Kodak Instamatic 500
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| Kodak Instamatic 500 lens extended |
The Kodak Type 048 Instamatic 500 was a manual-exposure viewfinder camera for 126 film cartridges - one of the high end of the Instamatic range.
The body is made from two substantial cast metal blocks, with plastic facings front and rear, filled-in with leatherette. The winding lever - quirkily for a 126 camera - is recessed into the back, below the film catridge, with a notch in the base for access using the right thumb. This is not as slick as a conventionally-placed lever above the film.
Exposure metering is by a branded Gossen selenium meter, with a needle-centring display across the bottom of the viewfinder. The camera has both hot shoe and PC socket to connect a flash, and accepts 32 mm Retina filters and lens hoods. A depth-of-field indicator, tripod socket, and threaded shutter release (for a cable release) are included. The lens can be retracted into the camera body - concealing the shutter-speed scale - when not in use, and extended using a release button in the bottom plate. Acknowledging it's lowly Instamatic origins, the lens has both distance scale, and portrait/group/mountain distance symbols with click stops.
specifications
- Type: Viewfinder film camera
- Manufacturer: Kodak AG, Germany
- Year of launch: 1963
- Withdrawn: 1965 (1966 in US)
- Film: Type 126 film cartridge
- Lens: Schneider-Kreuznach Xenar f/2.8 38mm 4-element glass; stopping to f/22
- Shutter: Compur leaf with speeds 1/30 to 1/500 sec. plus bulb
- Aperture: 1:2.8 to 1:22
- Viewfinder: Optical viewfinder with bright frame and parallax correction marks
- Metering: Gossen selenium cell meter with exposure compensation (+/-) indicator in viewfinder
