Throw-Away Lenses Coming Into Focus
The latest rage among not-too-serious shutterbugs: disposable cameras by Kodak and Fuji that sell for between $6 and $13. Each takes 24 color exposures, and once you’ve used the film, you turn in camera and all to the film processing store, which makes your prints and throws the camera away.
The newest and most expensive model is the Fujicolor flash, which, according to the manufacturer, can take sharp indoor or outdoor photographs with 35-millimeter film. It costs about $12.95 in most camera shops. The original Fujicolor Quick Snap is also a 35-millimeter, but it has no flash and is meant to be used outdoors on sunny or partially cloudy days.
Irwin Buksbaum, owner of Lee-Mac Camera Exchange Inc. in Pasadena, reports “a lot of demand” for the throwaway cameras and says the pictures they produce are “of amazing quality.” He said the cameras seem particularly popular with people going to the beach, or skiing or rafting, “places they don’t want to take their good cameras. One woman came in recently to get a couple for her son who was going to camp.”
Kodak, based in Rochester, N.Y., is manufacturing the Kodak Fling, which uses 110 film, and Kodak Fling 35, with 35-millimeter film, both for outdoor daytime use.
Oxygen, to Go
For runners, joggers and others participating in strenuous sports, Leland Limited of New Jersey is about to introduce Sports Oxygen, a lightweight, hand-held oxygen cylinder with a mask and regulator for use before, during or after sports activities.
The unit, which will be available Sept. 1 from the company, weighs 18 ounces and features a disposable cylinder containing 18 liters of oxygen, which will give about 15 minutes of oxygen flow. It comes in a carrying case with a shoulder strap and belt loop. George Stanford, vice president of Leland, says the new product is “strictly a sports and recreational device with no medical connotation at all” and should not be used for medical purposes. The complete Sports Oxygen unit retails for $79.95, with replacement oxygen cylinders available for $12.95. Write to Leland Limited Inc., P.O. Box 382, Lamington Road, Bedminster, N.J. 07921.
Know in a Flash
If you’re a hearing-impaired driver or simply an inattentive one, you may be interested in FlashAlert, a 2-inch-square electronic device to let you know if your turn-signal flasher is still on after you’ve changed lanes on the freeway.
Marketed by a Carlsbad firm, FlashAlert can be pasted on your car dashboard with its two-sided tape, and it attaches to the flasher system with two small wires. If you have not switched off your turn signal in 15 seconds, the unit activates a beeper--which has a volume control knob--and a flashing red light.
FlashAlert’s manufacturers say the device can be easily installed by a gas-station mechanic, auto-electric shop mechanic or reasonably handy do-it-yourselfer. Information: (619) 931-4808. To order (for $49.95, including handling, shipping and sales tax): (800) 453-4000.
New Under the Sun
More news for sun worshipers: Two Los Angeles area women have come up with Quikabana, a fold-up, reusable corrugated cardboard cabana that is easily transported to the beach. When unfolded, the sun shelter is 44 inches wide, 29 inches high and 17 inches deep. It sells for $10; a smaller version for infants and children, called Babybana, is $12. Both may be ordered from Quikabana, 441 N. Curson Ave., Los Angeles 90036; (213) 651-5997.
