Chris Dodkin
West Coast Correspondent
Here's the second installment of the diminutive pre-war 8mm cameras - the Revere Eight Model 88.
To say it's similar to the Bell & Howell Sportster would be an understatement - and is of course completely intentional!
Revere was originally a company that manufactured car radiators, but in 1939 they saw the potential that companies like B&H and Kodak had opened up in the new 8mm camera market, and branched out into 8mm camera production.
One their earliest models was the Eight model 88 here - and it was specifically designed to take market share away from the B&H Sportster.
The Model 88 is the same height and width as the Sportster, has the same focal length lens, the same layout, the same features - all be it with a slightly modified case design.
The idea was to undercut the B&H price by half, and steal away market share - and make the camera simple for the man (or woman) in the street to understand and use.
As you can see from this 1942 advert featured on the Vintage Paper Ads website - they succeeded, and bought the camera to market for just $38.50!
As you can see, Revere decided against the complex exposure calculator of the Sportster series, and instead went with a simple exposure chart with some icons to guide the photographer which look surprisingly modern. The reference to Weston 8 film equates to ASA/ISO 10 in modern film speed ratings. Weston had their own scale and light meters at that time, and were the de-facto standard.
The simple instructions even extend to the area behind the aperture ring on the lens - with a helpful cheat sheet of settings for the busy filmmaker.
The lens itself was a fixed focal length Wollensak 13mm f2.5 - and compared reasonably well to the more expensive European glass of the day, at it's much reduced price. Revere later bought Wollensak, and brought lens manufacture and shutter manufacture in-house.
Revere provided some nice visual upgrades over the B&H competition, with chromed dials for FPS and Film Footage - cleverly using the same piece of hardware design for both dials on the Model 88 to keep costs down.
The clockwork winder was almost identical to the Sportster, and featured a nice chrome crank, and a super smooth clockwork spring action - which still feels smooth today.
The only area where the Revere didn't match or exceed the B&H, was on the inside - the layout of the gate and spools was not as neat as the B&H, but by the time you got to open your new Model 88, it was probably already too late for that to be a issue.
The Model 88 was a huge success, and spawned a whole series of cameras, including still cameras, and later electronic cameras with sound and auto exposure.
Revere became the #2 small camera manufacturer behind B&H, and even outsold Kodak in the 1950s.
Wollensak branched out into higher end cameras and audio recording equipment, and the two brands were eventually sold to 3M for a very tidy sum in 1960. ($17M)
The last Wollensak factory closed in 1972, and 3M phased out the Revere brand completely.
To say it's similar to the Bell & Howell Sportster would be an understatement - and is of course completely intentional!
Revere was originally a company that manufactured car radiators, but in 1939 they saw the potential that companies like B&H and Kodak had opened up in the new 8mm camera market, and branched out into 8mm camera production.
One their earliest models was the Eight model 88 here - and it was specifically designed to take market share away from the B&H Sportster.
The Model 88 is the same height and width as the Sportster, has the same focal length lens, the same layout, the same features - all be it with a slightly modified case design.
The idea was to undercut the B&H price by half, and steal away market share - and make the camera simple for the man (or woman) in the street to understand and use.
As you can see from this 1942 advert featured on the Vintage Paper Ads website - they succeeded, and bought the camera to market for just $38.50!
As you can see, Revere decided against the complex exposure calculator of the Sportster series, and instead went with a simple exposure chart with some icons to guide the photographer which look surprisingly modern. The reference to Weston 8 film equates to ASA/ISO 10 in modern film speed ratings. Weston had their own scale and light meters at that time, and were the de-facto standard.
The simple instructions even extend to the area behind the aperture ring on the lens - with a helpful cheat sheet of settings for the busy filmmaker.
The lens itself was a fixed focal length Wollensak 13mm f2.5 - and compared reasonably well to the more expensive European glass of the day, at it's much reduced price. Revere later bought Wollensak, and brought lens manufacture and shutter manufacture in-house.
Revere provided some nice visual upgrades over the B&H competition, with chromed dials for FPS and Film Footage - cleverly using the same piece of hardware design for both dials on the Model 88 to keep costs down.
The clockwork winder was almost identical to the Sportster, and featured a nice chrome crank, and a super smooth clockwork spring action - which still feels smooth today.
The only area where the Revere didn't match or exceed the B&H, was on the inside - the layout of the gate and spools was not as neat as the B&H, but by the time you got to open your new Model 88, it was probably already too late for that to be a issue.
The Model 88 was a huge success, and spawned a whole series of cameras, including still cameras, and later electronic cameras with sound and auto exposure.
Revere became the #2 small camera manufacturer behind B&H, and even outsold Kodak in the 1950s.
Wollensak branched out into higher end cameras and audio recording equipment, and the two brands were eventually sold to 3M for a very tidy sum in 1960. ($17M)
The last Wollensak factory closed in 1972, and 3M phased out the Revere brand completely.
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