Talk:Time Magazine Camera

Hi

Have been discussing the Time Magazine Camera page with John-Henry Collinson (don't think he edits but a lot of his camera-wiki photos on flickr are used) and I wanted to check something out with you.

The original posting was ported over from camerapedia with no pics and referred to glass lens version. You added a photo quite reasonably in 2010 with a Time camera with a Kinetic optical color lens. Later you added the kinetic optical lens to the original specs.

Just wanted to check as Henry has one of those cameras with the kinetic lens and the lens is plastic. It's also a dead ringer bar faux viewfinder for the Barclaycard Visa Camera given out in the UK (both seem made in Taiwan). Several varients of the time camera exist (if you google and in McKneown according to Henry). I haven't seen in the flesh but images do exist of a lavec glass lens which is reviewed as having a glass lens

Did you have a Glass lensed Kinetic version ? and do we need to tweak the page (i've started something on my talk page as a discussion with henry) I suspect the original poster had just seen or been aware of the lavec lens version

--bigalid (talk) 14:35, 6 January 2014 (PST)

Time camera discussion point- feel free to tweak. Proposals for change to the time camera page

The ubiquitous Time camera image by Bracket ツ (Image rights)

The Time Magazine Camera was a series of 35mm toy cameras given out free with subscriptions of Time Magazine in mid 1985.

Several variations exists which may indicate came from several producers . Only 1 features a model number (FC-101), the rest can be classified by lens markings.

The cameras all come in black plastic with 50mm fixed focus lens, fixed shutterspeed and manual aperture adjustment. The bodies have the appearance of a SLR with a faux pentaprism housing and a thickening on one side suggestive of a non-existent motorwind grip. Some variants have a faux front rangefinder window. They are all manual advance and have a simple viewfinder above the lens either centrally or to one side.

While the Time Magazine branding is the best known, the cameras were also distributed as promotional items for companies like Sports Illustrated, Caesars and Barclaycard as well as under other branding like the Franka NX-40.

Many of the cameras featured a standard hot shoe on the top of the camera, and several other features not usually found on toy cameras, such as a coupled frame counter and a choice of apertures. Whilst most feature a plastic lens, one variant, features a glass single element lens (lavec optical glass lens). This is described as being of better quality and the pictures being relatively sharp.

The pictured Time camera's "Kinetic Optical Color Lens" may indicate a connection to other products branded Kinetic; but given the profusion of different brands used this is hard to determine. This model featured a metal weight to give the impression of a heavier camera.

Modification of these cameras is possible to add cable release, multiple exposure and other features

Photos

Camera with Franka badging image by Arty Smokes (Image rights)

Camera with Caesars badging image by John Kratz (Image rights)

The secret to the Time-Life camera's heft image by Mark Anderson (Image rights)

Technical data Lavec Glass lens version:

• Fixed focus 50mm single-element glass lens
• One shutter speed of about 1/100th sec.
• Variable aperture in both F-stops & pictograms (marked as "cloudy" to "sunny")
• Simple Viewfinder

Technical data Kinetic Optical Color lens version:

• Fixed Focus 50mm plastic lens
• fixed shutter speed
• Variable Aperture with 4 settings from f/6 to f/16 , marked both in f-stops and weather pictograms
• Curved film plane
• Simple Viewfinder