Kodak Signet 80 (1958-1962)

The Kodak Signet 80 is the last of Kodak's 35 mm cameras with the Signet name, and the only Signet with interchangeable lenses. It was made in Rochester, NY, from 1958 to 1962, and had a list price of $148.50 on introduction.

Kodak Signet 80 with 35 mm lens and auxiliary viewfinder

Back

Film Take-Up Chamber

The Signet 80 has a squared-off, metal and plastic body. The top of the camera has the light meter dial, an accessory shoe and the shutter release, which is threaded for a cable release. The front of the camera has the window for the viewfinder, the front cell for the light meter, the shutter speed dial, the latch for the interchangeable lenses, and the film counter. The right side of the camera has the film advance lever and the latch for the film door. The left side of the camera has the "Kodalite" pin and screw fittings for a flash attachment, and a PC flash sync socket. The back of the camera has the combined viewfinder-rangefinder eyepiece, the film rewind clutch and a holder for Kodak film exposure reminder cards. The bottom of the camera has the tripod socket and the film rewind crank.

The shutter is a behind-the-lens leaf shutter that runs from 1/4 second to 1/250 second plus bulb. The shutter synced with bulbs at 1/30 second and with electronic flash at any speed. As far as I know Kodak did not offer an electronic flash attachment for the Signet 80.

The Signet 80 came with an f/2.8 50 mm normal lens. You could get an f/3.5 35 mm wide angle lens and an f/4 90 mm telephoto lens. An auxiliary viewfinder was available with frame lines for the 35, 50 and 90 mm lenses. Removing the lens takes setting the lens to infinity focus, sliding the lens latch away from the lens and lifting the lens straight out. Replacing the lens takes matching the pin on the side of the lens to the notch on the lens mount, putting in the new lens and sliding the latch back toward the lens. You needed to focus from infinity to 2.5 ft. and back again to make sure the pin on the back of the lens engaged the index hole on the rangefinder coupling.

Each lens has a retaining ring for Series V drop-in filters, an exposure value scale, a shutter speed scale, an f-stop scale, a distance scale and a depth of field scale. The shutter speed scale and exposure value scales work with the built-in light meter. You can use just the f-stop scale on the bottom of the lens if wanted. All the lenses focus to 2.5 ft.

The built-in light meter is a selenium cell with a match needle dial. You set the ASA value of the film, ranging from 10 to 6400, on the inner dial and turn the outer dial until the red pointer matched the white needle. The indicated exposure value shows next to the red arrow on meter dial. For the exposure value system to work you needed to set the shutter speed ring on the lens to the same setting as the shutter speed dial. After you set the scale on the lens to the shutter speed, you set the aperture to the indicated exposure value.

The film advance is by a thumb lever on the right side of the camera. It takes two pushes on the lever to advance on frame and cock the shutter. The film counter is in a small window below the lens and counts up. The film counter resets to "E" for empty when you open the film back. You have to advance a couple of blank frames before you get to the first frame. The camera is unusual because it does not have a film take-up spool. Instead, the photographer inserts the film leader in the slot of the take-up chamber and the film simply curls inside. Loading film was problematical for a lot of amateur photographers. Customers often brought their cameras to the camera shop to have them loaded with film by the clerk. The Signet 80's "injection" system was just one of Kodak's attempts to simplify film loading, leading up to the cartridge loading Instamatic and Pocket Instamatic cameras of a few years later. The Signet 80 system may not have been entirely satisfactory because the slightly later Kodak 35 mm cameras, the Automatic 35 and Motormatic 35, use take-up spools.

The Signet 80 is a good picture taker. The viewfinder is bright and the rangefinder works well.