plastikcam.com       PN 919 35mm Focus Free Camera

This is a so-called toy camera, a simple plastic toy camera. It's a widely spread standard model sold also under Vivitar PN 2011, the PN 919 was marketed by Reader's Digest as a camera to have in your car in case of an accident for documentation and then as a gift during promotions. It has an ultra wide lens and a panorama switch. It's very small and light.

There is a "flipped lens" version at the end of the page.

Its main features are:

28mm ultra wide angle pastic lens, F8, focus free, 1m-
Shutter 1/125
Size 102x65x35,  Weight 97 gr.

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Camera front closed, pouch and instructions. 

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Camera open.

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Camera back. Viewer, film type window, film advance and p
anorama switch.

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Camera top. F
ilm rewind, film counter and and shutter release.

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Camera bottom.
Film rewind release and a tripod socket, the latter doesn't make sense with 1/125 single speed.

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Film compartment. No curved film plane, so there is more vignetting of the simple plastic lens.

These are the ultimate basics of a camera, focus free, single shutter speed and about F8 fixed aperture. Point and shoot only. If you choose the right film, ISO 400 in general and ISO 200 on very sunny days, you can shoot outside photos that look o.k.. The rest will be "Lomo" style. As I always say: You should have used one of these once in your life!

As promised, here is a "flipped lens" version of the camera. If you take a single meniskus lens camera apart and flip the lens inside out, this does not change the focal length. But it can change the image quite a lot. In this case the center remains sharp, but the rest is much softer, a "bokeh" style of image impression, in reality it's just unsharp...

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The flipped lens. The sliding cover does not work anymore, but the switch still blocks the shutter.

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