Ami (WZFO)
The Ami and Ami 66 are toy viewfinder cameras made of plastic by the Polish firm Warszawskie Zaklady Fotooptyczne (WZFO).
Made around 1960, the Ami takes 6×6 cm (or with a mask 4.5x6 cm) exposures on 120 film. It has a 75/8 simple, fixed-focus meniscus lens, and a choice between 1/50 sec (with flash synchronization) and B. Aperture is f/8 for sunny and f/16 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 Ami 66 looks more dramatic, the front of its lens assembly containing a fat circle of fake photocells, as if in tribute to the Lord Martian. Again according to Adamczyk, its shutter is simpler (and worse) than that of the original Ami.
The example examined[1] was, surprisingly, accompanied by an all-leather case: a slightly tight fit, but thanks to its convex back very obviously made for a camera without a film plane and almost certainly designed for this camera: the inside of the snout of the case was marked either "1972" or "10/72" and the inside of the strap "15 Czerw 1973"; all combining to suggest camera manufacture in the early 1970s.
Notes
- ↑ By Camerapedia editor Hoary.
Links
In English:
- Ami, Ami 66 and Ami 2 at Michał R. Adamczyk's Polskie aparaty fotograficzne
In Polish:
- Ami (all models) at Polish Wikipedia
