From: shoppa@erin.caltech.edu (TIM SHOPPA)
Subject: Re: Astro-(disposable)-cam
News-Software: VAX/VMS VNEWS 1.41    
Organization: California Institute of Technology
Date: Sat, 12 Sep 1992 02:13:00 GMT

In article <BuFMwB.1sz@news.cso.uiuc.edu>, smith@mrcnext.cso.uiuc.edu (Greg Smith) writes...
>Before I run down to the store to try this myself, can you give brief
>instructions on how to nondestructively open one of the Kodak panoramic 
>disposable cameras for reloading/modifying it?  I have plenty of
>darkroom experience but have never worked with one of these specifically,
>and remember when a lot of Kodak stuff had to be physically broken in
>order to get the film out.  Even if they intend for this camera to be
>reusable a few times, I imagine you have to know what hidden tabs and
>buttons to push to get it apart without cracking something.
> 
>Thanks for the info.
> 
>Greg Smith N9LHI
>NAR 15881 SR
>smith@mrcnext.cso.uiuc.edu

It's really very easy, at least for the current Kodak cameras.  There
are three steps:

1.  You may want to use the film up that comes in the camera.  The reason for
this is that unless you use it, when you take the camera apart in any light,
you will ruin all the film!  As you use the film, it winds from a spool into
a regular 35mm canister, so it is safe to open the camera in daylight after
you have exposed all your film.  You can take the film canister anywhere to have
it developed, it says "Kodacolor Gold 200" or something similar on the side
and looks very much like the regular canisters.  See step (B) for how
to remove the canister

B.  Take off the cardboard outer covering.  This is just packaging, basically.
You'll find a cute snap-together mechanism.  There are three main components
to the snap-together parts: the front, the top, and the back.  I view the
"front" as the main unit: it consists of most of the camera's plastic body,
the lens, and the shutter mechanism.  The back is what keeps light from hitting
the unexposed film.  The top consists of the shutter button and also holds
on the winding knob and the frame counter/cam.  Take the back off first.
It just snaps off, I believe there is one snap on each side.
You'll find a film spindle and a 35mm cartridge.  Note that the film was
originally on the spindle, and ran into the cartridge!  You can remove the
cartridge and have it developed now.  Don't loose the little spindle the film
originally came on, as you'll need it to reuse the camera.  Now snap the
top off, you'll find that the wind knob and frame counter dial were held on
by the top.  Play with the mechanism - note that the film wind knob pulls the
film across a sprocket, which stops turning at the end of each frame.  The
motion of the sprocket turning actually cocks the shutter.  Pressing the
shutter release will release the shutter and allow the sprocket to turn again.

III.  To reload the camera (in a darkroom), start with a cartridge full of
film (Kodacolor 200 originally came with the camera).  In the dark, pull all
of the film out of the cartridge (leaving the end attached to the spindle in
the cartridge) and wind the film around the spindle that was inside the
camera when you took it apart.  Seat the spindle and cartridge in the camera
like it originally came, then snap the back on.  You can turn the lights on
now.  Now you can put the top back on, making sure the little winding wheel
goes in as well.  I don't put the little frame counter wheel back, as I
usually reload the camera with more than 12 frames, while the cam on the
frame counter wheel keeps the shutter from firing after the 12th frame.

Have fun, and write me if you have any problems or suggestions!  I have
reused disposable cameras with all sorts of film, from the regular Kodacolor
200 to black and white film and even some transparency film.  The wide
exposure latitude of Kodacolor 200 is nice, as you have absolutely no
control over either the shutter speed or lens aperture in this camera, much
less any built-in light metering.

My current plan is to attach some sort of spring or battery-powered mechanism
to the takeup spool, then clamp the shutter button down.  As the film
is dragged across the little sprocket, the shutter will fire once each frame.
As has been pointed out, the film will continue to move while the shutter
is open, adding some blur to the picture.  If this is severe enough, I suppose
I'll figure out how to stop the film while the shutter is open.  I'm not
sure, but I believe the original packaging that came with my disposables
said the shutter speed was 1/250th, but I'm not absolutely sure about this
figure.  Of course, the slower the shutter speed, the less motion blur you'll
get in the picture, whether from rocket movement or film movement.

				Tim (Shoppa@erin.caltech.edu)

P.S.  Oh, if you get the Kodak panoramic, it came with a wide-angle lens
and a little insert that went in the camera body that cut out the top third
and bottom third of the frame.  If you remove this little insert, you now
have a wide-angle camera, instead of a wide-angle camera without the top
and bottom third of the picture!  I find it absolutely incredible that camera
makers can remove the 2/3rds of the useful area of a negative and then sell
it as if it were a "feature"!  Other people must feel differently about this,
though, because not everybody uses 4"x5" or 8"x10" (or even 16"x20") sheet
film cameras anymore... but my feeling is, the more negative area the better!
You can always crop out unwanted sections later.
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