The Utility Falcon Model F

 

Staying within the realm of unusual cameras, this post will be looking at the Falcon Model F. This is one of the more interesting and, in my opinion, the classiest looking cameras in this online museum.

First, I will go over the company responsible for this eye catching beauty. There isn’t very much on the company, but here is what I could find: Falcon cameras were produced by the Utility MFG co. in New York, it was founded in 1934 (Ozcamera) and was the fourth biggest camera company (Clayman 2020). The company was independent up until 1941 (Journal Editor 2022) when it was bought out by Spartus Corp (Ozcamera). The Founder, according to Ozcamera was Charles Fischberg, who was also “prominent in the Herbert George, Birdseye, and Imperial companies.” 

According to Clayman (2020), the body moulds that Falcon cameras used were created and patented by Jack Galter, although Utility weren’t the only ones using his patents. As Clayman (2020) writes: “There was truly no rhyme or reason as to which mini camera molds (sic) received which branding. Two people could buy the exact same camera type, made in the same Lake Street factory, and one would say it was a ‘Candex’ made by the ‘General Products Co.,’ while another would call itself a 'Remington' made by ‘DeLuxe Products Co.’ For added confusion, at some point near the start of World War II, Galter seemingly absorbed what was then the fourth largest camera manufacturer in the country, New York’s Utility Manufacturing Company. Known for its ‘Falcon’ brand, Utility had been using some of Jack Galter’s rangefinder camera patents from 1938-1940.”

1939 Camera Mould Patent of J. Galter. Image Source: https://www.madeinchicagomuseum.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/848e7d_dffaab61ea9148feaa7f386a37fee151mv2-768x785.png

Clayman (2021) also wrote that:

“Interestingly, Galter had actually accused Utility MFG of unfair trade practices in 1939, when the New Yorkers tried to sell their version of his identical mini-cams on Illinois turf.”

This lead to Galter acquiring the Utility company and merging it with his Spartus corp., which already had a three brand names they were using to sell cameras. These were Galter, Monarch and Spartus, and now “by the early ’40s, the Utility MFG Co. was just another subsidiary of Galter’s Spartus empire.” (Clayman 2020)

Why so many brand and subsidiaries? Well: “By stockpiling loads of brand names, the goal, perhaps, was to create the illusion of variety in the marketplace. When you’re selling a cheap product, it’s also sometimes wise to give it many names, thus making it harder for a bad reputation to stick.”  (Clayman 2020)

It is unclear if Galter got Utility by winning the law suit or a ruthless buy out (Clayman 2020). Clayman (2021) brings up some interesting questions: “Did he sue them into submission and buy them out, moving their manufacturing to Chicago? Had Utility’s cameras been made in Chicago all along anyway? Had the two companies given up their feud and worked out a mutually beneficial distribution deal? Or did Jack Galter simply start stealing the Falcon and Utility names outright, out of spite?”

Galter took this even one step further, and like the New Taiwan Photographic corp. (see  Sounex YN-9000 Re-usable Camera), started using other brand names without the companies knowledge in an attempt to trick the buyers that they were getting a camera from a well-known brand and some of these brands weren’t even in the camera business! This lead to a lawsuit against Spurtus corp. in 1941. This was done by Elgin, Remington and Underwood, who Pointed out to Galter that: “the principle of ‘trademark dilution,’ the concept that ‘the uniqueness of a trade-mark may be impaired as a result of trademark use by others of the same mark on totally unrelated goods.’” (Clayman 2020)

Galter kept doing this, because he didn’t have that much invested in those cameras to worry if they were shut down. The only thing he did do was try to avoid any brand names that would immediately land him in hot water or he tried to legally trademark items using well-known brands, such as trying to acquire the Kodak name to put on a lighter, which was rejected in 1953 (Clayman 2020).

Later Galter left the camera business and went into real estate and sold Spartus corp., (Wikipedia) which was bought by Harold Rubin “a former sales manager for Spartus Camera who purchased that company in 1956. Herold Products was in a death struggle with Eastman Kodak, who completely dominated the consumer photography market. They employed several interesting marketing techniques to try to steal market share from Kodak: 1) they sold a complete outfit – Kodak often sold camera, film, flash attachment, bulbs, etc., as separate items; 2) they very effectively imitated Kodak’s packaging – as you can see from the yellow, black and red colours and even similar fonts to those used by their competitors; 3) they offered free film for one year after purchase, provided the owner used their development service, at a cost of $1.00 for ‘jumbo sized prints.’ I find the history of this competition fascinating, particularly in the days before the entry of Japanese and German makers into the fray. There were many other small companies in the camera business from around 1915 through the 1960’s. After that, even Kodak ceased to be a force among serious photographers, except in the photo paper and film business, which they dominated until the bitter end.” (Kennedy 2009)

Rubin changed the Spartus corp company name to Harold Products co. (Clayman 2020) and then by the 1960s to Harold MFG co. and then back to Spartus Corporation (Historic Camera 2022) because he saw the “greater marketing power of the Spartus brand name…” and later “Spartus apparently acquired the Falcon Camera line at some point. Early Falcons are marked ‘Utility Mfg, New York’, whereas later ones display the name ‘Falcon Camera Company, Chicago, Ill’…” (Kennedy 2009).

Then by the 1970s Spartus bought Kidde and Co., which was then bought by the U.S. army taking Spartus and Utility with it and by 1993 moved to China, but eventually went back home to Florida in 2001, when the state acquired the Spartus trademark (Wikipedia).

Now for a quick look at the history of the Falcon camera range. It appears that the Utility company’s first camera (according to CollectiBlend 2024) the earliest cameras released were in 1933 is the Utility MFG Falcon Midget 16. It also appears that most if not all of Falcon cameras used 127 film, thus classifying them as “mini-cams” (Kennedy 2009).

Falcon made many different types of mini-cams, from the box cameras like the one above or even the Utility MFG: Falcon Junior 16, 1934 (CollectiBlend 2024), to folding cameras like the Utility MFG Falcon Model V16, 1935, (CollectiBlend 2024), but it seems that the most popular is the Falcon cameras are the ones that used the Bakelite body, such as the Falcon Minette 1935, the Falcon Miniature 1938 and of course the Falcon Model F (Collectiblend 2024).

Falcon Junior 16. Image Source: https://collectiblend.com/Cameras/images/Utility-MFG-Falcon-Midget-16.jpg

Falcon Model V16. Image Source: https://collectiblend.com/Cameras/images/Utility-MFG-Falcon-Model-V16.jpg

Falcon Minette. Image Source: https://collectiblend.com/Cameras/images/Utility-MFG-Falcon-Minette.jpg

Falcon Miniature. Image Source: https://collectiblend.com/Cameras/images/Utility-MFG-Falcon-Miniature.jpg

According to Clayman (2021), Utility and Spartus seemed to have worked together on the Bakelite cameras, as it was a cheap and easy mould, that Galter was familiar with and possibly Patented under his name, but it was when Utility tried to sell similar cameras without Spartus’ permission.

This lead to as Kennedy (2009) writes: “virtually identical Spartus and Falcon branded cameras were marketed to the same demographic. To make things more complicated, there were several other companies in Chicago and New York, who produced a number of surprisingly similar cameras under various labels…” and that “’minicams’ were nearly identical in design, and several differ only in the name on the metal faceplate, yet they are labelled as having been manufactured by different companies. What they all have in common is a black or brown body made of cast plastic, usually Bakelite or a similar material.”

Kennedy (2009) also goes on to explain the mini-cams popularity:

“…they were small and pocketable, easy to operate, and they created either 12 or 16 exposures on a roll of #127 film.  They were even more popular when 127 slide film came around, allowing them to produce “superslides” as large as 1-5/8″ x 2-1/2″.   They have become a popular collectible because of the plethora of models available, and peripherally because most of them are made of Bakelite.”

What is Bakelite? Well it was invented in 1907 by Leo Hendrick Baekeland (Art Deco Cameras 2020) and is a synthetic plastic that has the “common feature with all these materials is that they are formed by a condensation reaction of phenol with formaldehyde resulting in a thermosetting resin which is then mixed with a variety of filler materials and cured. Due to the range of fillers available, there are several varieties of Bakelite’s on the market each with their own unique properties. Generally though, all types and styles have good mechanical strength are resistant to elevated temperatures and provide good insulation against electrical current…” (Associated Gaskets 2022).

Now for the object of this post, the Falcon Model F or Falcon Super-Action Candid, model GE, simple shutter version (Wikipedia). This camera was manufactured in 1938 (Journal Editor 2022).

 

What is interesting is that it appears that this camera came in three variations: the Falcon Super-Action Candid, model GE, simple shutter version (this camera), the Falcon Super-Action Candid, model F, fast shutter version and the Falcon Special FE model (Wikipedia).

Falcon Super-Action Candid, model F, Fast Shutter Version. Image Source: https://farm2.static.flickr.com/1403/912231516_812e7f17ab.jpg

Falcon Special FE model. Image Source: https://farm6.staticflickr.com/5211/5456617707_3ec625c024.jpg

They are all the same with the only differences being that the fast shutter version came with an extra 1/200 shutter speed and the special came with this as well as a extinction meter.

But, none the less this Model F (the GE variant) is still amazing looking and will get the job done. First we will be looking at is the Lens.

It is a Wollensak Velostigmat 2-inch f/4.5, helical metal cast mount lens. Let’s break it down: Wollensak refers to the company in Rochester U.S.A. and they have quite a history which you can learn about here:

https://alphaxbetax.com/wollensak-timeline/

Velostigmat is the type of lens used and is in simple terms a:

“Tessar formula lens introduced about 1909 and were manufactured until just after WWII. There are three lens elements of which one consists of two glasses glued together according to the Tessar patent. It is sharp and seems has a diffusion attachment for soft focus which is used especially in portrait photography. The optics are for 5 x 7 and 5 x 8 negative plates. The lens is fast and modern. Today’s lenses are no faster.” (Child 2019)

For a deeper understanding on this, check out Sawyer’s article:

https://www.wphsociety.org/post/the-wollensak-velostigmat-series-ii 

The Helical Mount refers to the fact that this lens uses tubes that extents the lens and transforms it into a macro lens. This extension is located between the camera body and the lens, acting as a spacer and allows the user to change the minimum focus distance or MFD (Cushing 2024), this mechanism is found in most manually focus adjustable cameras, like the Minolta 110 Zoom SLR film camera and the Olympus OM30 Film Camera .

This helical mount is found on the outer ring of the lens and has a focusing distance of 4-25 feet plus infinity and “the focus locks at every distance mark on the focusing ring. To change the distance, it was necessary to hold down the chrome button on the side of the lens mount…” (Journal Editor 2022). 

This lens, although cool looking with a deco/steampunk aesthetic, does have the drawback of being very front heavy and thus cannot stand on its own. But luckily it has a retractable foot (Journal Editor 2022) or as I call it a kick stand on the bottom of the lens, but unfortunately this kick stand only holds the camera up when the helical lens is fully retracted and stops working as intended when the lens is extended, which in that case the user should use the tripod mount under the camera.

Back to the lens. At the top of the lens is the shutter speed settings.

This camera has a Deltax shutter, which is a self-cocking shutter that was eventually replaced by the Ultro shutter (Alpha Betax 2024). It is similar to the Gammax and Betax shutters in that they are “automatic in operation and can be released either with the wire release, or bulb and hose” and use shutter blades and leaves. They are also “gearless, pumpless retarding mechanism which is simple in construction and positive in action assuring accurate and unvarying speeds…” (Wollensak Optical Co.).

The shutter speed can be switched between 1/25, 50 and 100 second. The other two settings B and T is used for longer exposures. B stands for bulb and is used with a flash and keeps the shutter open for as long as the user is pressing down on the shutter release and T is time. It can also be used with a flash and does the same as B, except the user doesn’t have to hold the shutter release down, instead the user can press the release once and the shutter will remain close until the shutter release is pressed again to close it.

The Shutter release can be found on the side of the lens.

 Under the release is the release cord socket.

Then there is the F/stop setting, found on the bottom of the lens. The camera can be switched between the settings of 4.5, 5.6, 8, 11, 16 and 22 and like the Agfa Billy Record 7.7 Pocket Camera, the aperture petals are behind the shutter.

On the top of the camera…

Is a knob that is the film advance knob, which means that this camera transports film from right to left.

Next to that is the “eye level optical viewfinder” (Journal Editor 2022), which is small, but it is at least close enough to the lens to get as close to the lens’ P.O.V. as possible.

Next to that is the cold shoe plate, meaning that the flash or any other attachment will need a separate power source because there is no electrical contact.

Next to that is a “hook” that holds the spool in place when the film is rolled onto it. This “hook” can be lifted up to release the spool or film.

Underneath the camera…

Is the tripod mount and another “hook” that works for the one on the top, but is used for the film or spool.

Then on the back of the camera…

Is the film compartment. The compartment is covered by a plate, that is opened with a latch on the right side, which is pushed in the direction of the arrow.

This plate also has a film red window system, the A and B slide and works by loading the film “into the camera, the slide-on back is lowered and secured and the windows 'A' & 'B' appear. Turn the film wind knob until the No.1 appears behind window 'A'. After a photo is taken, wind the film until the No. 1 appears behind window 'B'. After another photo is taken, wind the film until the No.2 appears behind window 'A'. Continue shooting and winding until the No.8 appears behind window 'B', indicating 16 exposures have been taken…” (Journal Editor 2022).

When this plate is removed, the film compartment is exposed (no way!). 

This camera uses 127 film and is “46 mm wide, placing it between 35 mm and medium format films in size. It was created by Kodak for their Vest Pocket camera (a folding camera that would fit comfortably in the vest pocket of the user) and as such was often referred to as Vest Pocket film…” (Lomography 2024).

Vintage Kodak 127 film. Image Source: https://c8.alamy.com/comp/CC47P1/a-vintage-roll-of-eastman-kodak-127-film-new-in-package-expired-1971-CC47P1.jpg

It is a “paperback film and the cameras that used it produced negatives that were 4x4cm, giving 12 images on a roll, 4x6cm (8 images), or 4x3cm (16 images) …” and was invented in 1912, but although popular, the smaller 35mm film, introduced in 1930s, took over, killing the 127 film. It did make a revival from time to time, but was eventually discontinued in 1995 by Kodak (Lomography 2024). 

Film size comparison of 127 Film (middle) against a 35mm Film (left) and 120 Film (right). Image Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/9/99/Film_127_135_120_IMGP1797_WP_%28crop%29.jpg/330px-Film_127_135_120_IMGP1797_WP_%28crop%29.jpg 

To learn how film works, please see my Kodak 200 Color Plus Film post.

What a messy and complicated story for one camera. As I said this is the more interesting camera on this online museum. At first glance this camera seems complicated, but is very user friendly and looks awesome, with its steampunk/art deco look, that will fit perfectly in any vintage/camera collector’s home.

Thank you for making it to the end and as always I hope you enjoyed this as much as I did researching it.

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List of sources

Alphax Betax. 2024. Wollensak Lens and Shutter Compendium. https://alphaxbetax.com/Wollensak%20Lens%20and%20Shutter%20Compendium/#Deltax

Art Deco Cameras. 2020. Bakelite and its use in Cameras. http://www.artdecocameras.com/resources/bakelite/

Associated Gaskets. 2022. Everything you need to know about Bakelite. https://agaus.com.au/everything-you-need-to-know-about-bakelite/

Child, M’s cousin. 2019. Velostigmat Series II F:4.5 Lens. https://portwingmuseum.org/velostigmat-series-ii-f4-5-lens/

Clayman, A. 2020. Spartus Camera Corp. / Galter MFG Co., est. 1934. https://www.madeinchicagomuseum.com/single-post/spartus/

Clayman, A. 2021. Falcon Minette Bakelite Camera by Utility MFG Co., c. 1940. https://www.madeinchicagomuseum.com/single-post/2016-1-25-falcon-minette-50mm-bakelite-camera-by-utility-mfg-co-c-1946/

CollectiBlend. 2024. Utility Manufacturing Co. Incorporated. https://collectiblend.com/Cameras/Utility-MFG/

CollectiBlend. 2024. Spartus. https://collectiblend.com/Cameras/spartus/

CollectiBlend. 2024. Utility MFG: Falcon Model V16. https://collectiblend.com/Cameras/Utility-MFG/Falcon-Model-V16.html

Cushing, S. 2024. Helicoids. https://u42.co/Tech-Blog/Helicoids/Helicoids.html

Historic Camera. 2022. Herold Manufacturing Company - Camera Listing. https://historiccamera.com/cgi-bin/librarium2/pm.cgi?action=app_display&app=datasheet&app_id=3760

Journal Editor. 2022. The Utility Falcon Model F. https://phsne.org/the-utility-falcon-model-f/

Kennedy, D. 2009. Art Deco Wars: Spartus, Falcon, and Kodak. https://oldcameras.wordpress.com/2009/10/19/art-deco-wars-spartus-falcon-and-kodak/

Kennedy, D. 2009. My Camera Collection. https://oldcameras.wordpress.com/2009/10/18/my-camera-collection/

Lomography. 2024. The Life and Death of 127 Film. https://www.lomography.com/magazine/349528-the-life-and-death-of-127-film

Lomography. 2024. What is 127 film? https://www.lomography.com/school/what-is-127-film-fa-nrlm1nlm

Ozcamera. “Falcon Cameras.” https://www.ozcamera.com/falcon.html

Wollensak Optical Co.. Photographic Lenses and Shutters. https://www.pacificrimcamera.com/rl/00317/00317.pdf

Wikipedia. Falcon Super-Action Candid. http://camera-wiki.org/wiki/Falcon_Super-Action_Candid

Wikipedia. Jack Galter. http://camera-wiki.org/wiki/Jack_Galter

Wikipedia. Spartus. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spartus

Kodak Kodamatic 980L Instant Camera

 

This post will be venturing in the strange and fun side of Kodak cameras. This being the Kodamatic 980L Instant Camera, Kodak’s “declaration of war” against Polaroid.

I have already discussed Kodak’s history in my Kodak 200 Color Plus Film post and brief history of Kodak’s camera history can be found in my KODAK Pocket Instamatic 10 Camera and Kodak Instamatic 104 Camera.

So I will only be going over this camera’s bizarre history. Starting with (according to Fierstein 2015) the background of when in 1934 the founder of Polaroid, Edwin Land, sold Kodak his plastic polarizer sheet (“A sheet of plastic material containing microscopic crystals of herapathite or some other similar substance that transmits light polarized in one direction, but absorbs light polarized in a perpendicular direction…” (Photonics 2024)) and then by 1943, Edwin Land, was approached Kodak with the idea for developing a new type of film that can instantly develop without the need to send it to a lab to be processed. Kodak was the one who supplied Land with the necessary equipment and chemicals to test and experiment. 

Then “the first Polaroid one-step photography system was introduced in 1948, it was Kodak that manufactured the negatives, a function it performed for every film Polaroid introduced thereafter, including its first color film, Polacolor, released in 1963. By the mid-60s, Polaroid had become Kodak's second largest corporate customer, trailing only the tobacco companies for whom Kodak manufactured plastic cylinders for use in cigarette filters.” (Fierstein 2015)

All was well in the land of film photography, until Kodak was struck by fear. Because in 1968 Land gave Kodak the opportunity to join him in his latest idea “an instant system featuring a film unit that could be ejected from the camera following exposure, could develop in the light, and would require no further physical manipulation: no peeling apart, no timing, no coating of the print for stabilization.” This made Kodak unease, due to the fear that this new instant film could ruin their reputation as the manufacturer that made cameras and film for the everyday man and amateur photographers. So to make sure they had the upper hand Kodak insisted that the film used by the Polaroid camera be sold in their signature yellow boxes. (Fierstein 2015).

This did not sit well with Land, so the two companies split in 1969 (Blank 2024). Land went on to design “and built its own facilities to manufacture the film for its new system…” (Fierstein 2015) and Kodak terminated their contract to supply manufacture Polaroid’s Polacolor film, by giving them a two-year notice and raising the price of the negatives. To further try and bring down Polaroid, Kodak, announced that they will also be manufacturing film for the Polaroid cameras, which was “a knife to the heart for Polaroid as film sales were what made Polaroid profitable…” (Blank 2024). 

Blank (2024) also goes on to mention that this wasn’t the only reason why Kodak went to war with Polaroid. According to Blank (2024), Kodak worked with the CIA in supplying and developing film that was used to take pictures of the Soviet Union from satellites during the cold war in the 1950s. By the 1960’s Kodak developed the GAMBIT satellite which had better cameras and higher resolution capabilities. But the CIA partnered with Perkin Elmer to design new cameras for the HEXAGON satellite. This created conflict in 1969 when Nixon wanted to cut costs in the CIA. Two projects where in development: the HEXAGON satellite and the MOL space station that would be using the DORIAN KH-10 camera made by Kodak (as well as two other projects that Kodak was working on).

It was decided by Nixon that it is the HEXAGON that would be cancelled and Kodak would stay and make a pretty penny with their projects. However, “the CIA fought back. The next month, in April 1969, the Director of the CIA used the recommendation of CIA’s reconnaissance intelligence panel – headed by Edwin Land (Polaroid’s CEO) to get President Nixon to reverse his decision. Land’s panel argued that HEXAGON was essential to monitoring arms control treaties with the Soviet Union.” Land even went on to state that the DORIAN KH-10 on the MOL space station is inferior to the cameras by Perkin Elmer, because the KH-10 could only take pictures of small areas, whereas the HEXAGON “covered so much territory that there was simply no place for the Soviet Union to hide any forbidden bombers or missiles.” (Blank 2024) 

Land’s main argument was also that the MOL station used film cameras, which took long to retrieve and develop, whereas the Perkin Elmer cameras took images and converted them into electronic images which could be received much faster. After that Land also went on a campaign to end any film based camera satellites produced by Kodak and succeeded in 1971 and then “Nixon gave the go-ahead to build the CIA’s KH-11 KEENAN electronic imaging satellite – dooming film-based satellites – and all of Kodak’s satellite business.” (Blank 2024)

To read more about this and get the full in-depth story click here:

https://steveblank.com/2024/05/16/secret-history-when-kodak-went-to-war-with-polaroid/#:~:text=In%201963%20when%20Polaroid%20launched,year%20to%20manufacture%20that%20film. 

After that Kodak went on to research and develop their own Instant Polaroid-esque type cameras (Blank 2024) and by 1976 Kodak when they entered the Instant camera market and managed to do what all other companies failed to do, be a competition and threat to the popular Polaroid brand (Rowbotham 2013). Kodak released two cameras the EK-4 and EK-6.

Kodak EK-4 Instant Camera. Image Source: https://farm1.static.flickr.com/118/271877085_bf13913593.jpg

Kodak EK-6 Instant Camera. Image Source: https://farm4.static.flickr.com/3147/2892648894_4a24c7529a.jpg

But this didn’t last that long because all Kodak Instant and Kodamatic cameras because they were discontinued and taken off shelves in 1986 and stopped making anything that could be considered competition to Polaroid (Rowbotham 2013).

This was because Polaroid sued Kodak on the grounds that “Kodak had infringed on Polaroid patents...” (Blank 2024) and that “during the 10 years the Eastman Kodak Company produced instant photography materials, they had cost the Polaroid Corporation $12 billion…” (Rowbotham 2013). This lead to a nine-year long fight until in 1985, Polaroid won and was awarded $925 million in 1991 for damages sustained by the Kodak company (Blank 2024). 

But this leads to the question, why did Kodak, a major company, knowingly and willingly infringe on Polaroid patents? The answer is simple.

As Fierstein (2015) writes:     

 “Kodak recognized that it had to change course radically for its development program to have any chance of producing a product that would be competitive with the Polaroid system, even if that product were not released until 1975. This was a formidable enterprise. As observed many years later by industry commentators, Kodak, feeling ‘hemmed in by Polaroid’s vast portfolio of patents,’ had indeed ‘panicked.’ In apparent desperation, a KPDC memo directed Kodak engineers to ‘not be constrained by what an individual feels is a potential patent infringement.’ Although the memo did go on to direct the researchers to ‘consult’ the patent department in such instances, the excerpted passage would, commencing in 1976 when Kodak finally introduced its competing instant camera and film system, later serve as the signal call for Polaroid and its legal team for years to come—all the way up to the U.S. Supreme Court.”

Now, time to have a look at the Kodamatic 980L, which according to a Kodak customer service pamphlet (Pacificrimcamera), was released in 1982-1986.

This camera was also the only one with autofocus and was the top model of the camera series (Instantphoto) as well as the most expensive (Pacificrimcamera). It should be noted that when Kodak released this series it was first called the Kodak Instant cameras, but this name would often get confused with the Kodak Instamatic cameras (see KODAK Pocket Instamatic 10 Camera and Kodak Instamatic 104 Camera posts), so when Kodak switched from PR film, which the Instant cameras used, to HS film they rebranded the series to Kodamatic Instant Cameras (Land List 2004). There are also only a handful of cameras with the Kodamatic name.

Kodak PR and HS instant film cartages. Image Source: https://www.instantphoto.eu/jpgother/kodak_cartridge_P1010203.JPG 

This camera came with the box and original manual. The only thing missing is the neck strap.

Kodamatic box with strap. Image Source:
https://www.ebay.com/itm/352356041251

Kodamtic strap. Image Source:
https://i.ebayimg.com/images/g/NrQAAOSwJENik-TR/s-l500.jpg

The box itself is pretty cool. It is Kodak’s signature yellow and covered in retro designs that really draws the eye and makes the product look very appealing.

Now for the lens.

The lens is a 110mm, with an autofocus of 0.9 to infinity and has auto aperture settings f/stop of 11, 16 and 27 (Instantphoto). Now the lens is hard to determine, but if we look at another Kodamatic, the 930, which came out the same year as the 980L, then it is possible that they both have the same type of lens, the Kodar Lens (Halgand 2024).

Koadamatic 930 Instant Camera. Image Source: https://www.collection-appareils.fr/kodak/images/kodamatic930.jpg

More evidence of this is due to the fact that even later models, such as the 950, that came out a year later also uses the Kodar lens (Halgand 2024), we can assume that this combined with the fact that there are only a hand full of Kodamatic cameras, that most if not all, use the same lens.

Kodamatic 950 Instant Camera. Image Source: https://www.collection-appareils.fr/kodak/images/kodamatic950.jpg

Another piece is that, according to Camerapedia (not a reliable source, but bear with me), is that the Kodar lens is usually on cameras with bellows, which all three Kodamatics I mentioned have. The definition that Camerapedia gives is as such for the Kodar lens: “A 3 element triplet design produced for Kodak's mid-level cameras, in a Kodak No. 0 shutter. In this case, unit focusing was provided by the camera's adjustable bellows.”

Which is similar to Mike’s (2011) definition: “a mid-level product, situated between the older standard Rapid Rectilinear and the later three-element Anastigmat design.” (Mike 2011)

So to get a basic understanding is that it is a combination of an Anastigmat or three element lens (which I explain in my Agfa Billy Record 7.7 Pocket Camera post) and a Rapid Rectilinear lens (“A double meniscus system in which two achromatized meniscus lenses are arranged symmetrically on either side of the aperture stop, reducing or eliminating distortion, coma and lateral color.” (Photonics 2024)).

Next to the lens is the Electric Eye (used to detect light and determine the focus and exposure).

Now as mentioned above this camera does extent and fold with the use of bellows (see Agfa Billy Record 7.7 Pocket Camera post for more information), but unlike traditional bellows, this camera’s is smooth with only a few folds and is made of rubber.

 

It is also impractical, as it makes the camera awkward to hold and it feels bulky. The purpose of the bellows is to fold the camera so that it doesn’t take up space, which it sort of does, but not all that much. It is still quite bulky and impractical to carry around unlike other foldable cameras like the Kodak Vest Pocket cameras (or the Agfa Billy Record 7.7 Pocket Camera which has a similar design).

Kodak Vest Pocket Model B camera. Image Source: https://encrypted-tbn0.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcRX4S0JGauTCVSHAr1PbpWSiCCywVKkzpYlhkUMbFP_ehwRoS0IP7hgJZgLcOLthARlYR8&usqp=CAU

Underneath the lens…

Is the Lighten/Darken control. This is used to compensate for the lack/overabundance of light, the temperature and background light.

Next to the lens on the body is the viewfinder and built-in flash, that has a distance of 3-14 feet.

 

 

The viewfinder is off center from the lens, which leads me to the thing I always talk about in my see Sounex YN-9000 Re-usable Camera and KODAK Pocket Instamatic 10 Camera posts about the complications this can cause.

The flash is a Thyristor flash (Instantphoto), which is a piece of “technology that allows the flash to conserve the stored power in the flash capacitor for future exposures, which decreases the recycle time needed between flashes. Stated another way, thyristor flashes use only the amount of stored power needed for each exposure. The rest of the stored charge is saved for future flashes to speed recycle times. When used in auto mode, these old flashes have very fast recycle times…” (Wright 2021).

On the back (or bottom depending on your preference)…

Is the other side of the viewfinder with the Auto Flash Control next to it and the Ready Light above to indicate that it is on and ready.

This control is activated when the camera is unfolded and is put into default of Auto Flash. To turn this off and not activate the flash, the user must manually push the button up to the off position, hold it there and then take the picture with the shutter located on the other side. 

And speaking of the Shutter…

It is on the side of the body opposite the Flash and Viewfinder. It has an automatic shutter speed setting between 1/4-1/150 of a second depending on the settings that the electric eye sets and the lighting.

Also on the back (or bottom) is the film compartment and battery compartment.

The battery compartment uses four AA Batteries.

The film compartment is behind the battery compartment and is locked/unlocked with a Latch and uses Koadamtic Instant Color Film HS144-10.

 

Kodamatic Instant Color Film HS144-10. Image Source: https://i.etsystatic.com/8161191/r/il/2566d8/1579256053/il_fullxfull.1579256053_cq3q.jpg

The film compartment is also where the Film Rollers can be found that automatically eject the film out of the Exit Slot once used and the picture is ready.

 

This Exit Slot is found on the top (or back depending if folded or not).

There is also an Exposure Counter Arrow above the Film Compartment to indicate the amount of film left.

As mentioned, this camera uses Koadamtic Instant Color Film HS144-10, which is what all Kodamatic cameras (second generation Instant cameras) use. It is a film with an ISO of 320 (or 300) and was introduced in 1982. Its predecessor was the PR10, which was later renamed the PR144-10 which was introduced in 1976 and had an ISO of 160 (Instantphoto).

But before the HS144-10, Kodak was planning on releasing a 600 ISO film to compete with Polaroid’s 600 film, but Kodak went with the “320 ISO for compatibility reasons. So either Kodak system could use both films by setting the lighten/darken control to high on Kodamatic cameras with old film or too low on older instant cameras with new film. Trimprint was Kodamatic ISO 320 film released in 1984 with the possibility to separate the picture layer from the negative layer and to trim the picture to your needs.” (Instantphoto)

It is important to note that the PR144 can still be used but the Light/Darken Control should be set all the way to the light setting.

Now there is a difference between Kodak’s instant film and Polaroid’s instant film, but the fundamentals should still be the same. So I will be going over those and then look at what Kodak added to make theirs unique.

Blank Instant Film Slide. Image Source: https://support.polaroid.com/hc/article_attachments/115022031047

 As Harris (2024) writes, it is similar to traditional film (see Kodak 200 Color Plus Film post), but with some extra steps.

And to keep it simple and stop me from going into a long and deep discussion I will start with an excerpt from Mckay’s (2023) article:

“Polaroid film is made up of three layers: the top layer is a transparent plastic cover sheet, the middle layer is the film emulsion, and the bottom layer is a developing agent. When light enters the camera and hits the film, it initiates a chemical reaction that starts the development process. The film emulsion contains millions of tiny dye molecules that are suspended in a gelatine layer. When light strikes the film, it causes the dye molecules to become excited and move around in the gelatine. The developing agent in the bottom layer of the film then draws the dye molecules down into the layer, where they become trapped in a clear plastic layer that forms the final image.”

Layers of Instant Film. Image Source: https://media.hswstatic.com/eyJidWNrZXQiOiJjb250ZW50Lmhzd3N0YXRpYy5jb20iLCJrZXkiOiJnaWZcL2luc3RhbnQtZmlsbS1sYXllci5naWYiLCJlZGl0cyI6eyJyZXNpemUiOnsid2lkdGgiOjI4NX0sInRvRm9ybWF0IjoiYXZpZiJ9fQ==

This dye layer is called the developer layer, which is on top of three other layers “image layer, the timing layer and the acid layer. This arrangement is a chemical chain reaction waiting to be set in motion…” (Harris 2024).

But these reactions also have to be activated by a reagent which is a mix of white pigment, opacifiers, alkali and other chemicals, which is first in the border of the film sheet away from the other layers to prevent it from developing too early. Once it is in the camera and the picture is taken, this reactive agent is spread across the other layers to start developing the image by the rollers as the film is ejected. It is also the opacifiers that prevent any more light from further exposing the film.

After that this reactive agent goes in further through the layers and changes “the exposed particles in each layer into metallic silver. The chemicals then dissolve the developer dye so it begins to diffuse up toward the image layer. The metallic silver areas at each layer -- the grains that were exposed to light -- grab the dyes so they stop moving up. Only the dyes from the unexposed layers will move up to the image layer. For example, if the green layer was exposed, no magenta dye will make it to the image layer, but cyan and yellow will. These colors combine to create a translucent green film on the image surface. Light reflecting off the white pigment in the reagent shines through these color layers, the same way light from a bulb shines through a slide. At the same time these reagent chemicals are working down through the light sensitive layers, other reagent chemicals are working through the upper film layers. The ac­id layer in the film reacts with the alkali and opacifiers in the reagent, making the opacifiers become clear. This lets you see the image below. The timing layer slows the reagent down on its path to the acid layer, to give the film time to develop before it is exposed to light. When you watch the image in a photo film come into view, you're actually seeing this final chemical reaction. The image is already developed underneath -- you're just watching the acid layer clear up the opacifiers in the reagent so the image becomes visible.” (Harris 2024).

The developing takes about 60 seconds (Mckay 2023).

Now there is something that Kodak added to make their film different and that is that they added a chemical called Satinluxe, which gave the film a glossy and silky finish (Land List 2004).

Wow, what a story! From a tale of friendship, to backstabbing and deals with the CIA, this was definitely a wild one. But this is still a cool camera, impractical, but still cool and carries the Kodak philosophy of making photography as easy as possible.

Thank you for making it to the end and I hope you enjoyed this as much as I did researching it.

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List of sources:

Blank, S. 2024. Secret History – When Kodak Went to War with Polaroid. https://steveblank.com/2024/05/16/secret-history-when-kodak-went-to-war-with-polaroid/#:~:text=In%201963%20when%20Polaroid%20launched,year%20to%20manufacture%20that%20film.

Camerapedia. Kodak Lenses. https://camerapedia.fandom.com/wiki/Kodak_lenses

Fierstein, R. 2015. Why executives at Kodak were so miserable when the Polaroid camera was invented. https://www.businessinsider.com/kodaks-response-to-the-polaroid-camera-2015-2

Halgand, S. 2024. Kodak Kodamatic 930. https://www.collection-appareils.fr/x/html/camera-541-Kodak_Kodamatic%20930.html

Halgand, S. 2024. Kodak Kodamatic 950. https://www.collection-appareils.fr/x/html/camera-426-Kodak_Kodamatic%20950.html

Harris, T. 2024. How Instant Film Works. https://science.howstuffworks.com/innovation/everyday-innovations/instant-film.htm

Instantphoto. Kodak Instant Film and Cameras. https://www.instantphoto.eu/other/kodak_instant.htm

Instantphoto. Kodamatic 980L. https://www.instantphoto.eu/other/kodamatic_980l.htm

Land List. 2004. Non-Polaroid Instant Cameras. http://www.landlist.ch/landlist/nonland.htm

Mckay, P. 2023. The Magic of Instant Photography: How Polaroid Film Works. https://analoguewonderland.co.uk/blogs/film-photography-blog/how-polaroid-film-works#:~:text=Polaroid%20film%20is%20made%20up,that%20starts%20the%20development%20process.

Mike. 2011. Shooting the No.1 Pocket Kodak. https://connealy.blogspot.com/2011/02/shooting-no1-pocket-kodak.html

Pacificrimcamera. History of KODAK Cameras. https://www.pacificrimcamera.com/rl/01541/01541.pdf

Photonics. 2024. Rapid rectilinear lens. https://www.photonics.com/EDU/rapid_rectilinear_lens/d6597

Photonics. 2024. Sheet Polarizer. https://www.photonics.com/EDU/sheet_polarizer/d6981#:~:text=A%20sheet%20of%20plastic%20material,polarized%20in%20a%20perpendicular%20direction.

Rowbotham, C. 2013. Polaroid versus Kodak: The Battle for Instant Photography. https://library.torontomu.ca/asc/2013/08/kodak-versus-polaroid-the-battle-for-instant-photography-2/

Wright, M. 2021. Everything you wanted to know about auto (thyristor) flash photography …but were afraid to ask. https://emulsive.org/articles/guides/everything-you-wanted-to-know-about-auto-thyristor-flash-photography-but-were-afraid-to-ask