Difference between revisions of "Kodak Super Six-20"
m (8-speed shutter) |
m (Added inflation adjusted price, indices) |
||
| Line 13: | Line 13: | ||
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]]<sup>[2]</sup>. | 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]]<sup>[2]</sup>. | ||
| − | The Super Six-20 was not a great success due to its high price - $225<sup>[1]</sup>, much more than a contemporary [[Leica]] - and a reputation for unreliability. Kodak employees had nicknamed it "the boomerang" for its regular returns for service<sup>[2]</sup>. | + | The Super Six-20 was not a great success due to its high price - $225 USD<sup>[1]</sup> (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<sup>[2]</sup>. |
It was withdrawn in 1944; production estimates vary between 714 and 725 being made; 719 is the most common guess. | It was withdrawn in 1944; production estimates vary between 714 and 725 being made; 719 is the most common guess. | ||
{{br}} | {{br}} | ||
| Line 45: | Line 45: | ||
[[Category: S|Super Six-20]] | [[Category: S|Super Six-20]] | ||
[[Category: Folding]] | [[Category: Folding]] | ||
| + | [[Category: USA]] | ||
| + | [[Category: Medium format]] | ||
| + | [[Category: Bellows cameras]] | ||
Revision as of 18:01, 16 June 2008
|
| Kodak Super Six-20 |
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 the photocell[3].
The folding clam-shell design was by Joseph Mihalyi and styled by Walter Dorwin Teague. This incorporated crank winding and a coupled rangefinder[2].
The Super Six-20 was not a great success due to its high price - $225 USD[1] (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[2].
It was withdrawn in 1944; production estimates vary between 714 and 725 being made; 719 is the most common guess.
Specification
- Manufacturer: Kodak
- Country of Origin: USA
- Introduced: August 1938[2]
- 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
Sources
- [1] Kodak's History of Kodak Cameras
- [2] Coe, Brian, Kodak Cameras, the First Hundred Years, Hove Foto Books, 1988
- [3] Coe, Brian, Cameras, from Daguerreotypes to Instant Pictures, p223, Nordbok, 1978
Links
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.
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.
