A classic box camera.

The box camera is mechanically simple, the most common form is a cardboard or plastic box with a lens in one end and film at the other. The lenses are often single element designs meniscus fixed focus lens, or in better quality box cameras a doublet lens with minimal (if any) possible adjustments to the aperture or shutter speeds. Because of the inability to adjust focus, the small lens aperture and the low sensitivity of the sensitive materials available these cameras work best in brightly lit daylit scenes when the subject is within the hyperfocal distance for the lens and of subjects that move little during the exposure . -- snapshots. During the box cameras heyday in popularity, box cameras with photographic flash, shutter and aperture adjustment were introduced, allowing indoor photos.

Purpose[link]

The introduction of the KODAK camera in 1888 was the first "box" camera to become widely adopted by the public and its design became the archetype for box camera designs introduced by many different manufacturers. The use of flexible rollfim in the cameras meant that the cameras were light and portable and could be used without the encumbrance of tripods and the attendant difficulty of using glass photographic plates which were typical of earlier cameras. Before the introduction of the Kodak photographers were responsible for making their own arrangements for the development and printing of their pictures. The first Kodak came pre-loaded with film and the customer returned the camera to Kodak for processing and to be reloaded with film for the customer. In 1900, a Yale plate box camera cost $2 ($52.70 in 2009 dollars [1]) and a Kodak rollfilm box sold for $1 ($26.40 in 2009 dollars [2])

Typical box cameras[link]

• The Kodak introduced in 1888, the first commercially successful box camera for roll film -- the advertising slogan being You press the button – we do the rest.
• The Kodak Brownie, a long lasting series of classical box cameras using roll film.
• The Ansco panda was designed to compete directly with the Brownies. It used 620 film.
• The Kodak Instamatic using 126 film, later 110 film.
• The modern disposable camera using 135 film.

Other box cameras[link]

'Le Phoebus 1870

Although many cameras of the mid nineteenth century were wooden and "boxy" in appearance with a brass fitted lens on the front they should not be confused with the mass produced box cameras that exploded in popularity after the introduction of the first Kodak. The "Le Phoebus" camera was typical, it was built of mahogany wood with a brass mounted lens in a rack and pinion focuser to adjust the projected image sharply onto a ground glass at the back. Most cameras like this used glass plates. The lens did not come equipped with a shutter, instead, the lenscap was removed and replaced to control the exposure time. the ^[1]

Pocket Kodak 1895–1896

Pocket Kodaks were small (2 and 3/16 x 3 x 4 inches) and lightweight (6 ounces), and took roughly 2 inch exposures on 102 size rollfilm. This camera had a new feature, a small view box that told how many exposures of film were left. They were first available in 1895 with either black or red leather covering.^[2]

le Papillon 1905–1908

Meaning "the butterfly," le Papillon was a small French stereo camera which made 45mm x 107mm stereoscopic images on glass plates in single plateholders.^[3]

No. 00 Cartridge Premo Camera, 1916–1922

The No. 00 Cartridge Premo was Kodak's smallest box camera ever. It was only 2½ inches tall. It uses a simple rotary shutter with meniscus lens, and does not have a viewfinder. The photographer must use the leatherette covering to attempt to see the subject of the photograph.^[4]

See also[link]

• Toy camera

References[link]

1. ^ "Le Phoebus". http://www.boxcameras.com/phoebus.html. 
2. ^ "Pocket Kodak". http://www.boxcameras.com/pocketkod.html. 
3. ^ "le Papillon". http://www.boxcameras.com/lepapillon.html. 
4. ^ "Cartridge Premo". http://www.boxcameras.com/00cartpremo.html. 

External links[link]

• A photo essay made with an Ansco box camera