Difference between revisions of "Kodak Super Six-20"
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|image= http://farm1.static.flickr.com/105/366036620_ec2445a70b.jpg | |image= http://farm1.static.flickr.com/105/366036620_ec2445a70b.jpg | ||
|image_align= left | |image_align= left | ||
|image_text= Kodak Super Six-20 | |image_text= Kodak Super Six-20 | ||
+ | |image_by= Rick Soloway | ||
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The '''Kodak Super Six-20''' is accepted as being the first camera with automatic exposure, introduced by [[Kodak]] in 1938. | The '''Kodak Super Six-20''' is accepted as being the first camera with automatic exposure, introduced by [[Kodak]] in 1938. | ||
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== Description == | == Description == | ||
Exposure was controlled by a mechanical linkage from a [[selenium meter|selenium light meter]] to the aperture control. Pressing the shutter release first locked the meter needle, and moved a lever controlling the aperture up to the needle, before firing the shutter. | Exposure was controlled by a mechanical linkage from a [[selenium meter|selenium light meter]] to the aperture control. Pressing the shutter release first locked the meter needle, and moved a lever controlling the aperture up to the needle, before firing the shutter. | ||
− | Adjusting the speed control moved a cover over more or less of the photocell<ref>Coe, Brian, ''Cameras, from Daguerreotypes to Instant Pictures'', p223, Nordbok, 1978</ref>. The film was [[film advance|advanced]] by a lever which also opened the [[red window]] cover and cocked the shutter, which "guards against double-exposures and blanks"<ref>[http://www.flickr.com/photos/nesster/4340578290/in/pool- | + | Adjusting the speed control moved a cover over more or less of the photocell<ref>Coe, Brian, ''Cameras, from Daguerreotypes to Instant Pictures'', p223, Nordbok, 1978</ref>. The film was [[film advance|advanced]] by a lever which also opened the [[red window]] cover and cocked the shutter, which "guards against double-exposures and blanks"<ref>[http://www.flickr.com/photos/nesster/4340578290/in/pool-camerawiki/ 1938 Kodak ad]</ref>. |
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− | |image_source= http://www.flickr.com/photos/nesster/4340578290/in/pool- | + | |image_source= http://www.flickr.com/photos/nesster/4340578290/in/pool-camerawiki/ |
|image= http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4013/4340578290_6c43f09268_m.jpg | |image= http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4013/4340578290_6c43f09268_m.jpg | ||
|image_align= right | |image_align= right | ||
− | |image_text= 1938 ad for "THE CAMERA WITH<br />THE ELECTRIC EYE", showing<br />the $225 price | + | |image_text= 1938 ad for "THE CAMERA WITH<br />THE ELECTRIC EYE", showing<br />the $225 price |
+ | |image_by= Nesster | ||
+ | |image_rights=pd | ||
}} | }} | ||
The folding clam-shell design was by [[Joe Mihalyi|Joseph Mihalyi]] and styled by [[Walter Dorwin Teague]]. This incorporated crank [[film advance|winding]] and a [[coupled rangefinder]]<ref name="CoeK">Coe, Brian, ''Kodak Cameras, the First Hundred Years'', Hove Foto Books, 1988</ref>. | The folding clam-shell design was by [[Joe Mihalyi|Joseph Mihalyi]] and styled by [[Walter Dorwin Teague]]. This incorporated crank [[film advance|winding]] and a [[coupled rangefinder]]<ref name="CoeK">Coe, Brian, ''Kodak Cameras, the First Hundred Years'', Hove Foto Books, 1988</ref>. |
Revision as of 00:30, 6 August 2011
Kodak Super Six-20 image by Rick Soloway (Image rights) |
The Kodak Super Six-20 is accepted as being the first camera with automatic exposure, introduced by Kodak in 1938.
Description
Exposure was controlled by a mechanical linkage from a selenium light meter to the aperture control. Pressing the shutter release first locked the meter needle, and moved a lever controlling the aperture up to the needle, before firing the shutter. Adjusting the speed control moved a cover over more or less of the photocell[1]. The film was advanced by a lever which also opened the red window cover and cocked the shutter, which "guards against double-exposures and blanks"[2].
1938 ad for "THE CAMERA WITH THE ELECTRIC EYE", showing the $225 price image by Nesster (Image rights) |
The folding clam-shell design was by Joseph Mihalyi and styled by Walter Dorwin Teague. This incorporated crank winding and a coupled rangefinder[3].
The Super Six-20 was not a great success due to its enormously high price - $225 USD[4] (app. $3,200 USD in 2007), much more than a contemporary Leica - and a reputation for unreliability. Kodak employees had nicknamed it "the boomerang" for its regular returns for service[3].
It was withdrawn in 1944; production estimates vary between 714 and 725 being made; 719 is the most common guess.
1936 Patent drawings |
Specification
- Manufacturer: Kodak
- Country of Origin: USA
- Introduced: August 1938[3]
- Withdrawn: August 1944
- Lens: Kodak Anastigmat Special 100mm f/3.5, focus 4ft-infinity
- Shutter: Compur, 8 speeds up to 1/200; shutter priority auto from 1/25-1/200, slower speeds available manually
- Film: 620, frame size 2¼ x 3¼ inches, 6x9cm
1937 Concept drawings by Walter Dorwin Teague |
Sources
- ↑ Coe, Brian, Cameras, from Daguerreotypes to Instant Pictures, p223, Nordbok, 1978
- ↑ 1938 Kodak ad
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 Coe, Brian, Kodak Cameras, the First Hundred Years, Hove Foto Books, 1988
- ↑ Kodak's History of Kodak Cameras
Links
- Super Six-20 on George Eastman House site
- Super Six-20 at the National Media Museum, Bradford, UK
- Bill Kantymir's Super Six-20 story
- Design Patent 2333807 by Joseph Mihalyi filed in 1936, granted 1943 {shown on Google Patents}
- Kodak Super Six-20 listed at number 7 in Jason Schneider's Top 20 Cameras Of All-Time on Shutterbug.
Postscript
A auto-exposure patent pre-dates the release of this camera; US Patent 2,058,562 was granted in 1935 to Gustav Bucky and Albert Einstein! This covers a different, possibly impractical system using neutral-density filters to control light. The Super Six-20 remains the first auto-exposure camera to go on sale.
In spite of the commercial failure of the Super Six-20, the "trap-needle" (Electric-Eye, "EE") system of auto-exposure eventually became popular from the late 1950s, until it was replaced by electronic systems in the 1970s.