Kodak Instamatic 155X

Before we begin, I would like to announce that my new Patreon exclusive camera series is now up, with my first post talking about the Chuzhoa M1 Retro Camera. It can be viewed by either joining my Patreon or buy just buying the post for a onetime fee. I hope you will check it out, not only will you be part of an exclusive club, but you will be helping this site out.

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Anyway, back to the camera at hand:

Going from one easy to use camera to another, this is the Kodak Instamatic 155X.

I already went through the history of Kodak in my 200 Color Plus and Instamatic Pocket 10 posts. So, lets jump right in.

As we know from the Instamatic 33, when a camera in the Instamatic series has a 100 in the name or that it has an X in the name, is that it is based off of previous iterations. But it seems that the 155X doesn’t fall into this category.

The only camera I can find that is close to being a previous version is the Instamatic 55X from 1971 (Filmphotography.eu 2026).

Instamatic 55X. Image Source:
https://collectiblend.com/Cameras/images/Kodak-Eastman-Instamatic-55X.jpg

The possible reason for why the 155X doesn’t have any other earlier variations (besides the possible 55X), is that the camera came out in the 1970s, when the Magicubes were the preferred flash over the Flashcubes (see the Instamatic 104 post) and the flash holder (see the Instamatic 50 and X-15F post). So instead of making cameras that are called the Instamatic 55, or the 155, is because Kodak at this time just chose to embrace the Magicube (see the Instamatic Pocket 10 post).  

Now, like the Instamatic 33, the 155X doesn’t have much of a history to make it stand out. But unlike the 33, the 155X at least looks better and more appealing. Unfortunately, the 155X body isn’t that unique, because many other cameras have this same look. Examples include the 177X, the 255X, the 156X and many others.

Instamatic 177X. Image Source:
https://vintagecameradeals.co.za/image/cache/catalog/vintagecameradeals/products/VCDdecember2017img130-3000x3000.jpg

Instamatic 255X. Image Source:
https://farm4.static.flickr.com/3099/3191402340_68e1cec9b4_o.jpg

Instamatic 154X. Image Source:
https://farm4.static.flickr.com/3103/2665685478_d45d9c83f5.jpg

Which most likely added to the 155X’s lack of history and inability to really stand out.

But I did find some facts about the camera. One is that it was made and sold in the UK, Germany and Brazil (Filmphotography.eu 2026). This camera was also the camera that replaced the 133X (the Magicube variation of the Instamatic 33) and according to Halgand (2023), the 155X was part of the new series of cameras where Kodak changed “the look of its most popular Instamatic cameras, adopting a brushed aluminium front panel. The film advance lever became standard. Viewing was improved by the addition of a light frame in the viewfinder.”  

Anyway, let’s have a closer look at the camera at hand, the Instamatic 155X. Released in 1971-1977 (Filmphotography.eu 2026), the camera is mostly plastic, with some metal and aluminium, especially the faceplate (Halgand 2023). It has the weight of 300g (Patrick Nicolas 2026) and it size is 4.36 x 2.71 x 2.30 inches (The Camera Collector 2020).

Now time for the examination. Starting with the front.

The lens-

It is a fixed focus lens with a focal length of 43mm with a f/stop of 11 (The Camera Collector 2020). And according to Camera-wiki, the lens is a Kodar lens (see the Kodamatic 980L post), but I think that it is actually a meniscus lens (see the Instamatic Pocket 10 post), as this is the more popular lens type used for Instamatic and cameras that are similar.   

The lens is what also separates it from the 55X, because the 155X lens has an outer ring that allows the user to change the shutter speed.

The settings to switch between two shutter speeds is indicated next to the lens. Similar to the Instamatic 50, the indicators are images of a sun, for sunny or well-lit conditions, and of a sun with lines through it, alongside an image of a bulb, which is used in cloudy or darker conditions. The second (cloudy) setting is also the best setting when using a Magicube. But the Magicube can be used in the first (sunny) setting.

Now the two speeds that the camera has is 1/80 second when in sunny and a slower speed of 1/40 second for the cloudy setting (The Camera Collector 2020), to allow for more light to enter.

Above the lens, on the far right corner-

 Is the viewfinder. Similar to the Instamatic X-15F, the viewfinder is a good upgrade to the very small and irritating viewfinders of the Instamatic 104 and 50. It also looks like the viewfinder has a tint or light filter on it. There is also a frame outline, similar to the Halina Super 35X, but the frame on the 155X is very faint.

But although the viewfinder is bigger, it is a bit of a down grade, because at least the 104 and 50 had their viewfinders above the lens. On the 155X it is off centre and thus can lead to images being off centre as well. But I would rather take the bigger misaligned viewfinder than the small lens adjacent viewfinder.

Then on the other side of the viewfinder is the shutter release.

The shutter button on the 155X keeps up with the tradition of having the L-shaped piece of metal as the shutter release. And the shutter is also most likely the same as the other Instamatics on my blog i.e. a leaf shutter.

On top-

Is only the Magicube socket.

This socket is connected to the film advance and cocking mechanism, which can be problematic because if the user doesn’t switch to the cloudy setting, the magicube flash will still go off, even if it is in the sunny setting.

On the right side-

 Is a single eyelet for the wrist strap.

On the other side-

Is the film compartment cover release/lock. It is in the same position as the Instamatic X-15F, 33 and even the Halina X101.

To release the cover, the user must push the lever up.

The back-

Is the film compartment cover.

On this cover is the film counter window.

Above the cover is the film advance lever.

This lever is a combination of a lever from the 104 and 50 and the wheel of the 33 and the Halina X101.

This lever is also directly connected to the Magicube socket, which turns on the first pull. Then the user must pull for a second time, so that the camera cocks. But sometimes the lever will turn the socket and cock the camera at the same time on one pull.

Like the other instamatics, this camera has a hook that hooks into the film sprocket and holds the film in place. This hook, like the X-15F, is connected to the cocking mechanism and the film advance lever.

Then finally there is the film compartment and well… by now you should have guessed that since it is an Instamatic, it takes 126film cassettes (see the Instamatic 104 for more information) with 28mx28m negative format (Camera-wiki).

And that is it. Although similar to the Instamatic 33, I would say the 155X looks cooler. I really like the shade of blue they used and the mix of black and silver. But I still think that the Instamatic 50 and 104’s classic style looks better.

What do you think? Do you like the way this camera looks or do you think the 33 looks better? Do you agree that the 50 and 104 is better? Do you want 126film to make a comeback? Let me know in the comments.

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

Please remember to check out my Patreon at: patreon.com/OnlineCurator  where you can find my first post of my new series, as well as pictures and links to my other Fantasy Blog series.

Please see the Please help this site post on this blog, for more information.

Or if you want to help in another way, please visit my Displate Store. Thank you for the support.

List of sources:

Camera-wiki. Kodak Instamatic 155X. https://camera-wiki.org/wiki/Kodak_Instamatic_155X

Filmphotography.eu. 2026. Kodak Instamatic 155X.  https://filmphotography.eu/en/kodak-instamatic-155x/

Halgand, S. 2023. Kodak Instamatic 155X. https://collection-appareils.fr/x/html/page_standard.php?id_appareil=621

Patrick Nicolas. 2026. N9205 Camera Analogue Kodak Instamatic Camera 155X Vintage Germany. https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/335469267733

The Camera Collector. 2020. KODAK Instamatic 155X. 1971. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=779NsU7HlXc#:~:text=KODAK%20Instamatic%20155X.%201971%20%2D%201977%20126,Shutter%20Sunny%201/80s%20Cloudy%20(X%20%2D%20Magicube) 

Haking’s Halina Super X35

Before we begin, I would like to announce that my new Patreon exclusive camera series is now up, with my first post talking about the Chuzhoa M1 Retro Camera. It can be viewed by either joining my Patreon or buy just buying the post for a one time fee. I hope you will check it out, not only will you be part of an exclusive club, but you will be helping this site out.

You can find the first post on my new series here:

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Remember to also check out my displate:

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Anyway, back to the camera at hand:

Going from one well-known camera brand to a sort of known brand. This post will be looking at the pretty famous Halina Super X35.

I already went over Haking’s Products company in my Halina Roy post. So, we will jump straight into the camera at hand.

The Super in the name implies that it is based off of an earlier design, namely the Halina X35, but the only thing that the Super X35 and the X35 have in common is the mechanics and the name, for the main differences are: “…stylistically and the fact it (the Super X35) has a winder arm and self-cocking. The original 35X looked suspiciously like Leica rangefinders a fact I am sure that Haking were keen to exploit and I am sure some folk in the day were dishonestly sold a 35X thinking they had got a Leica…” (Alan 2015).

Halina X35. Image Source:
https://oldcamera.blog/wp-content/uploads/2014/06/halinex35x.jpg

One of the main differences is the top plate, which has “…a larger viewfinder and lever wind…” (Camera-wiki). Although, we can trace the X35’s design to the Nihon Seiki’s Nescon 35, “…which itself was sold under a variety of names including Micronta 35, Ranger 35, and Soligor 45…” (Eckman 2023).

Nescon 35. Image Source:
https://collectiblend.com/Cameras/images/Nihon-Seiki-Nescon-35.jpg

But unlike the Nescon 35, the X35 where cheaper and made with stamped metal bodies and cast bodies, which were considered poor building strategies compared to other camera companies that were much more focused on “…more precise tolerances…” (Eckman 2023).

Then came the Super X35, which seemed to not be as big of a hit because the original X35 was more favoured, and due to this there were only a small number of Super X35’s made and sold only for a short amount of time. And just like the X35, the Super was also made with low quality materials (Eckman 2023). Living Image Vintage Camera Museum (2026) even points out that under the top housing one can see that “…Haking's corner cutting (and gear cutting) becomes all too apparent.”

But according to Alan (2015), this camera was more advance than the X35, for the Super refined the company’s camera mechanics and brought in a new unique style and look.

Anyway… let us have a closer look at the Halina Super X35. Released in 1964 and made from all metal, the camera has a very striking shiny design. Chromed out to the max, which was “…applied liberally to the top housing and lens barrel, although the pre-polish was cursory and the marks are still plainly evident, they never quite got the hang of matte chrome finishes…” (Living Image Vintage Camera Museum 2026). It has a weight of 612g (Eckman 2023) and comes in a size of 4.5 x 3.1 x 3 inches; it is a pretty small camera. 

Now for a closer examination, starting with the front.

Starting with the lens-

It is an Anastigmat f.c. (film coated) with 3 elements in two groups. It has a focal length of 45mm and a wide f/stop opening of 3.5.

Now what does this mean? Well to learn about the Anastigmat lens please see my Billy Record and Argus C2 posts and to learn what element coated means, please see my SX-70 post. But I will expand on what it means when it is coated in two groups. The group refers to the number of glasses used in the lens, now these can be two pieces of glass in the lens behind each other or they could be two pieces cemented together (Improve Photography 2016).

And if we look at Ilott Vintage’s (2017) example: “…a lens that has 5 elements in 4 groups has 5 pieces of glass with 2 joined together…” we can say that the Super X35 has 3 pieces of glass, with two of them cemented together.

The lens also has a 40.5mm thread for filters (Alan 2015).

Now for the outer rings on the lens-

There are three, the first one, closes to the body, is the shutter speed setting, which has the settings: B (Bulb) to keep the shutter open for as long as the user presses down on the shutter release. Then there are speeds of 1/25, 1/50, 1/100 and 1/200 second.

Then there is the focus ring, the has a focal range of 3-20 feet and infinity.

Lastly is the f/stop ring, which has the f/stop settings of 3.5, 4, 5.6, 8, 11 and 16.

But here is one of the more irritating parts of the Super X35, because the focus ring and the f/stop ring are connected.

What I mean by this is as Alan (2015) puts it:

 “…aperture ring is outmost and tends to knock off focus when you turn...” and that this “…was as much to do with the lens design as the intent for you to set the exposure up for a scene then focus.” For you see to set the f/stop, one must hold the focus ring still, otherwise you change the focus settings along with the f/stop. But when the focus is changed the f/stop does not change.

Page 4 from the manual.

Then on the side of the lens is the PC flash connector (see my Pucky I post) or as the manual puts it the “Flash Synchronization Nipple”. 

Next to the connector is the letter M, which could be an indication that this camera has an M-sync flash connector (see my Fuji 35-ML post).

Then above the lens is the scale focus viewfinder with Silver Painted Frame Lines (Eckman 2023) or Bright-line Frame-Finder, which means that there is just a rectangle inside the viewfinder that illuminates when it catches the light. And this helps the user with composition and framing of the subject. But these Bright-line Frame-Finder lines are a bit redundant, because as Eckman (2023) points out: “…they are near the extreme edge of the visible viewfinder, so they really wouldn’t be needed to frame your image anyway.”

And honestly, I really like this viewfinder, it certainly beats the viewfinders of the frustratingly tiny ones of the Kodak 35RF, Argus C2, Holiday Flash, Instamatic 104 and 50.

On top-

Here is what really separates the Super X35 from the original X35.

Here is the film advance lever, which advances the film to the next frame and cocks the camera. My guess is that the X35 had a little lever on the inside that caught on the film sprockets to help cock the camera, similar to the , Instamatic 104, 50 and the Halina X101.

On top of the lever is the film exposure counter, which rotates when the lever is pushed.

 And to reset the counter ring, I will refer you to this screenshot from the manual:

Page 4 from the Manual.

Then next to that is the shutter release button, which is cable threaded (Alan 2015), meaning that it can use remote shutter cables.

The shutter is a leaf shutter with three blades (Eckman 2023).

Then there is the cold shoe mount.

And lastly the film rewind knob.

Underneath-

Is the off-centre tripod socket.

Next to that is the rewind button, which must be pressed in before rewinding the film. This button loosens the film frame sprocket.

Then there is the body catch, or film compartment lock.

This holds the cover in place and is released by turning the lever towards the O and then locks by moving it to the L.

Now for the back of the camera-

Here is the film compartment cover.

And above that the rounded viewfinder eyepiece.

The cover is similar to the Rondo Colormatic, the Agfa Clack, the Kodak 35 RF and the Halina Roy. It completely comes off and is separate from the main body.

 

The film compartment is a standard 35mm and takes negatives or picture format of 24 x 36mm (Filmphotography.eu 2026). To learn how film works please see my 200 Color Plus post.

And that is that. Despite the poor quality build of the camera, it is still particularly good. With one review stating that this camera is a good starting point and that it should “…have whetted enough appetites to move them on to greater things…” (Living Image Vintage Camera Museum 2026).

And what sets this camera apart is that, unlike the last two Halinas, this camera feels more professional. The other two were plastic, light and easy to use, whereas the Super X35 is heavier (a bit unnecessary if you ask me) and gives the user more control. It is still easy to use, but it adds a learning curve to help prepare the user for more professional film cameras, such as the Olympus OM30.

That being said, I would recommend this camera as a starting point for anyone keen on getting into the film photography world. For one it is much easier to use and learn from then the Argus A or A2B, the Kodak 35RF, in terms of how to adjust the lens and how to set the shutter speed and f/stop depending on the lighting situation.

I would also recommend it over the point and shoot cameras, the Praktica Sport and the Sinpo PQ-3  just because it give more control over the settings and it teaches the user how to carefully rewind film manually instead of letting the camera do it automatically.

It is a pretty cool camera, but what do you think? Would you use one? Do you think that someone should start with the point and shoot, then the Super X35? Or do you think that film is outdated and we should just embrace the digital revolution?

Let me know in the comments.

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

Please remember to check out my Patreon at: patreon.com/OnlineCurator  where you can find my first post of my new series, as well as pictures and links to my other Fantasy Blog series.

Please see the Please help this site post on this blog, for more information.

Or if you want to help in another way, please visit my Displate Store. Thank you for the support.

List of sources:

Alan, D. 2015. Halina Super 35X Review: Superstar or Hasbeen? https://austerityphoto.co.uk/halina-super-35x-review-superstar-or-hasbeen/#:~:text=The%20Super%20mechanically%20shares%20much%20of%20the,camera%20with%20a%2043mm%201:3.5%20anastigmatic%20lens.

Eckman, M. 2023. Haking Halina 35X Super (1963). https://mikeeckman.com/2023/04/haking-halina-35x-super-1963/

Filmphotography.eu. 2026. Halina Super 35X. https://filmphotography.eu/en/halina-super-35x/#:~:text=Films%20for%20the%20Halina%20Super,winded%20manually%20in%20the%20camera.

Ilott Vintage. 2017. Elements & Groups: Reducing aberrations to make the sharpest image possible. https://ilottvintage.com/glossary/elements-groups

Improve Photography. 2016. Lens Elements and Groups: Is More Better? https://improvephotography.com/29609/lens-elements-groups-better/

Living Image Vintage Camera Museum. 2026. Halina (Haking) 35X Super. 35mm camera, c1964. http://licm.org.uk/livingImage/Halina_35X-Super.html#:~:text=The%20Halina%2035X%20Super%20is,at%20that%20sort%20of%20pretentiousness.&text=View%20other%20viewfinder%20cameras%20in%20this%20collection.

Mike. Super Halina 35X manual. https://www.cameramanuals.org/pdf_files/halina_super_35x.pdf