Kodak Brownie Starflash (1957–1965)

A solid-body eyelevel rollfilm camera with built-in flash, designed for simple indoor and outdoor snapshots.

Overview

The Kodak Brownie Starflash is a box camera introduced in March 1957 and produced until June 1965 in the United States and France. It belonged to the Kodak Star range of affordable, easy-to-use cameras aimed at amateur photographers and families. The big built-in flashgun is what sets it apart. Pop in an M-2 lamp, aim, and shoot. It used Kodak 127 roll film and made 12 square negatives of 1 5/8 x 1 5/8 inches, with standard prints enlarged to 3½ x 3½ inches. It sold for $8.50 at launch, with a promotional tie-in to Coca-Cola.

Specifications

Type	Solid body eyelevel rollfilm
Film Format	127 film (12 exposures, 1 5/8 x 1 5/8 in)
Print Size	3½ x 3½ inches
Lens	Kodak Dakon
Dimensions	134 x 89 x 57mm
Weight	204g
Flash System	Built-in flashgun using M-2 lamp
Country of Manufacture	United States and France

Design

The Brownie Starflash is a solid-body camera, typical of mid-century box cameras, with an eyelevel viewfinder and a fixed-focus design. The flashgun is built right into the camera body, so there is no external flash unit to carry. The camera was made in black, and some sources note a blue variant. Operation is simple: load film, insert an M-2 lamp for indoor shots, aim, and shoot.

Context

The Brownie Starflash was part of the Kodak Brownie Star series, sold as a popular snapshot camera with built-in flash. It supported color slide film indoors using Kodak Ektachrome Film Type F, which fit the growing consumer interest in color photography during the late 1950s and 1960s.

Market

Listings on eBay show untested Brownie Starflash cameras selling between $9.28 and $15.00, often with the original box or instruction manual. The manual is also available as a PDF from archival sources.