Kodak Instamatic 33

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Jumping from one easy to use camera to another. This post will be looking at another camera from Kodak’s long running series. This is the Kodak Instamatic 33.

I already went through Kodak’s history in my Kodak 200 plus color film and the history of the Instamatic camera series can be read about in my other Instamatic posts: Instamatic pocket 10, Instamatic 104 and the Instamatic 50 and X-15F.

So, with that in mind, I will be jumping straight into the camera at hand.

There isn’t much history attached to this camera that makes it stand out like the Beau Brownie, from Kodak’s Brownie series. The camera was just part of the Instamatic range that sought to make photography easier by simplifying the Instamatic camera even further. Even the name of 33 suggests that, with Camera-wiki stating: “…model numbers in this line ended in ‘33’; the higher the number, the more features were offered.”

But none the less, this camera is still pretty interesting and a strong piece of evidence that this camera with the rest of the Instamatic cameras upholds Kodak’s goal to make photography as easy and accessible to everyone.

With that out of the way let’s have a look at the camera itself. The Instamatic 33 came out in 1968-1973 (Peggy 2019) and is mostly constructed from plastic. Its size is 11 x 6 x 13cm (Museums Victoria Collections) and has a weight of 184g (velharias71 2024).

This camera also has two other variations, The Instamatic 133 and 133X. Both are the same as the 33, but the 133 was adapted to take flashcubes (like the Instamatic 104) and the 133X was adapted to take magicubes (see Instamatic pocket 10 post), this according to Photo Thinking (2019).

Kodak Instamatic 133. Image Source:
https://i.ebayimg.com/images/g/Z9gAAOSwqGRlSO98/s-l1200.jpg

Kodak Instamatic 133X. Image Source:
https://foticoscollection.com/storage/media/11670/conversions/UWnCa_orig-zoom.jpg

The camera is as simple as it gets. So, let us have a closer look.

Starting with the front-

The lens-

This is a fixed focus lens with a focal length of 43mm and a fixed f/stop of 11. The lens is also plastic (Filmphotography.eu 2025).

The lens is similar to the 104, 50 and X-15F and this means we can assume that the lens is also a Meniscus lens plastic lens (see Pocket 10 for more information).

Around the lens is the shutter speed setting. There are two speeds, each represented by a weather symbol, like the 50. As mentioned, this camera has a fixed f/stop, that is why this setting can’t be labelled as the exposure setting.

 The two shutter speeds are 1/40 and 1/80 second (Peggy 2019). The 1/80 is represented with the full sun symbol. This is used for sunny or in an environment that must have plenty of light. The 1/40 is the sun in a square/lightbulb symbol. This setting is used in low light settings, hence the slower speed, and it is used when a flash is being used.

Then on the far right corner, is the viewfinder. It is larger and much more comfortable then the 104 or 50. But unlike the 104/50, the finder is not aligned with the lens!

Then a bit to the left is the L-shaped shutter button/release.

On top-

Is the shutter button again. The shutter is most likely also a leaf shutter, similar to the 104.

Then behind that is the film advance wheel. Unlike the other Instamatic cameras on this blog/museum, this camera doesn’t have a lever. Instead the user must wind the wheel anti-clockwise (similar to the Sounex Y-9000 and the Solar DX-3).

But this instamatic isn’t the first camera with this feature. That most likely goes to the 150, which is like the 100. And like the 100, which was improved upon by the 104, the 150 was adapted to take flashcubes with the 154.

Kodak Instamatic 150. Image Source:
https://primary.jwwb.nl/public/n/r/a/temp-xmmqfrlttbhrujcdemek/gqtkgn/150.jpg?enable-io=true&enable=upscale&crop=1024%2C768%2Cx0%2Cy35%2Csafe&width=284&height=213

Kodak Instamatic 150. Image Source:
https://i.ebayimg.com/images/g/TiEAAOSwRSddathb/s-l1200.jpg

The film advance wheel also cocks the camera, because like the X-15F, the film advance is connected to the cocking mechanism. When the film is advanced a hook pops out and holds the film in place by hooking into one of the film’s sprocket holes. Which is a great why of preventing any double exposures.

Then next to the film advance is the twin contact hot-shoe, which uses a Flash holder or Instamatic Flash gun, just like the Instamatic 50. 

Kodak Instamatic 33 with Flash holder. 
Image Source:
https://collections.museumsvictoria.com.au/items/407838

The right side-

Is where the strap goes.

Left side-

On the bottom corner, like the X-15F, is the lever that unlocks the film compartment cover.

Then the back-

Is the film compartment cover and on this cover is the film counter window.

Above that in the left-hand corner is the viewfinder.

Then there is the film compartment. Like the Instamatic 104 and the Instamatic 50 and X-15F, this camera uses 126 film.

And that seems to be it. Nothing really remarkable about this camera. I do think that like the other Instamatic cameras, this camera can be a good starting point for anyone interested in venturing into the world of film photography (that is if you can find a 126-film cartage, of course).

But in my opinion this camera is a bit of a downgraded. By this I mean that it looks bland compared to its predecessors, which had an eye catching and style that reflected the decade it was manufactured. Then there is the film advance wheel, which looks interesting, but isn’t as efficient as the lever from the other three Instamatics.

But still, this camera embodies Kodak goal, for: “It is very robust, and I also like the easy insertion and removal of the film cassette…” (Agrimony 2008). What do you think? Do you prefer this style and look? Do you prefer the wheel over the lever? 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.

If you want to help this site out, please consider joining my Patreon: patreon.com/OnlineCurator

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

List of sources:

Agrimony. 2008. A Review of the Kodak Instamatic 33. https://www.lomography.com/magazine/5442-a-review-of-the-kodak-instamatic-33

Camera-wiki. Kodak Instamatic 133 Camera. https://camera-wiki.org/wiki/Kodak_Instamatic_133_Camera#:~:text=These%20cameras%20were%20made%20by%20Kodak's%20German,separate%20flashgun%20instead%20of%20a%20flashcube%20socket.

Filmphotography.eu. 2025. Kodak Instamatic 33. https://filmphotography.eu/en/kodak-instamatic-33/

Museums Victoria Collections. Camera - Kodak, Instamatic, 33, circa 1960s. https://collections.museumsvictoria.com.au/items/407838

Peggy. 2019. Kodak Instamatic 33. https://cameragocamera.com/2019/12/08/kodak-instamatic-33/

Photo Thinking. 2019. Kodak Instamatic 133 – Not really instant or automatic. https://photothinking.com/2019-02-23-kodak-instamatic-133/#:~:text=There%20are%20a%20couple%20of,133%2DX%20which%20uses%20Magicubes.

Velharias. 2024. Kodak Instamatic 33 Camera. https://www.ebay.com/itm/166798278631#:~:text=About%20this%20item,a%20few%20marks%20barely%20visible.

Agfa Box 54 camera

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Thank you for the support. Anyway, back to your regularly scheduled programming:

This post will be looking at another Agfa camera, but unlike the previous three, this camera is a simpler box camera. This is the Agfa Box 54.

 I went over the history of the Agfa company in my Agfa Clack post, so I will get directly into the camera at hand.

Agfa made many different box cameras starting in 1930-1957 (Spickmann). According to Before Digital (2022), Agfa manufactured box cameras to boost their film sales. For box cameras are inexpensive to make, they could be sold cheaply and in some cases, users were told to only use a specific type of film sold by the camera company. In this case it is Agfa’s B-2 film.

Agfa B2 film. Image Source:
https://www.collection-appareils.fr/agfa/images/B2.JPG

In other words: “…like how modern-day printer manufacturers quite often make cheap printers in order to then sell the ink…” (Before Digital 2022).

And according to Camera-wiki, the sales of the 120 film, helped Agfa recuperate their loses when it came to selling the box cameras at a cheap rate. One thing that could have driven Agfa to focus on box cameras was WWII. As mentioned in my Agfa Clack post, Agfa was involved in the war effort, and thus could have been incentivised to make cheap cameras that were easy to use. One piece of evidence that could support this comes from IWM (2025), that mentions the Agfa box cameras were “…Popular amateur camera used by German Forces during the Second World War…”

One thing I also found interesting, is that according to camerassinfronteras.com, this camera, the Box 54, is the first box camera made by Agfa. It was also sold alongside the Box 64 (or the Box Spezial). But the 54 is known as the “simpler” of the two and was made in 1930-1933 (Camera-wiki).  

Agfa Box 64 (Box Spezial). Image Source:
http://vieilalbum.com/Box64spezialUS.htm

The cameras were released because of the 1929 economic crash that lead to Agfa having to reduce costs in camera production, thus “…already begun this strategy shortly before with its ‘Billy’ series of inexpensive folding cameras (‘Billy’ was the subliminal way of saying ‘cheap’ - billig - in German), and they continued to produce box cameras. Thus, in September 1930, after an initial launch with another box camera in England, they announced their first ‘Box Camera,’…” (camerassinfronteras.com). See my Agfa Billy Record post for more information.

The cameras proved to be successful, selling 44000 units when released during Christmas time, and then selling another 160000 more the next year. Agfa’s sales grew even more when they introduced the Box 44 to replace the 54 and 64, which was stopped in 1933 when they released the newer variations, called the Box 54 “Box I” (camerassinfronteras.com). After that Agfa released a few more cameras, such as the Agfa Synchro box 600 (Spickmann) and the Agfa Box 94 “B-2” (camerassinfronteras.com).

Agfa Box 54 "Box I". Image Source:
https://www.udospickmann.de/agfa-boxkamera

Agfa Synchro Box 600. Image Source:
https://farm1.static.flickr.com/245/452675926_f96760fd66.jpg

Agfa Box 94 "B-2". Image Source:
https://collectiblend.com/Cameras/images/AGFA-Box-94-(Box-B2).jpg

Now, time to have a closer look at the camera at hand, the Agfa Box 54. As mentioned this camera is the first one of the series and was made in 1930-1933. The camera is made from aluminium, although they would later be made from cardboard to reduce costs (camerassinfronteras.com). The camera has a weight of 500g (Trigeos Collectables 2024) and has the size of 4 x 3 x 5.3 inches.

The name Box 54 doesn’t have a clear reason to why it was called that. According to Original Werbeanzeige von 1931 (2025), this is its camera number, “Box No.54”. But then we have camerassinfronteras.com, that points out: “Agfa used more or less consecutive numbering for its pre-war box cameras (04/14/24/34/41/44/45/50/54/64/84/94). This numbering, however, was not in any chronological order. So, the first were the 54 and 64, with the 04 (Agfa Box B-2) dating from 1937. I don't know the reasons for this ordering.”

But there is the possibility that the name could come from the price it was sold as. Because according to Camera-wiki the Box 44 was sold for 4 marks, which was a part of the camera’s advertising campaign:

“In 1932, the German company Agfa had a new idea for an advertising campaign. German coins had a printed letter stating the place of minting. He asked customers to collect four coins of 1 marked with the letters ‘A’, ‘G’, ‘F’ and ‘A’...” (Foticos Collection 2025). So with that in mind maybe there is something connected to the 54s name and its original selling price of 13.05 RM (camerassinfronteras.com)?

Agfa Box 44. Image Source:
https://fk-secondhand.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/110944_agfa_box_44_01.jpg

Now time to have a closer look. Starting with the front.

The lens-

What actually is in front is the “protective glass to prevent dust and dirt from entering the camera's interior” (camerassinfronteras.com). Instead, like the Brownie No.2, the lens is inside or behind the shutter. But unlike the Brownie No.2 the lens isn’t even attached to the main body, but to the film holder/carrier.

Then above that is the viewfinders, or brilliant finders, also known as Watson-type viewfinders (Camera-wiki), which is similar to the Brownie Model 1, but unlike the Model 1 this camera has to be viewed at an angle instead of directly above it (Camera-wiki).

Brilliant finder vs. a Watson-type finder.
Image Source:
https://farm4.static.flickr.com/3617/3477365042_152f5c5d59.jpg

But the placement of the finders are similar to the Model 1, in that the left side is for portraits and the right is for landscapes.

These viewfinders are also made from “…polished metal mirrors (not glass) used to reflect the image through the viewfinders. The image obtained in the viewfinders is sufficient (as long as their elements are clean), suffering, as always with this type of viewfinder, from the problem of seeing images reversed from left to right, which requires some practice to properly focus. The lack of parallax correction or parallax markings in the viewfinders can play tricks on us when shooting at close range, where the image captured on the negative will be smaller (which will very likely 'crop' heads and feet) than what is seen through the viewfinders…” (camerassinfronteras.com).  

Now for the side-

The Watson viewfinder that frames the subject in the landscape mode is located here.

Then next to that is the film key or advance knob, and unlike the other box cameras on this blog, it is near the top instead of the bottom. This key also locks and releases the film carrier from the main body.

 

Underneath viewfinder, is the shutter speed lever setting, which like most box cameras only has only switches between “I” that has a speed of 1/30s (camerassinfronteras.com) and “B” that leaves the shutter open for as long as the user wants.

Then under that is the shutter lever, which like the Brownie No.2, is like a two-way switch. Meaning that when the user releases the shutter, by pressing down, the lever doesn’t jump back to its original position (like the Beau Brownie), but instead stays in that position. And if the user wants to take another picture, they will have to press the lever upwards.

This has both one advantage and one disadvantage. The advantage is that if the camera is set to the B shutter setting, then the user doesn’t have to hold down the shutter button to keep the shutter open. The disadvantage is that the user would have to constantly change their thumb and hand position between shots.

There is also a shield or rail that “…is supposed to protect users from possible injuries caused by rubbing against the camera's protruding levers…” (camerassinfronteras.com). 

Now on top-

Here is something I am very excited about, and that is the strap! So far all the other box cameras had the strap missing, but this one still has it. Although broken, it is still pretty cool to see the original strap with the camera, instead of just two empty studs.

Then on the front of the top is the portrait viewfinder. Then next to that is the f/stop lever.

This lever is just like the Brownie Beau and the No.2, in that it is attached to a plate that has holes punched in it, making it a Multihole aperture, just like the Sinpo PQ-3, the Agfa Clack and the Solar DX-3.

But also, unlike the Beau and the No.2, this camera actually has the f/stop sizes pressed onto the metal lever. These f/stop settings are 12.5, 16 and 22.

 

Then bottom of the top of the camera is the film compartment cover latch, similar to the Brownie Model 1.

Then on the bottom and the other side of the camera are the two tripod sockets, similar the Beau Brownie. The socket on the side is so that the camera can be positioned to take pictures in landscape mode and bottom is for portraits.

Then there is the back-

Here is the film compartment cover, which has a red film counter window.

The cover is released by lifting up the latch and pulling back.

In the film compartment is the film carrier/holder, that still (like the Agfa Clack) has some film in it.

Agfa Box 54 with empty film holder/carrier.
Image Source:
https://www.camarassinfronteras.com/agfa_box_54/agfa_box_54_32.jpg

On this film carrier is the lens, which is a simple single meniscus lens (see my Instamatic pocket 10 post), that has a focal length of 10.5 cm, and a fixed focus range of 2m to infinity (camerassinfronteras.com).

 

The holder/carrier is easy to load. It is similar to the other box cameras in this blog, except the film is loaded from the bottom, because the winding/film key is at the top. The camera 6 x 9 cm images and can take up to 8 exposures (camerassinfronteras.com). 

The film this camera uses is 120 film, but more specifically it was advertised to be used with Agfa’s B-2 film, or Isochrom film, which was Agfa’s in house 120 film.

 

To lean how film works please see my Kodak 200 Colorplus post.

And that is it. The Box 54 is simple and easy to use and was even marketed as such: “From a catalog from 1930-34: ‘The simple beginner's camera. Made entirely of metal. 3 focusing options: long, close, and portrait. Solid construction. 2 large diamond viewfinders, simple film tray, leather handle, description, and instructions. Good optics. 6 x 9 cm…’” (German Camera Museum 2025).

The thing I really like is the simple look and design accompanied by the Agfa name on the front. Emphasising that the Agfa name is all it takes to tell people that this camera is quality worth every penny.

What do you think? Should Agfa have added more decorations to the camera like the Beau Brownie to set itself apart from the other box cameras that were also just covered in leatherette like the Brownie No.2? Or do you think, like me, that the orange Agfa logo is enough to set it apart? Let me know in the comments.

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

If you want to help this site out, please consider joining my Patreon: patreon.com/OnlineCurator

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:

Before Digital. 2022. Agfa Box 44. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0aUZSzLqbQ4

Camerassinfronteras.com. Agfa Box No. 54 - "Box I". https://www.camarassinfronteras.com/agfa_box_54/agfa_box_54.html

Camera-wiki. Agfa Box I. https://camera-wiki.org/wiki/Agfa_Box_I#cite_ref-McK_2-0

Camera-wiki. Viewfinder. https://camera-wiki.org/wiki/Viewfinder#Watson_finder

Foticos Collection. Box 120 Agfa camera 44 in original box. https://foticoscollection.com/en/item/box-120-agfa-camera-44-in-original-box/188#:~:text=Info:,again%20with%20a%20box%20Agfa.

German Camera Museum. 2025. Agfa Box 54 “Box 1”. https://kameramuseum.de/objekte/agfa-box-54-box-1/

IWM. 2025. Agfa box camera. https://www.iwm.org.uk/collections/item/object/30004936

OrangeMushroom. 2025. AGFA: Box 54 (Box I). https://collectiblend.com/Cameras/AGFA/Box-54-(Box-I).html

Original Werbeanzeige von 1931. 2025. AGFA BOX N.54 1931. https://biblio.ie/book/agfa-box-n54-original-werbeanzeige-1931/d/1383502964?srsltid=AfmBOoqWTFQ1fEItPtAFuZOf4qOOhdy0sraEj1etg5Za6wNidXxxKVqw

Spickmann, U. Agfa box camera. https://www.udospickmann.de/agfa-boxkamera

Trigeos Collectables. 2024. AGFA Box 54 (Box I) 1930-1935 + Case in rough shape, made in Munich, Germany. https://www.ebay.com/itm/133811029632?autorefresh=true