History
A company called Photo-Pac produced a cardboard camera beginning in 1949 which shot 8 exposures and which was mailed-in for processing. Cameras were expensive, and would often have been left safely at home when lovely scenes presented themselves. Frustrated with missing photo opportunities, H. M. Stiles had invented a way to enclose 35mm film in an inexpensive enclosure without the expensive precision film transport mechanism. It cost $1.29. Though incredibly similar to the familiar single-use cameras today, Photo-Pac failed to make a permanent impression on the market.
In the 60's, a French company called FEX, introduced a disposable simple plastic camera called "Photo Pack Matic" featuring 12 photos ( 4x4 cm ).
The currently familiar disposable camera was developed by Fujifilm in 1986. Their Utsurun-Desu ("It takes pictures") or QuickSnap line used 35 mm film, while Eastman Kodak's 1987 Fling was based on 110 film. Kodak released a 35 mm version in 1988, and in 1989 renamed the 35 mm version the FunSaver and discontinued the 110 Fling.
In Japan, the Utsurun was released in 1986 for 1380 yen and became widely accepted. Because of the immediate appeal, companies like Konica, Canon and Nikon soon produced their own models. To stay competitive, Fuji introduced advanced features to its original model such as panoramic photography, waterproofing and the inclusion of a flash. Some cameras even have a manual zoom feature which works by shifting two lenses in front of the shutter.
By 2005 disposable cameras were a staple of the consumer film camera market and flash-equipped disposables were the norm.
Read more about this topic: Disposable Camera
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