![]() ![]() The camera is limited to a single shutter speed of 1/100th of a second, loaded up with Kodak 800 speed film, exposed through a fixed focus 30mm f/10 lens. There’s a shutter button, a flash button, and an advance wheel. Disposable cameras are all about simplicity and a carefree shooting experience, and the Kodak FunSaver brings those two traits admirably without any complication. And that would-be criticism would be missing the point entirely. Build quality is straight up consumer grade, complete with a loose shutter button made of flimsy gray plastic, a paper cover for the flash button, and a loud, rough advance wheel.īut who am I kidding? Knocking a disposable camera for its build quality would be as silly as criticizing McDonald’s for the quality of their burgers. A closer look at the camera affirms this idea. And with a design and a name more at home in a Toys R Us than at a camera store, the Kodak FunSaver is a toy. For better and worse, the FunSaver is completely emblematic of the philosophy of expendability that characterized mass-market design in the 1980s, ‘90s and early 2000s.Īt first glance, the FunSaver looks like a toy. 2), which featured metal construction and a glass lens, the FunSaver is made from plastic, some paper, and more plastic. Unlike the Brownie (specifically the wildly popular No. The Kodak FunSaver comes from a very different era of American consumer product design. ![]() The Brownie was a runaway success, and judging by the persistent ubiquity of the FunSaver, selling strongly from the 1990s all the way to the present day, Kodak used the knowledge gained from the Brownie very well. First introduced 118 years ago, in the year 1900, Kodak pre-loaded the first Brownie box cameras with film, and these cameras were meant to be used and then sent back to Kodak for developing and printing just as we treat a disposable camera today. The FunSaver could fairly be considered as a spiritual successor to the OG consumer camera, the Kodak Brownie. The Kodak FunSaver benefits from being made by the company that pioneered consumer photography. Why is something as seemingly outdated as the FunSaver still around? ![]() And it did as advertised – it made photography simple and fun, and helped me make countless terrible childhood field trip snapshots.īut it’s 2018, not 2001. This wasn’t by choice the FunSaver was just about the only camera that could be safely handled and operated (and dropped) by a hyperactive six-year-old. The most common of these disposables (at least in the United States) is the Kodak FunSaver, which also happens to be the camera that introduced me to photography. But what’s really remarkable about the disposable camera in the digital age, is its enduring popularity – one can still find a disposable camera in nearly any drug store. It’s made for non-photographers, vacationers, first-time film shooters, and even experienced shooters looking to simplify their kit. The disposable camera is the ultimate tool for casual photography. ![]()
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