This particular point and shoot film camera is a bit of an oddity, mainly because it’s impossible to tell who made it, as there are no brand markings anywhere on it. I’d speculate that it may have been given away free as a special offer with a magazine many years ago, but who knows?
Anyway, it’s main interest for me, apart from the $2 price tag, was that it came in a case apparently designed to protect the camera from water damage. Other than this apparent waterproof intention, it is as basic a point and shoot film camera as one can imagine, with very few added features.
Specifications
The camera itself is very compact and light and easily fits in the hand, even with the case on. The viewfinder on the camera itself is focus free and the lens is 28mm. When the camera is in the case, there is a kind of ‘popup’ viewfinder, the accuracy of which is hard to tell, but with a 28mm lens this might not be as critical as it could be. The whole camera and the case is made of plastic, with the addition of a few rubber seals on the case.
Without knowing the brand of camera, nor having a manual, it wasn’t possible to tell what aperture the lens functions at and, without any apparent DX reading mechanism, flash, meter, or ability to choose shutter speeds, it’s fair to say that this is a very basic point and click camera.
The camera in use
The outer case of the camera is easily removed, by undoing two clips at either side.
This camera was never truly tested in use. One reason being that I discovered, after purchasing it, that the film winder attachment for the case was broken off and so, to use it, I would have had to come to the surface after each shot to remove the case to wind the film on.
The second reason is that, when I immersed the camera in the sink, it turned out not to be waterproof. This is possibly because of the area around the broken winder attachment letting in water. Either way, I’ve no idea at what depths underwater this camera was designed to be used at, if at all (it may have been just for show). It’s also possible that it was only ever intended to be water resistant, rather than fully waterproof.
The camera appears to function just fine with the case off – although I didn’t film test it. There are no batteries and the film is wound on by hand, using a small wheel winder on the back of the camera.
And that’s pretty much all there is to this camera. A bit of a mystery, but it is what it is.
