OUWA – Camera That Used for Aerial Shooting During World War II Weighed 34kg. This giant camera was used for aerial photography during World War II. The attached lens has a focal length of 305mm, an aperture of f/5, and a length of 2.5 meters.
This photo has gone viral in recent years and people often mistake it for a Kodak K-24.Actually, it’s the Fairchild K-17, designed by Fairchild Camera and Instrument. Folmer Graflex produced them under a license for the US Air Force in Rochester, New York (home of Kodak) in the early 1940s.
Fairchild K-17 took photos of 9 x 9 inches (22.86 x 22 equivalent, 86cm), using 9-inch wide film rolls.
There are 6-inch, 12-inch, and 24-inch long lenses, equivalent to f / 6.3, f / 5, and f / 6 apertures that are compatible with this camera.
The camera in the photo above weighs 34kg so it’s no wonder he looks quite stressed out posing with this “handheld” camera. Fortunately, cameras these days, especially those in the aerial shots, are much smaller and lighter.
