Clix-O-Flex
Think about the names of camera manufacturers. Safe to say that what comes to mind are the famous bastions Hasselblad, Leica, Rollei, Canon, Nikon, etc. Perhaps Kodak and Argus might make an appearance on the list. But what about Metropolitan Industries of Chicago? Metropolitan Industries produced an unknown number of what are considered "novelty" cameras. These cameras often were branded with different names and designs, but they served the purpose of keeping film in the hands of people who might not otherwise carry a camera.
Produced in the 1940s, the Clix-O-Flex was one of a series of cameras that used the (at the time) very popular 127 film. The image size produced by the cameras was a landscape format 3cm x 4cm, which effectively doubled the number of images that could be made on a roll of film. For a generation just coming out of the Great Depression, more frames per roll was a good selling point.
The controls on these cameras may generously considered to be rudimentary. Aside from framing through the small and often dim viewing lens, the only decision left to the photographer is whether to use the "Time" or "Inst" shutter speed setting. While the Time setting will produce a long exposure speed - the fastest you can click it is 1/4th (ish) - selecting Inst will result in a shutter speed of 1/40th, or thereabouts.
As rudimentary as these novelty cameras are, they offer a chance for modern day photographers to step back to a time with cameras weren't about controls, frames per second, auto-focus, or even auto anything. Instead, they offer the chance to truly be free while making images.
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