Univex Uniflash

Made in the USA by Universal Camera Corp, this little bakelite camera accepts those special Univex #00 film rolls. I used 828 size film and just kind of jammed it into the battery compartment. I kept having to open it in the dark bag to advance the roll, but it worked. The camera has simple “I” and “b” settings. It accepts a flash, as the name alludes. Its Bakelite body is replete with lightning bolts and nifty graphics.

I just noticed something kind of strange about this camera. It has a fake iris. There’s a circular ring that appears to be an iris, but it’s actually simply engraved with iris-like lines. It might’ve been easier to simply install f stops, wouldn’t you think?

 

Look closely. False iris.

The quote on the box simply blows me away!

“I am the servant of light; the master of darkness. My magic eye penetrates the black curtain of night to reveal her mysteries. I render imperishable the pages of the book of memory. I keep forever green the happy hours of childhood. I preserve indelibly the vision of friends and loved ones, the vistas of far distant lands, the splendor of sea and sky. Born in a flash of light, my scroll becomes everlasting. I AM UNIFLASH”

Wow. Digest that shit. After all that rendering I need to kick these boots off and watch a Buffy re-run.

McKeown’s PRICE GUIDE TO ANTIQUE & CLASSIC CAMERAS 2005-2006 states: “Uniflash – c1940. Cheap plastic camera for No. 00 rollfilm. Vitar f16/60mm lens. With original flash and box: $15-$30. Camera only: $1-$10.” Now, how can this camera be referred to as cheap after a quote like the one, above.

 

A camera with a quote like that deserves to be photographed with the finest gown I own. Instead, I photographed it with this one.

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