After seeing an article posted in the UK Daily Mail, I found a complete scanned Argos catalogue, from 1976, on Flickr. (Argos is a UK store, a little like Sears in the US) Check out the photography pages! The prices are blowing me away! I had the Instamatic kit 155X kit - looks like my parents really pushed the boat out at 8.95! All scans courtesy of TrippyGlitters FLICKR feed - http://www.flickr.com/photos/lavalampmuseum/sets/72157619071382653/with/3589397797/
My parents used to have one of those big Polaroid cameras (not sure the model was exactly one of these). I used to have a 110 camera; terrible image quality!
I've still got one of those Halina 110 cameras in a drawer somewhere. It was one of my old Dads. Shame he didn't pass on his Oly trip instead.
Factor in 37 years of inflation. Then consider that the camera is just the start of the expense. Cost of ownership—if keen about photography—is the constant drain of film and processing. By 1976, the home darkroom was in steep decline, and with colour it was not an option for most enthusiasts. I did colour in mine up to 1985, and never found a place to set it up again. Considering the cost of supplies, using a commercial lab, and the time involved, my digital equipment pays for itself quickly.
That's a new brand on me too - I found this statement that was supposed to have been issued by Polaroid in the 70s... "Berkey Photo Inc., manufacturer of the Keystone XF 1000, does not have any license from Polaroid to manufacture the XF 1000 camera or any camera utilizing SX-70 film." Looks like things didn't go well then!
