I remember owning and using a Kodak Pony 135 in the 1950's. It
was a fully manual 35mm camera and I either had to guess the
focussing distance or use an external rangefinder. I used the
sunny 16 rule for exposure extensively back in those days.
Len
---
- Original Message -
From: "Joe Wilensky" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
To: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Sent: Monday, January 14, 2002 1:50 PM
Subject: Was: Old slides ... Now: The 126 Instamatic
> Has anyone ever read "Glass, Brass & Chrome: The American 35mm
> Miniature Camera" by Kalton C. Lahue and Joseph A. Bailey?
>
> It lovingly and technically traces the American 35mm camera
industry,
> framing it in perspective with Leica and Contax, telling the
story of
> Argus, Univex, Perfex, Kodak, and more, and closing with what
they
> were sure was the imminent demise of the 35mm format. The
copyright
> date? 1972, by the University of Oklahoma Press.
>
> Here's what their perspective was as they put this book
together in
> the late '60s and early '70s:
>
> Engineering design of the Kodak Instamatic, under the name
Project
> 13, was completed in 1961, with production beginning in 1962.
It was
> probably Kodak's best-kept secret of the century; few even
within
> Kodak were aware of its existence.
>
> The Kodak Instamatic, while not a genuine scientific or
technological
> breakthrough, was a masterful example of engineering ingenuity
and
> packaging (even the cheapest Instamatic camera was fitted with
an
> f/3.5 plastic lens, which was physically and permanently
stopped down
> to f/11 or f/16 for better definition, a practice the Ansco
Memo had
> used in the '30s.
>
> The cartridge, known briefly as the Kodapak, was made of a
special
> polystyrene stable enough to hold the film flat (or reasonably
so, I
> guess), but it was also inexpensive enough for mass
production.
>
> Designers decided on a square format to utilize the full
covering
> power of a lens with a short focal length, which allowed the
camera
> to be slimmer wtihout the need for a collapsible front.
>
> Within the first two years of the Instamatic's introduction,
more
> than 7.5 million cameras were sold (in seven models) -- almost
half
> of which were sold overseas.
>
> Surveys at the time showed that while owners of other cameras
used an
> average of four rolls a year, Instamatic users used eight
rolls.
> Kodak sold 50 million cartridges of film in the first 21
months after
> the format's introduction -- which, of course, was the primary
goal
> it set to achieve: increased film sales.
>
> The introduction of the Kodak 126 Instamatic cartridge was
> devastating to the Japanese photographic industry, which only
> survived by forming a cartel to restrict production during
1965-66.
>
> The high-end Kodak Instamatic X-90, featuring an Ektar f/2.8
lens and
> some sort of exposure computer that allowed for nearly program
> exposure, alone outsold all the rest of the world's "quality
> rangefinders" combined.
>
> Kodak's Instamatic Reflex, which was manufactured in Germany
by Kodak
> A.G., replaced the famed Retina line.
>
> No American manufacturer produced a camera using 35mm film at
the time.
>
> Within four years after its introduction, the Instamatic had
cut
> total 35mm sales nearly in half, from 600,000 to 325,000. "And
while
> 1971 sales figures showed the 35mm camera holding its own, it
stands
> no chance of ever catching up to its brother with the plastic
> cartridge," the authors boldly stated. "The 35mm cameras once
> manufactured in America died and are now half-forgotten, but
the
> rectangular negative took on new life in a square shape and is
firmly
> established today as the format of the future."
>
> Without automation, acrylic-lens technology, and Yankee
ingenuity,
> there would probably be no American camera industry today, the
> authors said.
>
>
> Any comments? This is at least partially on topic, as Asahi
certainly
> was affected by the 126 format's popularity, as were all
Japanese
> manufacturers.
>
> And they do have at least one Pentax mention: In a photo (the
small
> book is very nicely illustrated) showing the Exakta, the Asahi
> Pentax, the Alpa Alnea, and the Edixa Reflex, the caption
states:
> "Four reasons for the decline of quality American cameras are
these
> products produced by foreign manufacturers in the 1950s. Left
to
> right: The dated but popular Exakta, the Asahi Pentax (later
to
> become the very popular Honeywell Pentax) ..."
>
> Joe
>
> >I had no idea anyone ever offered any kind of quality cameras
for 126; all
> >I ever saw were thos Instamatics. That's why I was surp
