The same year as the Polaroid rollfilm appears on the market, the
Speed-O-Matic Corporation (Boston - MA) introduces a bakelit camera and
its development kit : the Speed-O-Matic. |
Speed-O-Matic
|
The technical characteristics of this camera are very common : meniscus
lens and guillotine shutter. A notched wheel embedded within the basis
of the lens is used to select one of the five apertures offered. In
fact, the interest of the Speed-O-Matic stays in its photographic
process.
Its commercial slogan could have been "Why makes it simple when
it can be complex ?". While Kodak is marketing for
ages always more sophisticated photographic film and that the
Polaroid film is called to a great success, the eleven steps of the
Speed-O-Matic development process appear like a joke. |
User Manual Speed-O-Matic : coming soon (my scanner is dead !) |
This camera uses a direct-positive paper in film pack of 12 photos which
can be loaded in day-light. The procedure was the following : |
| Load the pack into the camera. |
| Shoot the first picture. |
| Remove the pack, flip it and reload it into the camera. |
| Shoot the second picture. |
| Remove the pack. |
| Plug the pack onto the special development tank. |
| Using the sliding shaft ("Injector"), move the two
exposed photographic paper sheets into the development tank. |
| Without unplugging the film pack from the development tank,
fill this one with solution 1 and let operate 2 minutes. Then, empty
the solution 1 and rinse the tank with cold water. |
|
Fill the tank with solution 2, let operate 1 minute. Then,
empty tank and rinse it with cold water. |
|
Fill the tank with solution 3, let operate 45 seconds.
Then, empty tank and rinse it with cold water. |
|
Fill the tank with solution 4, let operate 1 minute. Then,
empty tank and rinse it with cold water. |
|
Speed-O-Matic developpement kit |
This procedure was requesting to return to the bathroom sink every
two pictures. Well, think about taking wedding's snapshots with this
kind of camera... No way !
The commercial career of the Speed-O-Matic was just a fiasco until
its factory owner (renamed DOVER Film Corp.) decided to convert this box
to the film 620 formt. Thus, this camera had a second life under the
designation of Dover 620A.
|