Kodak Super Six-20
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| Kodak Super Six-20 |
The Kodak Super Six-20 is accepted as being the first camera with automatic exposure, introduced by Kodak in 1938. 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 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[1], 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 It was withdrawn in 1944; production estimates vary between 714 and 725 being made; 719 is the most common guess.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- Withdrawn: August 1944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 f/3.5
- Shutter: Compur, speeds 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
