Camera Speed Dating – Vest Pocket Autographic Kodak

Those that know Meghan and I know that we have what appears to be an on going camera acquisition problem. To remedy this but continue to try out ALL of the cameras we have decided to start borrowing cameras from our fellow camera enthusiasts instead of trying to purchase or hoard them all to ourselves. Not all are winners though and some are just easier or more fun to use but you have to shoot with them first to find out! Thus, we decided if we run a roll through every camera we are interested in, not unlike going on a 5 minute date with a bunch of strangers at a singles night, we can quickly see which are worthy of being added to our collection (or put on our list of “must haves.”) Camera speed dating!

Here is most recent camera I had the pleasure of a quick date with…the Vest Pocket Autographic Kodak 127.

 

 

A few quick facts about the Vest Pocket Autographic Kodak; a folding style 127 camera, it was made for about ten years- 1915 to the mid 20’s. They made a regular Vest Pocket then added an ‘autographic feature’ which meant it has a little door on the back that allows access to the backing paper so one could write a note. Its fastest f~stop is 8 and shutter speeds are 1/25, B and 1/50. Interestingly they came in either a plain black enamel finish OR something called a Japan Crystal finish (which is what mine is)!

So my Vest Pocket speed date was more of a camping trip. I must also admit I used an old roll of Efke 127 film — I knew nothing of its sorted past. Before loading the camera I inspected its bellows which looked alright, however I did get a strange fogging that looked like an alien laser beam???? The camera is compact, if not a tad heavy but only because its made of metal. I quite liked using it. My only gripe is I wish I could have used it new, to see if the lens is sharper without all the fogginess it has grown over the years. I feel it was quite innovative for  100 years ago.