Re: PHOTO-3D digest 1209

[bobh@xxxxxxxxxxxxx (Bob Howard)]

RE: Bantam Film WHY?
M. Kaplan wants to know?

Actually the Bantam camera was used to introduce a NEW SYSTEM (Kodak
is most famous for having the most discontinued NEW SYSTEMS!).
Firstly,
the Kodak Bantam f/2.0 (the original) was a beautiful camera with a
great magnified rangefinder much like the Zeiss Super Ikontas. It was
in a art deco black and silver case when folder shut by a fameed
American designer (who I would have to look up). It cost $87.50 in
1938 when a Retina RF was $57.50. (They seem to like $.50 instead of
$.95 on end of price then.) The Retinia in 1936 had introduced
Kodachrome and film in cartridges already spooled. Before THAT you had
to load your own in the camera makers cartridge (the Leica and Contax
cassettes).
The Bantam film by having only perf on one side was bigger 28x40mm
frame and this served to counter the idea that 35mm was too tiny.
(24x36mm). Also the 8 exposures was to be handy for people who thought
36 exposures was too much to load at one time. Later they came out
with 18 exposure rolls for that complaint in 35mm. It was joked that
the Bantam was made for camera store owners who never had time to take
more than 8 pictures a week! 
The later f/4.5 and f/5.6 and Pony Bantams came out post WW2. BobH


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