded; other currencies are not converted.

Buying from Yahoo! Auctions outside Japan. It is a domestic marketplace: sellers ship within Japan, and most will not register an overseas buyer. A proxy service bids on your behalf, receives the item and forwards it, for a fee and a wait. Buyee, Jauce and ZenMarket each accept a Yahoo auction number directly. Listed alphabetically for information — none is recommended over another, and none of these is an affiliate link.

Listings updated 2026-10-19. Links go to the shop or marketplace that carries the item.

Related: Agfa Parat · Canon Demi · Minolta Repo

Sources (3)

Every page here is assembled from public sources, and the gaps are real ones. If you own this camera, know a serial number I'm missing, or can see where I have it wrong, tell me — corrections, serials and sample photos are all worth having.