Pocket sized camera

Abstract

In a pocket sized camera wherein the top and bottom walls of the housing are closely spaced relative to the front to back dimensions thereof and to the spacing between the housing end walls there is provided a multilamp flash unit-receiving socket mounted in the housing adjacent to one of the housing end walls for rotation about a horizontal axis extending in the direction of the longitudinal dimension of the camera housing and adapted to receive a multilamp flash unit so the central axis thereof corresponds with the axis of rotation of the socket. The end wall on which the flash unit-receiving socket is mounted is the end wall spaced the greatest distance from the lens opening in the front wall of the camera housing, to eliminate or minimize 'pink eye' effects. The socket is rotated in a direction so that the flash lamp section of the multilamp flash unit next to be rotated into a forward position is at the top of the flash unit, so the user can conveniently see the used or unused condition of the next flash lamp section involved to be used subsequent to the front section thereof. A flash on-off control is provided on the camera housing for rendering the flash unit selectively operable or inoperable and the flash unit-receiving socket is automatically rotated one lamp section only during the first film wind operations following a flash operation independently of the position of the flash on-off switch. The present invention has its most important utility in pocket-sized cameras, although some of the features thereof have a more general application in still cameras.