General Information

Serial #

N/A

Part Number

1

Total Parts

2

AKA

N/A

Patents

N/A

General Description

The box of the camera is cardboard. The body of the camera is plastic. The side panels are metal. The switches and knobs are plastic. The eyepiece is rubber. The viewfinder and lens are either glass or plexi. The small panel set into the front of the camera below the lens is metal.

Dimensions

Note: These reflect the general size for storage and are not necessarily representative of the object's true dimensions.

Length

13.4 cm

Width

8.3 cm

Height

16.7 cm

Thickness

N/A

Weight

N/A

Diameter

N/A

Volume

N/A

Lexicon

Group

Photography

Category

Still cameras

Sub-Category

N/A

Manufacturer

AKA

Kodak

Country

Canada

State/Province

Ontario

City

Toronto

Context

Country

Unknown

State/Province

Unknown

Period

1980s

Canada

Made in Canada. A Label attached to the front of the camera box states that the camera was purchased from Eastview Photo Ltd., Ottawa, Ontario. Kodak Canada was founded by Eastman Kodak in 1899 in a Toronto shop where employees cut sheet film and fitted lenses on cameras to support the growing potential for a photographic market in Canada. As Canadian interest in photography grew, the company expanded across the country throughout the 20th century to produce in all aspects of photography including still and movie cameras, film, x-ray film, photocopy paper, and photographic chemicals under many popular names including Brownie, Kodacolor, Carousel, and Supermatic.

Function

To record still images on photographic film.

Technical

Type sample of Kodak Instant print camera produced before Kodak lost the patent fight with Polaroid. As this type is now in violation of patent, it will be withdrawn from the market. This is a rigid body internal processing camera with fixed focus that uses Kodamatic Instant Colour Film HS144-10 to produce instant photographs. The camera had an f/12.8, 100mm fixed focus lens and an electronic shutter (1/15 to 1/400). It produced a picture size of 67 x 91mm on a 98 x 102mm picture unit. The camera style was first introduced in 1982 as Champ Kodamatic Instant and was renamed Kodak Trimprint 920 Instant in 1984. The camera was also manufactured by Tupperware from 1982-1984 and was called Partytime II Kodamatic. In Europe, it was sold as Kodamatic 920 camera. All Kodak instant cameras and films were withdrawn from the market from January 9th, 1986 due to a patent infringement claim by Polaroid, although Kodak claimed the camera was different (Coe, 266): "The Kodak instant film differed from the Polaroid product in that the final image was formed on the back of the picture unit, so that a right-way-round picture was produced by direct exposure. No mirror was needed to reverse the image laterally, as in the rival Polaroid SX-70 and similar cameras" (Coe, 266).

Area Notes

Unknown

Details

Markings

'Kodamatic TM/920/INSTANT CAMERA - APPAREIL INSTANTANE'/KODAK CANADA INC.' printed on camera front. Logo and focus adjustments switch labelled,also on camera front. Label on camera back, to right of viewfinder, bears following info.: 'Uses KODAMATIC TM Instant/Color Film HS144-10/Utilise le Film Couleur Instantane KODAMATIC TM HS144-10' and logo./ Following info. appears inside battery housing: ‘SIZE J/ 6 VOLT/ YE1A/ KODAK CANADA INC./ TORONTO, CANADA/ Uses Kodamatic/ INSTANTCOLOR FILM HS 144-10/ UTILISE LE FILM COULEUR INSTANTANE/ Kodamatic HS 144-10'./ CW: 1 size J battery; Following info appears on battery: ‘6 Volt 7K67/ DURACELL/ SIZE J BATTERY/ + DATE/ 7K67 TM/ ALKALINE/ BATTERY/ CAUTION: BATTERY MAY EXPLODE IT/ RECHARGED OR DISPOSED OF IN FIRE'. Other information obscured by label which bears following info.: ‘IMPORTANT/ CAMERA BATTERY/ INSTALL BEFORE USING CAMERA./ SEE INSTRUCTION MANUAL'./ CW: 1 neck strap; Following info. appears on cardboard sleeve housing strap: ‘920/ APPAREIL INSTANTANE/ Kodamatic TM/ INSTANT CAMERA' and illustration on box front; distributer's label on upper front edge bears following info.: ‘THIS WAS PURCHASED FROM/ EASTVIEW PHOTO LTD./ OTTAWA, ONT.' ‘920/ APPAREIL INSTANTANE/ Kodamatic TM/ INSTANT CANADA' on box top. ‘920/ Kodamatic TM/ INSTANT CAMERA/ Automatic, motorized print ejection/ Fixed Focus/ Bright sharp instant pictures with/ Kodamatic instant color film/ Three-year warranty/ T.M. KODAMATIC KODAK/ AK920/ CAT 121 3628' on right side panel. French text on left side. ‘APPAREIL INSTANTANE/ Kodamatic TM 920/ INSTANT CAMERA/ Kodak [logo]', and illustration on back of box. ‘Kodak [logo]/ KODAK CANADA INC.,/ Toronto, Ontario M6M 1V3/ T.M. Reg. Can. T.M. Off./ M. Com. enr. Bur. M. Com. Can./ Printed in Canada/ Imprimé au Canada CK 62964' on base.

Missing

No.

Finish

The body of the camera is grey. The side panels are silver metal. The area around the lens and viewfinder is black as is the film compartment. The box is orangey yellow showing examples of what the camera looks like and the picture it produces.

Decoration

N/A