16 | Chrislin Insta-Camera
16 | Chrislin Insta-Camera
The Chrislin is an instant film camera created by Camera Corporation of America (CCoA), Hicksville, NY, as a competitor to Polaroid’s profitable “picture in a minute” market. Properly it is identified as the Chrislin Insta-Camera Model 100 but since it is the only model ever produced its simple name suffices to identify the camera. The market price for the two-toned blue molded plastic camera was about $20.00 when released in 1965 - the same price as a Polaroid Swinger.
The Chrislin’s exterior design is basically that of a box camera with a “see-through” molded handle doubling as a viewfinder. The camera’s four exposure settings range from what is listed as “bright” through “dim light“. A lever mounted above the lens housing switches internal field stops into position behind the camera’s fixed focus lens to adjust for the settings. A plastic coated metal lever jutting from the lens housing’s right side activates the camera’s self-cocking shutter. The shutter speed sounds like a standard box camera’s approximate 1/50 second. No information is found on the camera regarding the lens’ speed or focal length. On the left side of the camera are two holes for mounting a custom flash unit included with the camera
