Fotochrome
This interesting, if inelegant, camera is called the Fotochrome and this particular model was brought into the shop as a "gift" from one of our longtime customers. We suspect that they casually set it down on the counter, waited til we weren't looking, and then quickly walked off, leaving us as the "lucky" new parents. Well, since every camera has a home here, and our curiosity was definitely piqued, we did a bit of research into this one. Despite being on several lists as one of the ugliest, most awkward, or poorest designs in camera history, the Fotochrome is an interesting specimen.⠀ ⠀
It was built in the mid-1960s by Petri for a Florida photofinishing company called Harrison Fotochrome Inc. The idea was to make a camera to compete with Polaroid. Rather than use negative film, the Fotochrome used a direct positive material, made by Ansco, that only Harrison alone could process. The film was like Polaroid in the sense that your image was exposed directly into positive, but unlike Polaroid in that you had to send it off for processing. The film came in a 10 shot cartridge that made 5.5cm x 8cm positives and was ISO 10. It was loaded into the bottom of the camera, instead of the back, because the camera used a mirror behind the lens to bounce the image down onto the film. ⠀
Needless to say, the direct positive film never caught on and quickly disappeared. Another thing that caught on quickly was the poor build and quality control of these cameras. Many Fotochrome's were returned to Harrison's as defective, rapidly quelling the company's boasts that they would give Polaroid a run for their money.⠀ ⠀
As a final footnote: these cameras are so close to 120 film, we found a couple DIY instructables on how to convert these cameras to modern film. If you are one of the lucky ones who gets a Fotochrome gifted to you, there is hope of fulfilling that weird, inexplicable desire of shooting with it...once you take the time to convert it to accept 120 film.
za/sd
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