aplanatic (adj.) - free from or corrected for
spherical aberration



Comet Camera Zenith Camera Corp c1947

Cameras can be beautiful. Cameras can be interesting. Cameras can be crappy. Cameras can be boring. I like cameras of all types
but I have a special spot in my heart for cameras that are funny. The Comet Camera is funny.
"8x10 ?" "Telescopes to pocket size?"  I like the use of random capitalization.



Despite the camera's obvious technical excellence, the Comet was designed to be a camera you gave
your nephew at his tenth birthday party.  See that knob at the bottom with the arrow over it ? That cocks
the shutter. The "inst" button trips the shutter. You know what the bulb things does and you know purpose
of the "bright dull" slider. That speckled, translucent rectangle at far right is the viewfinder.

When you hold the camera in the landscape orientation and try to push the "inst" button, your fingers cover
the viewfinder. So you have to sort of reach over the top of the camera with your index finger and fire
the shutter.

The little white specks all over the camera is not dust. They are actually part of the plastic. The camera smells
awful inside. Not musty like a cellar, but like a combination of Feta cheese and wet dog.



If the Comet had been longer, they could have put the viewfinder even further away.



Most crappy cameras like the Comet don't "focus." This feature was
wasted on most ten year olds, I'm sure. In fact it probably harmed more shots
than it helped. Anyway, when you push the shutter button, the lens slips back into
the camera like a turtle retracting its head.
If you set the focus at 12 feet and push the shutter, when you're done, they setting is at
8 feet.


These clips are designed to keep the film tight.
There's one in the feed side and one in the take up side.
They're made of spring steel and make it a pain in the ass to
load the camera. They do keep the film tight though. I expected
my Efke to rip at any moment. If you look closely
at the take up knob you can see little pieces of my skin
embedded in it.


There's even a pressure plate of sorts in this kids camera. All this technical stuff is wonderful
but the shutter speed is something like 1/30 sec.. Just the right shutter speed for a ten year old
that's all juiced up on birthday cake and Moxie.
**************



What you see is not what you get. URKEY INNER ?



Apparently the technical features of the Comet Camera are beyond my photographic capabilities.



Laundry and grave stones. Why bother washing clothes ? You're gonna die anyway.
That's one of my fingers at top right.





Non aplanatic mirror.

Efke 100