Ami (WZFO)
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| type 1 version 5 Ami image by Ivan Ruggiero (Image rights) |
The Ami is a toy viewfinder cameras made of plastic by the Polish firm Warszawskie Zakłady Fotooptyczne (WZFO).
Made around 1960, the Ami takes 6×6 cm exposures on 120 film. It has a 75/8 simple, fixed-focus meniscus lens, and only one shutter speed of 1/50 sec (with flash synchronization for flash bulbs only). Aperture is f/16 for sunny and f/8 for cloudy. According to Michał R. Adamczyk, "[its body] was made of 'styropol' - Polish high impact polystyrene, which bettered aesthetics and reduced weight" compared with the Druh. The camera was intended for use with 40-50 ASA (17-18 DIN) films on clear days, with aperture 16 in the sunlight and 8 in the shadow or under light clouds. On cloudy days, 100-200 ASA (21-24 DIN) films and aperture 8 were recommended.
There is no word ami in Polish. French was a widely studied foreign language in Poland during the Communist period, and the name of this camera was probably intended to evoke the French word ami ("friend").
There was a Flash called Amilux designed for the Ami series, Powered by 22.5v battery it used type "lb-2" Bulbs.
Was followed by the Ami 2 in the same year and by the Ami 66 in 1969.
Contents
Specifications
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| Top half of the box. image by Ivan Ruggiero (Image rights) |
- Frame size: 56x56 mm (120 film type)
- Film advance: manual, with red window
- Lens: fixed, meniscus, 75 mm 1:8
- Focusing: fix focus, from 2 m to infinity
- Aperture: 1:8, 1:16
- Shutter: two leaf everset shutter, one 1/50 s shutter speed
- Cold shoe and standard PC socket
- Flash sync: flashbulbs only
- Tripod thread: 3/8"
- Dimensions: 143x82x100 mm
Versions
There are 21 different documented versions of the Ami[1]. They were available in 3 colours (white, beige and blue), with 6 different shutter button colours and 5 different logos (A[2],B[3],C[4],D,E[5]).
The "type 2" versions differ in the addition of the WZFO logo in the flash shoe.
| type | version | front colour | top colour | shutter button | logo |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 | white | white | A | |
| 2 | B | ||||
| 3 | C | ||||
| 4[2] | rosso | A | |||
| 5[3] | yellow | B | |||
| 6 | green | C | |||
| 7 | beige | red | A | ||
| 8 | yellow | B | |||
| 9 | green | C | |||
| 10 | light green | ||||
| 11[5] | blue | white | white | E | |
| 12 | blue | A | |||
| 13 | red | ||||
| 14 | yellow | B | |||
| 15 | green | C | |||
| 16[4] | light green | ||||
| 17 | black | A | |||
| 18 | B | ||||
| 19 | C | ||||
| 2 | 1 | white | A | ||
| 2 | D | ||||
Notes
- ↑ Mariusz Jedynak (2018). Polskie Aparaty Fotograficzne 1953-1985. Wydawnictwo MS. ISBN 978-83-61915-67-6.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 type 1 version 4, Polskie aparaty fotograficzne
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 type 1 version 5, Wikimedia Commons
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 type 1 version 16, Polskie aparaty fotograficzne
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 type 1 version 11, Polskie aparaty fotograficzne
Links
- Ami, Ami2 and Ami 66 at Polskie aparaty fotograficzne (in Polish)
Sources
- Ami camera instruction manual
