# Collectible camera question of the week.



## Mitica100 (Dec 17, 2005)

How about starting some sort of contest to test your knowledge of the collectible camera?  

No real prize, no, I don't have any Leicas to give away, just the pride of answering correctly.  

And now the question(s):

The Leica M3 series come in two versions, Double Stroke and Single Stroke (winding levers). The Double Stroke was manufactured first with the Single Stroke taking its place later. 

_What was the reason behind Leica creating a Double Stroke winding camera and why was it replaced later with a Single Stroke?_


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## santino (Dec 17, 2005)

dunno?, one wounds the shutter and the second transports the film? maybe a weird possibility to take double exposures? one wound for slow- and the second for fast shutter speeds? dunno, that is really a hard one  
was it for technical reason?


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## Mitica100 (Dec 17, 2005)

santino said:
			
		

> dunno?, one wounds the shutter and the second transports the film? maybe a weird possibility to take double exposures? one wound for slow- and the second for fast shutter speeds? dunno, that is really a hard one
> was it for technical reason?


 
No, although that's a good guess... :mrgreen: 

Hint: Has to do with something else non-mechanical.


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## JonK (Dec 18, 2005)

So you could shoot faster?


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## Mitica100 (Dec 18, 2005)

No.  

It has to do with the film. 

It was a very smart idea at that time. Guess again?


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## photogoddess (Dec 18, 2005)

Fear that the tension of a single stroke advance might tear the sprockets of the film and that a double stroke would be gentler on the film. Since film was strong enough, the double stroke advance was more prone to problems (more monkey motion?) so they replaced it with a single stroke version. Am I right?


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## Mitica100 (Dec 18, 2005)

PG you are correct! :hail:  They went to Single Stroke after the films got more tear resistant.

   

Be it known that Photogoddess is the first winner of this contest! Congratulations!


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## Mitica100 (Dec 18, 2005)

This week's question deals with the Exakta cameras.

There are variations in the Exakta camera names, as in Varex or VX. Both are the same but called differently in the US (VX) because of which company that threatened to sue them for using the Varex name?


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## Kent Frost (Dec 18, 2005)

Mitica100 said:
			
		

> There are variations in the Exakta camera names, as in Varex or VX. Both are the same but called differently in the US (VX) because of which company that threatened to sue them for using the Varex name?



Argus Camera Company


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## Mitica100 (Dec 18, 2005)

Kent Frost said:
			
		

> Argus Camera Company


 
Yessss! Very good!! Argus had developed a camera shutter with the name Varex before the Exakta being named Varex, hence the legal trouble.

Kent gets kudos for a very quick answer. Congrats!

As it turns out, this thread's title _Collectible Camera Question Of The Week_ needs amending, should be called now just *Collectible Camera Trivia*, because I'm not going to wait another week to post a trivia question...  

Look out for the next question...


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## Mitica100 (Dec 18, 2005)

And here goes another one:

Name the one camera that had seven functions and was produced first in 1923. Some of these functions are: half frame still camera on 35mm, movie camera, contact printer and movie projector.


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## Mitica100 (Dec 27, 2005)

Hmm...  No takers?

It was the Sept Debrie camera, produced in France. Sept in French is Seven in English, hence its name.


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## Mitica100 (Dec 27, 2005)

Name one camera which was manufactured during the WWII and having one of the markings:  _Made in the USSR_  or  a German Swastika.

Hint: It was conceived and put in production in a different country than USSR or Germany.


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## celery (Dec 28, 2005)

Kriegsmarine leica II was a military camera that had a swastika on it.  Other than that, I dunno.


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## Mitica100 (Dec 28, 2005)

celery said:
			
		

> Kriegsmarine leica II was a military camera that had a swastika on it. Other than that, I dunno.


 

As far as I understand, Contax was pretty resistant at applying Swastikas to their cameras. I own a Kriegsmarine Contax set (with its lens) and has no Swastika on it. There were very few occasions though when they did let that happen.  About the Leicas... I have to research more regarding this subject.

But... the camera in question was neither German nor Russian.  Guess again?


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## celery (Dec 28, 2005)

http://images.google.com/imgres?img...+II&svnum=10&hl=en&lr=&c2coff=1&safe=off&sa=G



Woah, that a big link, check it out though.  But I still don't know any other cameras that had a swastika on them.


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## Mitica100 (Dec 28, 2005)

Thanks, beautiful camera! It has a 'custom designed' Swastika which was applied later. Neat though!

The camera I was asking about is a very small camera, not a 35mm format. There goes another hint...


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## Mitica100 (Dec 28, 2005)

Ok...  I guess that's a tough one. It's the ever popular Minox camera. Conceived and built in Riga (Latvia) by Walter Zapp, the Minox was an instant hit in the subminiature field. Before WWII Stalin made a pact with Hitler so that he (Stalin) can go in Latvia and claim it as part of the USSR. Hence, several thousand Minox Riga were branded _Made in USSR._ Hitler later reneged on that pact and eventually invaded USSR and Latvia. They produced the Minox Riga with a _swastika_ logo on. I don't recall how many of them were branded that way. After the end of the war, Walter Zapp moved to Germany and supervised the Minox manufactury.

The Minox Riga cameras that have the above markings are very rare and expensive.


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## Mitica100 (Jan 2, 2006)

Another tough one...

What camera and what film was used to take the world's first published picture of an atomic blast taken at the Bikini atol?


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## Mitica100 (Jan 3, 2006)

Answer:  Perfex 22 and Kodachrome.


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## darin3200 (Jan 8, 2006)

Cool thread, I love the camera trivia


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## Mitica100 (Jan 8, 2006)

darin3200 said:
			
		

> Cool thread, I love the camera trivia


 
Excellent! I didn't want to post more for now so it doesn't look like spam. :lmao: 

But...  I'll have more to come. Glad someone likes this thread.


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## Mitica100 (Jan 8, 2006)

The first born camera was filmless. It was called Camera Obscura (or Dark Room in Latin). Although there were accounts of its use around 10th century, there were some recorded uses for this invention.

Who was the first person to write about the uses of the Camera Obscura? And what was it used for?


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## Kent Frost (Jan 8, 2006)

I know that Leonardo Da Vinci mentioned it in his works as being a tool to aid in tracing and painting images from real life. But I've also heard that it was a tool used to view solar eclipses.


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## santino (Jan 9, 2006)

I saw stuff dealing with the camera obscura in Da Vinci's museum in Florence.


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## Mitica100 (Jan 9, 2006)

And we have two winners! Kent Frost and Santino answered correctly.

The Camera Obscura existed in principle from 300 BC (Aristotle), there were claims that Roger Bacon used one to observe eclipses around 1300 AD. But the one that documented the use of a Camera Obscura was Leonardo.

Congrats to both of you.


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## Mitica100 (Jan 9, 2006)

Since we're discussing 'firsts' here, the next question will be about a first as well:

When was the first negative-positive process invented, who patented it and what was it called? 

As a follow up, another question:

Why was it invented?


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## markc (Jan 9, 2006)

I don't know the first part, but I think the "why" was because the positive-positive process was a one-time deal. One shot = one print. Having a negative meant you could keep making a bunch of other negatives from that, resulting in multiple positives.


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## darin3200 (Jan 9, 2006)

I guess in 1886 by Fox Talbot, called something like the wet process with collidian plates and done for making multiple pictures


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## Mitica100 (Jan 10, 2006)

Well, that's really close.

William Henry Talbot invented the _calotype_ process in 1841, the first negative to positive process allowing for multiple copies. The exposure times were enormous, in 1851 Frederick Scott Archer invented the _collodion_ process which reduced the exposure times to two-three seconds.

As to why, Talbot wanted to have an aid in copying nature onto canvass (painting/drawing) and was really frustrated with the existing machines, so he developed this process after hearing of Daguerre's invention in 1839.


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## Mitica100 (Jan 12, 2006)

OK, time for another one...

What was the first SLR camera and when was it produced? (tricky question here...)


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## Mitica100 (Jan 14, 2006)

Hmm...  No takers here.  OK, here it goes:

Graflex introduced the SLR cameras with their LF SLR cameras. Mirror had to be set down for the viewing position, after which had to be raised in order to allow the focal plane shutter to operate and expose the film. 

The very first 35mm SLR was made in the former USSR, a camera called GOMZ Sport and it was made in 1935. Soon after that other notable 35mm SLR cameras started being produced, such as the Exakta models.


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## santino (Jan 15, 2006)

I've heard that about the "sport" but wasn't sure if that was right. thanks for the confirmation


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## Mitica100 (Jan 15, 2006)

And one more...

What was Ansel Adams' first ever camera and where did he use it first? (Hint: the year was 1916)


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## darin3200 (Jan 15, 2006)

Total guess here... Kodak Brownie, World's Fair


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## Mitica100 (Jan 16, 2006)

Correct! It was a Kodak Brownie Box camera. He received it from his parents when he was 14, took it on a trip to Yosemite National Park and always returned there.

Good guess darin3200!  

Next question, also about Ansel Adams. When did he start using the Zone System? (year)


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## santino (Jan 16, 2006)

1939 /40 (I can't remeber exactly) he founded the "f64" group and wrote down the zone system with some other guy, is that correct?


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## darin3200 (Jan 16, 2006)

santino said:
			
		

> 1939 /40 (I can't remeber exactly) he founded the "f64" group and wrote down the zone system with some other guy, is that correct?


I think he worked on it Weston.


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## Mitica100 (Jan 16, 2006)

Santino, you were so close to the answer that I will give it to you! Congrats!

He started using the Zone System in 1941. He developed it a year earlier or so. My question was when he started using it.


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## Mitica100 (Jan 16, 2006)

The new question?

What was the smallest camera (comercially available) and where was it made?


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## markc (Jan 16, 2006)

I'm guessing a Minox, from Germany.


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## Mitica100 (Jan 16, 2006)

markc said:
			
		

> I'm guessing a Minox, from Germany.


 
It's a good guess but it's not the correct one. Although Minox is the longest production of a very small film camera.


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## santino (Jan 17, 2006)

the pentax auto110 is the smallest SLR but I guess not the smallest camera...  :hertz:


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## markc (Jan 17, 2006)

Heh, I have no idea then, but I'll guess it's from somewhere in the old Soviet block.


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## Mitica100 (Jan 17, 2006)

Yes, the Pentax 110 was the smallest SLR but the smallest camera was made in 1950 by Sakura of Japan, called Petal. The size of a half dollar, it came in two shapes, circular and hexagonal. Takes 6 exposures on a 25mm diameter circular film and its cost was about $10.


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## markc (Jan 17, 2006)

Blast.


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## santino (Jan 17, 2006)

btw. I could get the Pentax 110 auto for 8 euros, dunno if it's worth that (because the film's very rare). what you guys think?


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## Mitica100 (Jan 17, 2006)

santino said:
			
		

> btw. I could get the Pentax 110 auto for 8 euros, dunno if it's worth that (because the film's very rare). what you guys think?



I'd go for it, at least for the collectible value of it.


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## Mitica100 (Jan 17, 2006)

BTW, since I posted the question about the smallest camera, I could post one about the largest camera. However...  I'll just present it:

Largest_Camera


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## markc (Jan 17, 2006)

How about the largest Polaroid camera?


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## Mitica100 (Jan 18, 2006)

markc said:
			
		

> How about the largest Polaroid camera?



very cool!


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## Mitica100 (Jan 20, 2006)

New question:

Does anyone know what is the world's most expensive (sold) camera?


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## Mitica100 (Jan 20, 2006)

Hmm... No takers?

OK, here it is:






​The Phantom camera, designed by Noel Pemberton Billing in 1946. This guy also designed the famous Compass which was built in Switzerland by Le Coultre.

Its selling price? Only £146,750 !!! Sold at a Christie's auction in January 2001.​


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## nealjpage (Jan 22, 2006)

Edwin Land invented the Polaroid?  That explains why those old Polaroids were called LAND cameras.


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## Mitica100 (Jan 25, 2006)

Our next question should be easy for the Nikon lover:

When did Nikon produce the very first film camera? (year)


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## hobbes28 (Jan 25, 2006)

1948 with the Nikon I.


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## Mitica100 (Jan 25, 2006)

Tadaaa...  We have another winner! Congrats to hobbes28 for the correct answer.


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## Mitica100 (Jan 31, 2006)

One more question:

AGFA is a well known name in the camera/film manufacturing field. They made cameras in all sizes, from MF to the 110s. They had a particular 35mm camera which was a TLR with eye level pentaprism. Does anyone know its name? It's not very common.


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## hobbes28 (Jan 31, 2006)

Ahhh....something like the Ikonaflex or similar name.  We have some old photography magazines from the forties and there are ads for them in it.  I'll have to dig for that one.


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## Mitica100 (Feb 1, 2006)

It was the AGFA Optima Reflex:






Made between 1963 and 1966, a very unusual design for a 35mm camera.They are uncommon.


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## Mitica100 (Feb 1, 2006)

What was the very first small focal plane SLR camera and when was it produced? (Hint: key word is _small_)


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## Mitica100 (Feb 2, 2006)

Hmm...  Another sleeper.

It was the Exakta A, also known as the Original. Introduced in 1933, was designed for 8 exposures (4x6.5cm) on 127 film and had a focal plane shutter with speeds from 1/25 to 1/1000, although some rare models had  slow speeds as well (1-2 seconds). It had a waist level finder and it came in black paint. Lens was either a Tessar or an Exaktar.


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## hobbes28 (Feb 2, 2006)

That one was way over my scope there.


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## stingray (Feb 20, 2006)

just going back to the Pentax Auto 110, they're a great little camera and here in Australia the film is really easy to get... Agfa stuff seems to cost 6:50 aus dollars a 24 and if you're really clever you could reload one of the cartridges with black and white as B+W 110 film is out of production. 110 film in colour is now still produced by Agfa and Kodak, good luck!


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## Mitica100 (Feb 20, 2006)

stingray said:
			
		

> just going back to the Pentax Auto 110, they're a great little camera and here in Australia the film is really easy to get... Agfa stuff seems to cost 6:50 aus dollars a 24 and if you're really clever you could reload one of the cartridges with black and white as B+W 110 film is out of production. 110 film in colour is now still produced by Agfa and Kodak, good luck!


 
There are some film cutters which will cut any 35mm film (from a cartridge or bulk) into 110 film:

Film_Slitter

That should enable you to load your own B/W film into 110 cassettes. Fuji also makes a great 110 color film (100ASA).


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## stingray (Mar 6, 2006)

one more question about the auto 110, the lens caps for the little lenses don't stay in, i.e. they're just round plsatic billets... do you know of a place that would sell clip caps for lenses that small?


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## Mitica100 (Mar 7, 2006)

stingray said:
			
		

> one more question about the auto 110, the lens caps for the little lenses don't stay in, i.e. they're just round plsatic billets... do you know of a place that would sell clip caps for lenses that small?


 
I'm afraid I don't know the answer to that but I'll forward a link here, feel free to e-mail with these guys, they're super nice:

110_Resources

Good luck.


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## Alpha (Mar 7, 2006)

What was the first autofocus SLR?


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## Mitica100 (Mar 7, 2006)

MaxBloom said:
			
		

> What was the first autofocus SLR?


 
I believe it was the Pentax ME-F in 1981, followed later by a much more successful Minolta 7000.


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## Alpha (Mar 7, 2006)

Correct! The ME-F's are quite cheap to come by these days. They look just like ME Super's. However everyone says the autofocus mechanism is absolutely terrible.


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## Alpha (Mar 7, 2006)

What element (think periodic table) made the daguerrotype so health-hazardous to develop?


...okay not a camera question per se, but i wanna see if anyone knows the answer.


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## Mitica100 (Mar 7, 2006)

It must have been the salts of the Hg (_hydrargyrum-_translated Liquid Silver), also known as Mercury. It's deemed to release toxic gasses but in my youth I remember playing with this stuff in my palms, even at the Chemistry lab.


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## Mitica100 (Mar 7, 2006)

But...  (I forgot) before Hg, Daguerre used Iodine (Symbol I, name came from the Greek _Iodes_, meaning _violet_) which is known to be poisonous. However, that process was soon discarded in favor of Mercury salts.


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## Alpha (Mar 7, 2006)

mercury is it. you're un-stump-able


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## JonK (Mar 7, 2006)

Mitica100 said:
			
		

> It must have been the salts of the Hg (_hydrargyrum-_translated Liquid Silver), also known as Mercury. It's deemed to release toxic gasses but in my youth I remember playing with this stuff in my palms, even at the Chemistry lab.


o gawd...i remember playing with that stuff too :crazy:


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## Mitica100 (Mar 7, 2006)

MaxBloom said:
			
		

> mercury is it. you're un-stump-able


 
No, I am. :lmao:   Ask (almost) anything about digital cams and I might not know the answer.


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## Alpha (Mar 8, 2006)

I would ask you almost anything about digital cameras if i knew almost anything about digital cameras


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## Mitica100 (Mar 8, 2006)

Well... I only know historical facts, such as who is the inventor of the first digital camera. Also, when was invented and its resolution.

Dare to guess??


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## Alpha (Mar 8, 2006)

Not a clue. I do know that the early digital cameras hardly even make collector's items! One of my friends owns what I think is the first 1mp digital camera. It's this weird flying saucer-looking thing by polaroid. Also, years ago I was attending a film program at UCLA and USC and this guy game to talk to us with a very bad-arse looking camera. It was a big, fat Nikon 35mm with a digital back, and it sold for around $20,000 (I wish I could remember the model). Turns out our local newspaper bought a set of them for it's photographers, and about 6 months ago went to our local pro camera shop trying to unload them. They couldn't even get an offer. Not even $100 a piece!


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## Mitica100 (Mar 8, 2006)

It was conceived by an American engineer at Kodak in 1975. Had a resolution of 0.1 Megapixels and it was heavy, some 8 pounds!


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## Alpha (Mar 8, 2006)

That's like the camera equivalent of ENIAC!


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## JonK (Mar 8, 2006)

The origianl Polaroid SX-70: What was the body made from? And how many variations on the original were there until it ceased production?


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## usayit (Mar 8, 2006)

JonK said:
			
		

> The origianl Polaroid SX-70: What was the body made from? And how many variations on the original were there until it ceased production?



I believe the original sx-70 has a stainless body.
no idea how many variations... I'm guessing there were at least 10 or 12.


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## Mitica100 (Mar 8, 2006)

The original SX-70 I believe to have been made of Chrome-plated plastic.
As for the variations, I am stumped...  However, I know of a few Alpha variations, one of them being a Sears.


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## JonK (Mar 9, 2006)

Mitica100 said:
			
		

> The original SX-70 I believe to have been made of Chrome-plated plastic.
> As for the variations, I am stumped... However, I know of a few Alpha variations, one of them being a Sears.


You got it mitica! 
heavy chrome plated plastic...gave it a brushed aluminum type look and was very sturdy.
From what I can glean off the net there appears to have been 13 incarnations of the original.


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