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 were rumors that the name "Ami" came from the name of it's creator, the engineer Adam Mikołajczyk[1]. Other rumors say that the name was chosen after an internal contest in WZFO, where the winning name was "Przyjaciel" ("friend" in polish), proposed by Janina Michalska. But was considered too long and changed to the french translation[2] (french was a widely studied foreign language in Poland during the Communist period).
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. Two other box designs exist. 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: 1/4"[3]
- Dimensions: 143x82x100 mm
- Price: 269 złoty in 1968.[1][4]
Versions
There are 21 different documented versions of the Ami[3]. They were available in 3 colours (white, beige and blue), with 6 different shutter button colours and 5 different logos (A[5],B[6],C[7],D,E[8]).
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[5] | rosso | A | |||
| 5[6] | yellow | B | |||
| 6 | green | C | |||
| 7 | beige | red | A | ||
| 8 | yellow | B | |||
| 9 | green | C | |||
| 10 | light green | ||||
| 11[8] | blue | white | white | E | |
| 12 | blue | A | |||
| 13 | red | ||||
| 14 | yellow | B | |||
| 15 | green | C | |||
| 16[7] | light green | ||||
| 17 | black | A | |||
| 18 | B | ||||
| 19 | C | ||||
| 2 | 1 | white | A | ||
| 2 | D | ||||
Notes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 AMI - (WZFO - PZO), fotomuzeum.pl
- ↑ 🎞 WZFO Ami - historia i recenzja aparatu - Fotografia Analogowa, Youtube - @namesurename-fotografiaana3168 comment (in Polish)
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Mariusz Jedynak (2018). Polskie Aparaty Fotograficzne 1953-1985. Wydawnictwo MS. ISBN 978-83-61915-67-6.
- ↑ Kalendarz Przyjaciółki 1968
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 type 1 version 4, Polskie aparaty fotograficzne
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 type 1 version 5, Wikimedia Commons
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 type 1 version 16, Polskie aparaty fotograficzne
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 type 1 version 11, Polskie aparaty fotograficzne
Links
- Ami, Ami2 and Ami 66 at Polskie aparaty fotograficzne (in Polish)
Sources
- Ami camera instruction manual
