logo
Return to Museum Home

Kodak Instamatic 804

You don't hear the words "high end" and "126 camera" go together very often, but in the case of the Instamatic 804, that is exactly what you have!  The Instamatic 804 is one of the best 126 cameras ever made by Kodak.  First off, it is a fully-functioning rangefinder camera.  That's right, you get to manually and critically focus with the aid of a built-in rangefinder.  Second, Kodak put an excellent 38mm f/2.8 Ektanar lens in this camera.  The lens is slightly radioactive... but all the best Kodak lenses seem to be.  Third, the camera has a spring-driven film advance that is armed by pulling a drawstring on the bottom of the camera.  It's kind of like starting a lawnmower.  There is also a built-in selenium cell light meter that allows for shutter priority exposure control.  Allowing the photographer to manually set the shutter speed between Bulb, 1/60, 1/125 and 1/250, while the meter sets the correct aperture. There is an exposure compensation dial that allows you to adjust the exposure over and under.  Finally, the Instamatic 804 uses the new-at-the-time flashcubes.  These little cubes allowed four flash exposures via one cube.  On the negative side, they require battery power to be triggered; but on the positive side, they are much easier to find than the battery-less Magicubes.

If you are planning to go in on a 126 camera, the Instamatic 804 ought to be on your short list.

za/sd

logo

Blue Moon Camera and Machine llc

All rights reserved ©2025, Blue Moon Camera and Machine llc