NEW LIFE FOR OLD KODAK CAMERAS CAMERABLOG #1

 Post by Judy@Gallery21



         "The virtue of the camera is not the power it has to transform the photographer into an artist, but
           the impulse it gives him to keep on looking"    Brooke Atkinson, American Journalist and Critic

Throughout my life, there has always been a camera in our family and some of my future Blogs will feature the wonderful cameras (old and new) which are still very much a part of my life today.

The oldest camera is a Kodak Rainbow Hawkeye No 2 Model C brown box camera made in England which I inherited and which has been in my family ever since I can remember.  It was given to my father when he was a child and over many decades it recorded precious memories, which are still available in albums for our family and friends to enjoy. 

When released on the market from 1930 – 1933, this camera was available in blue, brown, green, maroon and vermilion and the 120 film it uses is still available today.  It has a single speed rotary shutter, a Meniscus lens and a cardboard body covered in leatherette. 

My very first camera was this Kodak Instamatic 25 Camera made in England and it took a great photo.  My parents bought it for me as a child, and I still continue to enjoy the many holiday snaps and wonderful memories recorded over the years. 

  

The Instamatic 25 is a viewfinder camera for Kodapak film cartridges and was made from 1966 to 1972 by Kodak Ltd England and Kodak Spain, to a design by Kenneth Grange, a British industrial designer.  (Just digressing for a moment - he was also responsible for designing a number of cameras for Kodak Ltd, as well as many other well known products such as the Kenwood Chef food mixer, the first UK parking meters, razors for Wilkinson Sword, and the Parker 25 pen).  

Compared to the sophisticated cameras of today, the Instamatic 25 was uncomplicated and simple to use.  It has a two-speed shutter and uses a 126 film, which is no longer available.  Its speed selector can be shifted from the sun symbol (1/90 sec.) to the half-sun symbol (1/40 sec.). The Kodak 1:11/43mm lens is fixed focus and fixed aperture.  The viewfinder is of reverse Galilean type. The flash shoe is for Kodalux bulb flashes.

These cameras now form part of a permanent collection exhibited in Gallery 21 the photographic art gallery I co-own and they regularly attract visitor comment and interest.