my new pony

This is the ebay seller's picture which sold me on a new Kodak Pony 828.  On the far right you can see that the little tab on the latch is intact.  He also said everything was working fine on the camera, and even posted some pictures made with it.

I was the only bidder and paid $5 for the camera and another $5 for shipping.  I cleaned the inside of the viewfinder, but nothing else was needed.

The pictures on the first roll of Fuji 400 included our yearly visit to see the Yerba Mansa blooming near the Rio Grande south of the National Hispanic Cultural Center.  The blossoms are especially tall and plentiful this year thanks to the river's high water.  We also found and enjoyed large amounts of mulberries and wolf berries.  The dog had a blast racing through the cottonwood forest.

Kodak Pony 828

The 828 was the first in a long line of Pony cameras produced by Kodak in the post-war era.  It was a stunning departure from previous ideas about camera design, using new synthetic materials and jet-age streamlining.  When introduced in 1949 the camera carried a price tag of $29.95.  That seems cheap by today's standards, but when you take into account subsequent inflation, the original price is the equivalent in today's value to nearly $500.  So, Kodak was not in the business of selling cheap cameras.  They, like the other big manufacturers of the time, were really out to sell the idea of mass-produced prosperity.

Included in the Pony's sleek and ergonomic design was an extraordinarily big, bright viewfinder.  The camera's shutter/lens assembly could be telescoped inward to allow easy pocketing of the little camera.  The three-element Anaston lens was coated and produced pretty good sharpness, certainly more than adequate for its intended purposes.  With a top shutter speed of 1/200 and an aperture range from f4.5 to f22, the camera can still easily handle fast 400-speed film.  Most of these features would be passed along to other cameras in the developing Pony lineup which was switched to the more popular 35mm format.  The width of the 828 film is the same as 35mm, and it is not terribly difficult to roll a strip of 35mm film onto the 828 reels if one wants to try the camera today.  The small size and light weight of the Pony 828 make it a pleasure to carry and shoot.

The last shot illustrates the Pony's one design flaw which I have encountered.  The red-hued light leak is the product of an easily broken small plastic tab which is a part of the latch mechanism.  The camera will still seem to close tightly, but the missing portion of the tab may let in a bit of light.  Most newly acquired Pony 828 cameras are also likely to need some cleaning of the shutter, lens and viewfinder.  That is a pretty simple procedure which is very well illustrated at the Camera Collecting and Restoration web site.

I bought a Pony 828 used at the UW bookstore in 1961, just a couple years after Kodak ceased production of the camera.  I think I only shot a couple of rolls of film in it at the time.  I'm enjoying getting to know the Pony better all these years later.