Kodak Brownie Starmite (1960–1963)

The Brownie Starmite is one of Kodak's early-1960s "Star" series of simple plastic cameras. The range also included the Starmatic, Starflash, and Starlet, and sold over ten million units collectively from 1957 into the late 1960s. The Starmite itself was introduced in April 1960 and produced through June 1963, with US manufacture plus assembly in the UK from May 1961 to 1965. It's a solid-body eyelevel rollfilm camera that takes 127 film and makes twelve square 4×4cm frames per roll.

The built-in flash gun is what makes the Starmite easy to spot. The flash dome is molded into the top of the body, which gives the camera a slightly robot-like face. The body is molded plastic, available in black and gray, with an optical direct-vision finder. The lens is a fixed-focus Kodak Dakon f/11, paired with a rotary shutter that fires at a single speed (1/50s plus B). The only user adjustment is a small lever below the lens that switches between "Color" and "B&W," changing the aperture between EV 13 and EV 14 (roughly f/11 to f/16 equivalent). Minimum focus is 1.5 meters. The original design is credited to Arthur H. Crapsey.

Pricing records are slightly inconsistent. brownie-camera.com lists the original price at $10.50, while Camerapedia cites $12. A similar Brownie Starmite II followed in 1962, retailing around $13.95. The Starmite II is essentially identical to the Starluxe II, apart from the latter being made in France.

Surviving information on the Starmite is mostly descriptive. There's little documented owner commentary on handling or image quality, and no reliable current market values in the record.

Note: The Starmite should not be confused with the Kodak 110 cameras in this archive - a different product line entirely.

Known specs: