Towards easiness, laziness and cushyness

After a more than thirty years popularity of the box cameras they begun to appear unfashionable. A "facelift" was necessary to maintain the interest of the customers. Same simple recipe with new covers was enough.
Cardboard was superseded by tin plate. Better pressing methods enabled more complicated design and an invention of bakelite and plastic gave still more freedom to the designers. Such cameras like Agfa Clack and Click, Kodak Baby Brownie, Bilora Boy, Altissa Box and Ensing Full Vue saw the daylight.
But the audience wanted more and the manufacturers responsed to the wish list. The desire for an easyness and swiftness set off new innovations for a "monkey proof" loading systems and film formats

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Easy photography to the masses was a motto. Kodak's answer was a (28 x28mm negative size)126 cartridge, this made the cameras inexpensive to produce, as it provided an integrated film backing plate and exposure counter and thus saved considerable design complexity and manufacturing cost for the cameras.
The first 126 camera to be marketed, the Kodak Instamatic 50 was introduced in the UK in February 1963 and within a few years millions of 126 cameras were manufactured.
Allmost all major camera making companies all over the world, perhaps not Nikon, wanted to take their part of the cake. "Instamatic" cameras were mostly simple snapshot cameras, but many with more advanced features were also in the market. The Instamatic 126 lineup remained on the market until 1988 and in 2000 Kodak ceased making 126 cartridges.

Kodak Instamatic 25 (1966)

Simple and easy to use camera with a most basic features. Uncoated meniscus lens, approx. 43mm/f11). Two shutter speeds 1/90sec for bright sun and 1/40sec for cloudy weather or special Instamatic flash, for instance a Kodalux 25. Camera size: W 108 x H 68 x D 52mm and weight ~150g.

Kamera is made in England by Kodak Limited, London

Kodak Instamatic 50 (February 1963 /UK)

The first 126 camera ever to be marketed. It features two shutter speeds selected by the switch on the front, and a contact for the Instamatic flashholder.

Kodak Instamatic 133 (1962)

More glitter than in Instamatic 25. Now with a socket for cube flash. Power source for a flash is 1 x PX23/5,6V battery. Made in England.

Kodak Instamatic 224 (1966)

Quite rare Instamatic camera fitted with Reomar 41mm f/6,6 lens. Takes two Ucar E90 1,5V alkaline (or equiv.) batteries for a cubeflash. Probably made in Germany. Aperture settings by symbols. Material is a combination of plastic and steel plate.

Kodak 76X Instamatic

"X" after the number refers to Magicube which is uses a mechanically triggered pyrotechnic detonators for each bulb, an improvement over flashcubes which needs batteries.

Viva 126 1000 (Model 103, 1972)

Not so common 126 camera. It is manufactured by a French comany Fex/Indo, a company that produced mostly inexpensive camera models from the 1940s to the 1980s. A curiousity is a wood imitation on the front. On the top is a cube flash socket and flash / sunny slide switch on the front. It takes two AA batteries for the flash.
"Viva was used as a premium by several companies, including tyre manufacturers, Michelin and Avon. Fex-Indo also sold a belt allowing one to carry a Viva 126, 2 126 film cartridges, 3 flashcubes, and two AA batteries".

Agfa ISO-PAK (1968)

Made in Germany. This is the nob-wind model, hot shoe, fixed focus f11 lens and a Parator shutter and a switch for "sun" and "flash". The pleasingly different styling is OK.