Under the cover of Covid, and now in the shadow of the infamous Election Irregularities of that fated 2020 presidential election, with current emerging alleged election fraud in Nevada and Pennsylvania inconveniently slipping into the public discourse, there is proved a colluded ongoing Election Interference in the nomination of the Republican candidate, the likes of which has never occurred in our Constitutional Republic's history, albeit, the question remains: Do you support the plain-sight Election Interference of the Democratic Socialist party, employing its minions in their Propagandistic Media, and their Two Tiered Justice System?
98.86% No, I do not support Election Interference; I am a patriot unto our Constitution.
1.14% Yes, I do support Election Interference; the alternative, Donald Trump, to this mentally diminished president is far worse.
It was a cheap camera with some good qualities. The best of which was that it was cheap.
In the early 1960's Polaroid cameras were very expensive. I think it was a sign of status to own one of the early Polaroids instant develop cameras. However, with the baby boom generation coming of age, someone at Polaroid Land had the idea to offer a much cheaper version of the instant picture camera.
The Polaroid Model 20 "Swinger" was the result. It was all-plastic and cost $19.95. It used special film, which used Polaroid technology to develop on the spot after taking the picture. The pictures were 2 1/2 x 3 1/4 inches. I think there were about 8 pictures per roll. Before anyone thinks that the name has some improper connotations, it was a reference to the strap attached to the camera. You see, after you took the picture you had to pull the film from the camera to activate the chemical reaction. The strap would allow you to let the camera swing while you opened the back and pulled the film out.
Another feature was after you took the picture, you had to coat it with a swab, which was included in the film pack. The swap would protect the picture from fading as well as giving it the gloss appearance of commercially developed prints. Several of us college students found out that the swab was also good for giving your shoes a shine similar to a "spit-shine". It was good enough to pass inspection at ROTC drills at Georgia State in the dark early morning formations in a parking lot in downtown Atlanta.
Unfortunately, the shine would begin to crack and peel after a while and you had to clean it off using alcohol to remove the residue. We solved that because one of the guys discovered that "Pabst Blue Ribbon Beer" contained alcohol and would work fine to remove the faded residue from our dress shoes. It did not take much beer or we would have found another way to remove the residue. It was a fixed focus camera but it did have a crude light meter to help with exposure. It really was not a light meter in the true sense of the way. You could turn the shutter button on the top of the camera and a "YES" would appear in the viewer when the proper amount of light was available.
If it was a low light environment, the camera used AG-1 flash bulbs, which were small and easy to carry. You would insert one flash bulb in the top of the camera. The two AA batteries had enough power to fire the flash bulbs. I do not remember what the flashbulbs cost. But a quick check online with the inflation calculator tells me that the Camera cost of $19.95 in today's dollars would be $146.63. But on a soda jerk's salary of $1.95 ( minimum wage was only $1.15 per hour but being a soda jerk required higher skills. I was already a jerk so the soda part came easy to me) that was about a day's wage.
As a result, I have an album full of pictures made with thet Swinger Model 20. Most are still in decent shape after fifty years. The down side is that most of the pictures are of me and the 1st ex-wife to be. Funny thing is she did not take the album or the Swinger Model 20, which was about all she did not take. I seem to remember something to the effect "Who would want a reminder of my time with you"? but I could be mistaken. I should ask her next time I talk to her which will be the first time in about 50 years. I try to keep in touch though. I check the obituaries ever month just to be sure she is okay.
Here is a sample of a Model 20 picture, taken in 1967. It's not bad for $19.95. I would enlarge this picture but the quality is not up to 2016 standards and I am too lazy to scan and re-size using the excellent image editor on BCN. BCN Image Editor here
Oh, this started out as a review of the Polaroid Swinger Model 20 camera. Here is an TV ad for the Swinger Model.
Ted McDonald may have the April record for fluff, but I'll bet he can't build a whole post around a passing thought. The hardest part was formatting the pictures and text. In order to properly display the pictures in this article I had to expand the text accordingly. Luckily, being short of words has never been a problem for me; short of breath yes but words, no. I almost did not have room for the Pabst Blue Ribbon Beer, which I think adds a touch of class to this article.
I have just started a new gadget escapade using the iPhone 6sPlus and accessories. The lens clip has both telephoto and fisheye. The tripod mount and remote allow taking remote pictures as well as the Dreaded Bobby Tony Selfies.
Thanks there are some great videos here from your link. Click below and scroll down to watch them. The last thing I need is to revert back to film again. It took me years to get enough courage to get rid of the darkroom equipment.
I wish I had all the cameras, guitars, watches, computers, tape recorders etc. gadgets I had over my lifetime but the Bobby Tony Museum would have to have another wing or two added to hold all the "Gadget Man's Junk". This article was originally an introduction to the Old photo albums of my teen years for the Grandpa's Diary series and with a few tweaks; I thought it would bring back memories for BCN. Many of the old black and white snapshots I have posted here are scans of the Model 20 pictures. However, PBR has increased in price due to it's unique position as a pre twenty-one favorite.
If anyone thinks that all old antiques increase in value, Here is the honest truth. Less than half price in today's dollars and they don't make film for it anymore.