Ansco Cadet II

Ansco Cadet II
Image by Steve Harwood (Image rights)

Manufacturer: Ansco
Date of Production: mid-1960's

Film type: 127
Lens: Plastic Anscar lens, fixed focus
Exposure Metering: -
Battery: (2) AA's (for flash)
Weight:
Dimensions: -

The Ansco Cadet II was introduced in the mid-1960's by the Ansco camera company of Binghampton, New York. It is a plastic camera which uses 127 roll film. It updated the styling of the original Cadet of 1959.

Ansco started making cameras in 1870 after having been a photographic supplier since the 1840's. The company became GAF (General Aniline & Film) in 1967, then sold out to Haking of Hong Kong in 1978. Ansco-branded cameras were made until the 1990's.

Construction

The body of the Cadet II is made of plastic with an aluminium faceplate. It has two mounting holes for attaching a strap. On the front of the camera, there is a dial to select color or black and white film. This controls the size of the aperture. (The larger aperture opening is the one for color film.) The 127 film produces 12 square images and is wound by a large, round wheel on the bottom of the camera, stopping when the next frame number on the film's backing paper can be seen through a red window. The camera can be used with or without the matching flash attachment, which mounts on top and requires 2 AA batteries.

The shutter is armed by advancing the film, making double exposures impossible, and released with the red button. It is single-speed. There is a decorative faux-meter next to the viewfinder window, meant to imitate the look of a selenium meter cell's lens array, but this camera does not have a light meter.