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

Canon Demi EE17

Canon · Fixed lens · 18×24 mm on 35mm film · 1964

Also known as: Canon Demi S · Canon Demi Rapid · Canon Demi EE-17 · キヤノン デミ EE17 · デミS

Variants & identification

Variant Mount Years Serial ranges Production
Demi S (September 1964) Half-frame 1964 — No figure published
Demi Rapid (June 1965) Half-frame 1965 — No figure published
Demi EE17 (May 1966) Half-frame 1966 — No figure published
  1. The 30mm f/1.7 is the reason these three are a page apart from the Demi: a six-element design where the Demi's is five, a stop and a third faster, in a body 65 g heavier. Canon's museum calls the EE17 'the half-frame version of the Canon Demi Rapid and the top-of-the-line Demi'.
  2. No production figure exists for any Demi. Canon's museum gives dates and prices and nothing more.
How to tell them apart (expand)
  • A Demi body with a visibly larger lens: 30mm f/1.7 where the other Demis carry a 28mm f/2.8
  • The photographer sets the speed and the camera sets the aperture — shutter priority, where the 28mm Demis couple the two

Demi S (September 1964):

  • Canon 30mm f/1.7 in a Seiko shutter, 1/8–1/500 and B; shutter-priority automatic exposure from a selenium cell (camera-wiki)

Demi Rapid (June 1965):

  • A Demi S with the Agfa Rapid cassette system, a battery-driven CdS meter and a self-timer

Demi EE17 (May 1966):

  • SH 30mm f/1.7, six elements in four groups — the Demi Rapid's specification on an ordinary 35mm cassette
  • CdS shutter-priority EE, EV 4.5–17, ASA 25–400; Seiko-sha 1/8–1/500 and B, self-timer, X sync
  • Reversed Galilean finder with projected frames, 0.45×, 90%; 117 × 71 × 48 mm, 445 g; 15,800 yen

Specifications

Format
18×24 mm on 35mm film · 72 exposures
Finder
Reversed Galilean with projected frames, meter needle and aperture scale (EE17), 0.45×, 90% · 0.45× magnification · 90% coverage · no rangefinder image
Shutter
Seiko / Seiko-sha leaf · 1/8 – 1/500 and B · flash sync X · self-timer
Film advance
Thumbwheel
Meter
Selenium on the Demi S; CdS on the Demi Rapid and EE17, driving shutter-priority automatic exposure
Weight
445 g
Dimensions
117 × 71 × 48 mm
Country
Japan

What reviewers say

No reviews aggregated yet — this family is still in the research queue. Written one? We'd love to index it.

History

A year and a half after the Demi, Canon gave it a faster lens and let the photographer choose the shutter speed. The Demi S of September 1964 carries a 30mm f/1.7 and a Seiko shutter from 1/8 to 1/500, with automatic exposure that sets the aperture once the speed is chosen — shutter priority, where the first Demi coupled the two into fixed pairs. The Demi Rapid of 1965 added a CdS meter and a self-timer to a body built for Agfa’s Rapid cassette, a format that did not last; the Demi EE17 of May 1966 is, in Canon’s own words, the half-frame version of the Demi Rapid — the same six-element f/1.7, the same CdS shutter-priority exposure from EV 4.5 to 17, on an ordinary 35mm cassette, at 15,800 yen and 445 grams.

That lens is why these three have a page of their own. The other Demis carry Canon’s 28mm f/2.8, five elements; this is a different design, a stop and a third faster, and the top of the line. No production figure has ever been published for any Demi, and no full review of the S or the EE17 was found for this entry — the Demi reviews that exist are of the 28mm cameras.

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 Canon Demi EE17? We'd love to feature it (with credit).

Live listings

Asking price, USD: a median of $180 across 99 fixed-price listings on 2026-09-09 (middle half $130–$220). Tracked since 2026-09-06, 2 days: unchanged from $180.

By day
DateMedianMiddle halfListings
2026-09-09$180$130–$22099
2026-09-06$180$130–$220100

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

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Listings updated 2026-09-09. Links go to the shop or marketplace that carries the item.

Related: Canon Demi · Canon Dial 35

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.