Cameras made in the United States
…they’re coming to get you, Barbara… George Romero’s 1968 film, “The Night of the Living Dead” is a movie almost anyone with an interest in cinema is familiar with. It doesn’t matter if you’re a fan of horror or not, most everyone has at least heard of this groundbreaking low-budget…
What is it? This is a Univex Mercury Model CC camera made by the Universal Camera Company out of New York, NY in 1938. The Mercury was a historically significant camera in that it was the first time a US camera maker produced a camera capable of speeds of 1/1000…
This the Bell & Howell Electric Eye 127 camera made in the United States around 1958. As the name implies, it uses 127 roll film and takes twelve 4cm x 4cm exposures. Although a simple box camera with a fixed focus, a single speed shutter, and very little manual control,…
What is it? This is a Kodak Monitor Six-20 folding camera made in the USA by the Eastman-Kodak company. This was one of the last medium format folding cameras made by Kodak, and is loaded with features including a 9-speed shutter and well built lens. It is the spiritual successor to the…
What is it? This is an Argoflex EF twin lens reflex camera made by Argus, which was based out of Ann Arbor, Michigan. This Argoflex is the same as the Argoflex EM, except it has a flash synchronized shutter and a flash hotshoe on the side of the camera. The…
What is it? This is a Kodak Signet 35 rangefinder camera made by the Eastman Kodak company out of Rochester, NY, USA. This was the first in a line of several Signet models that would be sold in the 1950s and 60s. It replaced the Kodak 35 rangefinder camera which was…
What is it? Both of these cameras are called the Kodak 35. At first glance, they don’t look much alike, but in reality they are examples of the same model, one from early in it’s life, and the other from near the end. The Kodak 35 was Kodak’s first US…
What is it? This is a Kodak Medalist rangefinder camera made in 1944 by the Eastman Kodak company out of Rochester, NY. This camera is considered by many to be the pinnacle of American camera manufacturing. Other highly regarded Kodak cameras were actually made in Germany, but not this one.…
This is an Argus A2F, a 35mm scale focus camera made by the Argus Corporation of Ann Arbor, MI. It was part of the Argus A-series which were the very first American made cameras to use the new 135 format 35mm film. The A2F was the top of the line…
What is it? This an Argus Seventy-Five (originally called the Argoflex Seventy-Five) which is an inexpensive plastic bodied box camera made by Argus out of Ann Arbor, MI. Although it resembles a Twin Lens Reflex, it is still a box camera in that the camera has a fixed focus, and…
What is it? This is a Ciro-Flex Model D TLR made by the Ciro Corporation in Delaware, Ohio in the late 1940s. Originally based out of Detroit, MI, Ciro was a maker of low to mid level American made cameras that offered basic cameras at prices within reach of the average…
What is it? This is a No.1 Autographic Special made by the Eastman Kodak company between 1915 and 1920. While Kodak was not known as a maker of high end cameras with top of the line specs, this camera was the exception to that rule. Costing upwards of $50 (over $1300…
