Parker Stellar
The Stellar is a stylish subminiature camera made by the Parker Pen Company in 1949.[1] Only about 100 cameras were made before the product was abandoned.
The camera makes eight exposures 13x16mm on a strip of unperforated 16mm film, mounted around the edge of a wide, shallow drum-shaped cassette.[2] A mirrored prism in the centre of the drum directs the image-making light from the lens onto the film. This allows the camera to be very shallow front-to-back. The cassette is rotated by hand to advance to the next exposure; doing this also cocks the shutter.[2]
The camera has a coated 37mm f/4.5 lens. It has three exposure settings, numbered 1-3 and shown as descriptions of the light conditions appearing in a window above the lens. The exposure setting varies both the aperture set with three fixed aperture stops, and the shutter speed:[2]
- 1 - Dark subjects, failing sunlight, shadows: 1/35s at f/4.5;
- 2 - Average light to overcast and cloudy: 1/50s at f/8;
- 3 - Bright direct sunlight only: 1/75s at f/11;
There are two focus settings, for 3-10 feet and 10 feet-infinity. The camera has a reverse-galilean viewfinder. It is mounted on a short leather strap, which when swung round acts as a cover over the viewfinder and the clamshell lens-cover. There are some exposure guide-notes on the inside of the lens-cover. There is a tripod socket.
Notes
- ↑ Stellar camera sold at the 42nd Leitz Photographica Auction, in September 2023.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 Stellar cameras at Submin. Notes, some pictures of the camera and film cassette, and images of the instructions for use.