Kodak 277X

The Kodak 277X was a single lens fixed-focus instamatic camera manufactured by the Kodak Corporation (UK) in the 70s and 80s. It had the Reomar lens, and the lens barrel provided a means to set the aperture settings. There were five light settings, and the flash type was "MagiCube", which was a disposable flashcube.

The instamatic series was extremely popular due to it being extremely cheap and simple to load using the type 126 film cartridge. It was an all-plastic construction with an injection-moulded case resembling a modern disposable camera. In its time, from around 1963 to the early 80s there were numerous television advertisements highlighting the features of the camera, and the name "MagiCube" became iconic. It was one of the earliest cameras where you could take multiple flash photographs instantly without having to waste time changing the flash bulbs. This became possible due to the "MagiCube" technology, which consisted of a flash bulb on each side of the cube. When the user forwarded the film using the thumbwheel, a gear mechanism automatically rotated the cube face. Therefore, it was instant and automatic, or "Instamatic".

Fixed Focus

This camera has a fixed-focus Reomar lens that does not require focusing. All your photographs will therefore be sharp and clear. These types of lenses rely on a very small aperture to keep the focus, and as a result, an object a few metres away will appear just as sharp as an object a mile away.

Viewfinder

The viewfinder was a basic window to frame a shot. If you had a flashcube attached then you would see a red flag in the viewfinder to remind you, so I am told, as I do not have any vintage flashcubes to test it out with.

Hinge

A metal tag allowed the camera to clip into the case as well.

This was a very cheap and cheerful plastic construction and as you can see there was no hinge to the back lid, just a fold in the plastic. On some cameras, this was the first place to break.

Back Lid

A small lever to the side opens the back lid for installing the film cartridge. The clear window displayed the frame number printed on the back part of the film.

Specification

Cost

This was an extremely cheap injection moulded camera mass manufactured in England. The picture quality was excellent, and the build quality was average to reasonable. Due to their cheap construction, people usually threw them away, and there must be a landfill site somewhere with thousands of these in them.

I bought this from my local charity shop; it was either Oxfam or Scope. These places are some of the best to acquire classic vintage items because you will not have to pay postage costs. On eBay, these usually go for around 99 pence to £5.00. I thought this was an interesting object made in England and I just wanted to see how it would photograph, as photography is one of my hobbies. This camera used film cartridges, so there was no need to thread the film or even rewind it afterwards. It was a simple point and shoot without focusing. When new, these cameras came in a plastic display box with a set of flashcubes and a manual.

This Article Continues...