Universal Meteor
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| Universal Meteor image by Andrea Wiggins (Image rights) |
The Universal Meteor is a 620 film camera produced by the Universal Camera Corporation in New York City, NY. While McKeown's dates it as circa 1949[1], it was definitely being advertised, for a price of $15, as early as 1947[2]. The plumply streamlined body has a pull-out lens tube with a coated lens, which can be guess focused from infinity to 5 feet. The self-resetting shutter offers "instant" and "bulb" speeds, selected with the I /B lever atop the lens barrel.
The camera has four apertures of f/11, f/16, f/22 and f/32; it uses an extinction meter, and has a table on a metal plate affixed to the top to show four Weston film speeds of 25, 50, 100 and 200. A photographer today may find the sunny 16 rule to be more reliable. The camera back does not open, but instead a loading chamber drops out from the bottom. The camera exposes 2¼" square images (6×6 cm). It can be used with 120 film re-spooled onto 620 spindles.
Notes
- ↑ McKeown, James M. and Joan C. McKeown's Price Guide to Antique and Classic Cameras, 12th Edition, 2005-2006. USA, Centennial Photo Service, 2004. ISBN 0-931838-40-1 (hardcover). ISBN 0-931838-41-X (softcover). Page 939.
- ↑ Popular Photography magazine, December 1947 (Volume 21, no. 6), page 130.
Links
- Universal Meteor (scroll down) among Medium Format models at "Mr. Martin's Website" Camera Museum
- Meteor manual at Mike Butkus' OrphanCameras.com
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| With original box image by Rick Soloway (Image rights) |
