Tag: Recent Acquisitions

Posted in Ramblings

New Acquisition – Kodak Charmera (Millenium)

Posted on by Charlie

As you may know, I have started to participate in the #shittycamerachallange (link shows all images with this tag) in which you take photographs with cameras that are considered “low quality.” My familiarity with the challenge comes from the BlueSky account Shitty Camera Challenge.

I have three cameras that fall into the shitty camera category. The Kodak Charmera and two toy cameras that print on thermal paper (if you want).

three cameras on black background. the left top one looks similar to a Polaroid and the right one has a scene of dinosaurs wandering across it. Beneath them is a little red Kodak Charmera

The toy camera on the left (grey) is a Yehtta Kids Camera. These are the specs I could find for it:

Maximum Shutter Speed30s
Aspect Ratio16:9
Screen Size2.4 inches
Effective Still Resolution30 mp
Image stabilizationDigital
Exposure ControlAutomatic
File FormatJPEG
ViewfinderOptical

The toy camera on the right (pink) is an Usteetic Kids Camera.These are the specs I could find for it:

Screen Size2.4
Effective Still Resolution12 mp
Exposure ControlAutomatic
File FormatJPEG
ViewfinderLCD screen

Given the information, I feel safe that these would qualify to be used by in the shitty camera challenge.

The camera (red) at the bottom of the picture is the Kodak Charmera. I know it falls under the shitty camera umbrella because I asked. These are the specs:

Aspect Ratio4:3
Sensor TypeCMOS
File FormatJPEG for photo, AVI for video
Image stabilizationOptisch
Maximum Aperture2.8 f_stop
Photo Sensor Resolution1.6 mp
Photo Sensor Size1/4-inch
Maximum Shutter Speed1/30 seconds
Minimum Shutter Speed1/30 seconds
Exposure ControlAutomatic
Effective Still Resolution1.6 mp
Screen Size2.4
Shooting Modesportrait, landscape, night mode
ViewfinderLCD screen
Flash ModesAutomatic
Camera Flashno flash
Aperture modesF2.8

The majority of the challenge images thus far have been taken with the little red Kodak Charmera.

My Kodak Charmera is part of the original blind box release and is version 2 out of the 7 versions available in the original release. (In 1987, KODAK launched its first signature single-use camera, the KODAK Fling. The Kodak Charmera is inspired by it) I mentioned in one of my photos that the Kodak Charmera has 7 photo filters and 4 photo frames you can use if you want. The filters are black & white, cool tone, warm tone, pixel filter yellow, pixel filter red, pixel filter blue, pixel filter grey. Typically, I transfer photographs to my iPhone and post them from there without editing.

A while back I heard that a second blind box release was going to happen and this one was themed “Picture the Millenium.” (From 1987 Roots to a 2000 Reboot) On a whim I decided to see if it would be easy for me to pick one up. It was and I had the box in my hands the day after I placed the order.

two kodak charmera cameras. the top one is red and the bottom one is a shiny metalic pink.

Would you be surprised to know that the first thing I noticed was that the key chain was different? When I compared the actual cameras, the primary difference was the buttons on the top – they seem to be metal – and the start-up sound is different. When I compared the specs, they were the same as far as I could see. I did have a laugh when I learned which version I ended up with. Guess my lucky number is 2 for the Kodak Charmera.

The are 4 new filters and frames that you can use in the Millenium edition beyond the standard black & white, cool tone, and warm tone. The new filters are pixel filter coral, pixel filter honey, pixel filter teal and pixel filter violet.

Both cameras are now fully charged and have a microSD card that will let me take as many pictures as I want without having to worry about space or switching a card between them.

Posted in Fountain Pens

New Pen Day (Parker 25)

Posted on by Charlie

When I dove back into fountain pens I didn’t think I’d start collecting “vintage” pens. Sure, my mum picked up some fountain pens in Germany that could very well be vintage if I could figure out how to date them with no discernable marks other than a green ink window. Vintage pens didn’t exactly interest me until I watched one of the many videos from Doodlebud (YouTube). While I can’t recall exactly which video it was in order to link directly, it was one of his videos about starter pens and he recommended a Parker 25 if your budget allowed for it.

I looked for one on eBay off and on over the course of a year, I think. Not putting too much effort into it honestly. I particularly like the blue version which was ubiquitous when first made but now you usually find the black versions on sites for sale. At least, that seemed to be the case for me. I’m hesitant to purchase things on eBay so it took me a while to find a listing that I felt I could trust as being real and was at a price-point I was comfortable with paying.

A brown box with the word Parker in the right bottom corner in a pale cream color.

The pen I purchased came in its original box. On the end of the box are stickers indicating the pen name, material, nib size and suggested retail price ($20.00). I haven’t figured out what the number below the suggested retail price is yet. I’m assuming it’s an inventory code, but I could be incorrect.

Image of the side of the brown Parker 25 box that has stickers indicating the type of pen, nib size and suggested retail price

The pen arrived in excellent condition. It had all of the original parts including the original converter. I soaked all the relevant parts in warm water to make sure there wasn’t any dried ink leftover before filling it to test how it writes.

close up of the nib section on the parker 25

It writes really well, with only the occasional skip (which could be the paper), and if not, I think will work itself out with a smooth and tune from someone more capable than I am. It’s a broad nib but feels more like a medium. For a stainless-steel barrel the pen is surprisingly lightweight and very comfortable in the hand.

One of the fun things about getting a vintage pen is figuring out exactly how old it is. The listing didn’t have any information in regard to this. So, it required some sleuthing on my part. I learned that the Parker 25 was produced from circa 1974/75 to 1994.

view of the parker 25 on a pen rest

It took some additional digging to figure out how to read the marks that indicate when the pen was made as well as notable differences between versions (mark 1, 2 etc.) I referenced ParkerPens.Net (website) an excellent resource on the history of Parker pens. From what I can tell, this Parker 25 was made in 1982, making it a 44 year old pen. It is possibly the oldest pen in my collection if I don’t count the pen that I carried over from Germany when I was a kid.

As I said in the beginning, I’m not big on collecting vintage pens. But I think it would be rather neat to have a pen in my collection that was made the year I was born, and if I can find a mark 1 of the Parker 25 it would likely be the one I add.

As of right now, this pen has been designated to be permanently inked with Waterman’s Serenity Blue.