Instamatic Camera in Original Box to Give Away

[Nick in Manitou]

I have a Instamatic 40 camera in the original box.  Unfortunately someone wrote on the top of the box as can be seen in the photos.

I remember who I got this from, but I don't know if I ever used it.

The roll of film in the box is from York Photo Labs and the flash cube has been used, but hey, it presents well and the price is right if you feel you need this in your collection!

All I ask is that you cover the shipping.

Any interest?

Nick

[LarryInMichigan]

I remember when those came out.  They were considered high-tech at the time.  Unfortunately, those things do not tend to be worth much.  Do you remember the Fotomat kiosks?

Larry

[Nick in Manitou]

I do remember the Fotomat kiosks and remember that every time one thought about taking a picture, the cost of film and processing had to be kept in mind...as a result we took a lot fewer pictures when I was younger than we do now!

Digital photos are great when it comes to taking a lot and keeping only those you like!

Nick

[Kenton K]

These are the ones that use the mini film, right?

[Phonesrfun]

They used size 110 film, which was rather small.

[JorgeAmely]

Can you still get the film?

[twocvbloke]

Apparently so:

http://shop.lomography.com/gb/films/110-film

[tallguy58]

I was a commercial photographer for over 20 years and I can say unequivocally that the worst format ever invented was the 110. No film ever came close to the horrendous resolution that film produced. Not surprising considering the negs were one quarter the size of 35mm film.

And most cameras made to accept it had plastic lenses.

[Kenton K]

I feel the quality issues were primarily because of the cheap camera construction. 35mm film in cheap cameras too produced horrible shots. But the small film size certainly made the quality issue worse.

[Phonesrfun]

Let's not forget that the "faster" the film, the grainy-er it was to enlarge.  They needed to use reasonably "fast" film in order to get snapshots that would not blur with the plastic lenses and one speed shutter.

[twocvbloke]

I was a commercial photographer for over 20 years and I can say unequivocally that the worst format ever invented was the 110.

I wouldn't say that, there was the Polaroid Izone things, they produced horrible quality (and tiny) pictures...

[paul-f]

While it's clear that the 110 cameras weren't targeted to the commercial market, they did have a big following in the consumer area for a while.

My family was heavily into photography (grandfather was a professional photographer, dad had over a dozen patents in his work with Eastman Kodak).  While we primarily used 35mm, mom latched on to a 110 camera for snapshots and was quite pleased with its convenience. 

I even bought a Canon 110ED to use on international business trips, when carrying around the 35mm kit was too cumbersome.  It was small, rugged and a good overall compromise.  I even took slides and projected them to medium sized groups.

I imagine Kodak lost a lot on the format, as they spent a ton of money on ads and on devising things to sell that few wanted - like a miniature version of the Carousel slide projector.  It was simple to get the slides returned in 2x2 mounts for use in a standard projector desinged for 35mm slides or use 2x2 adapters.

I found some photos of the projectors for reference.  RIP 110 format.

I was a commercial photographer for over 20 years and I can say unequivocally that the worst format ever invented was the 110. No film ever came close to the horrendous resolution that film produced. Not surprising considering the negs were one quarter the size of 35mm film.

And most cameras made to accept it had plastic lenses.

[tallguy58]

Let's not forget the ultimate in insanity, the Pentax 110 system.

That's right, an interchangeable lens camera, motor drive, flash etc.

I actually sold one of these to the lighting tech for Supertramp when they came to Toronto. He traded in a Nikon F system. He didn't like what the store offered him in trade so I took him outside and offered cash for his Nikon stuff.

Probably the dumbest deal, on his part, I was ever involved in. I even tried to talk him out of it.

He just wanted it for the size.

[Phonesrfun]

On th Instamatic, don't you just love the flash extender.  The flash cube that mounted right on the top surface of the camera had such a small angle between it and the cameral lens that "red-eye" was pretty much guaranteed.  The extender increased the angle and that decreased the red eye effect somewhat.  We still have red-eye with today's small cameras, but fortunately we now have software to deal with it.
My first camera took 127 size film and had flash bulbs that were battery operated. 

[Nick in Manitou]

It seems that most folks here feel the same way that I do about this phone camera...it is an interesting artifact from another era...but not one that justifies the space it takes up around the house.

A neighbor is having a yard sale this weekend I think I will donate the phone camera to her.

I will post when the phone camera has left the building in case anyone wants to speak up between now and when it departs...

Nick

Edited (9-17-14) to call a spade a spade...and a camera a camera.