Post by conan on Dec 16, 2016 5:19:50 GMT -5
Ah Shirley – some of us remember you
Who remembers loading their own cassettes when bulk film was cheap and film loaders were par for the course. AND those different cassettes from re using standard ones and trapping bits of grit in the felt to make certain the film was scratched to the labyrinth styles from Contax, Leica and Nikon.
Shirley Wellard made one helluver product -this cassette is adjustable in sitting length (to make certain it centres on the film gate) and self-opening by pressing the rewind lever down and twisting. Of course this only worked if the rewind lever was a lift to remove the cassette type. Leica/Contax/Nikon rewinds were fixed – but they had they own cassettes designs operated by the cameras turn to lock base keys. So the Shirley Wellard opened up a way for lesser mortals to enjoy labyrinth cassettes on many ‘normal’ (affordable) cameras.
This thing is a work of art in its own right for those that appreciate good engineering and clever design that actually works. Goodness know what it would cost to manufacture today. Apparently it cost the equivalent of 2- 3 days’ wages when it was first released.
