Kodak Brownie Vecta is it a Modern Design Classic Camera?

Introduced in 1963, the Vecta was a bold modern replacement for the Brownie 127 model II. However it was short lived as the vecta was discontinued in 1966, shortly after the (equally unsucsessful) 127 Model 3 was introduced.

This camera was designed by Kenneth Grange. It is a moulded grey plastic upright box. It features a “sculptured” finger recess to minimize camera shake. It has an optical direct vision finder and a bar shutterEither mechanical and/or electronic shutters are possible. Mechanical systems can use a leaf (or iris) shutter or curtain shutter. In digital cameras a third alternative is also possible: the electronic shutter. This works by activating and then deactivating the CCD so that no further light can be recorded, regardless of whether light is hitting the CCD. The shutter controls the exposure time, which can range from thousandths of a second to several minutes or more. Fast shutter speeds freeze action, slow speeds are more suited to stationary subjects. A tripod is recommended for slow exposure shots to avoid camera shake. More release.

The Vecta is a radical design, unlike anything else Kodak produced, and while it may look slightly ugly to modern eyes, it must have appeared very futuristic (and ugly!) in its day. The shaping is (apparently) ergonomically designed to make it easier to grip than more basic box. However, in practice, it can be quite cumbersome.

The Vecta takes 8 shots per roll like most of its predecessors but in a vertical format, rather like a modern 645 120 camera. One of the downsides of this is the winder knob “goes the wrong way” – turning anti-clockwise, even though it's on the right-hand side of the camera: I just kept getting it wrong. It does have multiple exposureThe amount of light that reaches the film (or camera sensor). It determines how light or dark an image is. The exposure of an image is determined by the aperture, shutter speed, and film speed (ISO). During exposure, the sensors or chemicals on the film in analogue models, are subjected to the light outside the camera for a certain time. More prevention though.

In brief tests, the results look quite promising – OK it's a Brownie, so isn't going to be producing anything stunning, but the optics seem a little sharper than many of Kodak's offerings of the period

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