Half frame Pentax KX?!

<p>Here's a vintage camera mystery for the photo.net hivemind: What's the story behind this apparently one-of-a-kind half-frame Pentax KX? I snared this unicorn at the Pasadena Camera Show this past weekend; the seller got it from an estate sale on rubylane.com. It's got a modified film gate, masked-off viewfinder, a regeared film advance, and a handwritten 72-frame insert for the frame counter. Beneath the gate is inscribed <strong>MODIFIED BY KLINGER</strong>, and other inscriptions read <strong>I.M.C.</strong> and <strong>TITLE IV B</strong>. Tell me what you know! </p>

<p><img src="https://scontent.cdninstagram.com/t51.2885-15/s640x640/sh0.08/e35/13261003_960111364105543_1629897474_n.jpg" alt="" /><br>

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<img src="https://scontent.cdninstagram.com/t51.2885-15/s640x640/sh0.08/e35/13183356_860628614048800_143077954_n.jpg" alt="" /></p>

<p>Fred Sherfy in Pennsylvania wrote a book some years on Pentax, Asahi cameras. Either he or the book may contain the answers to your mystery half frame after market modification.</p>

<p>We used to call the Library in our high school, the IMC - which stood for "Instructional Media Center"<br /> The Title IV B is probably a reference to the funding mechanism used for the purchase. Copy stand camera?</p>

<p>From Google:<br>

The 21st Century Community Learning Centers (Title IV, Part B) program supports the creation of opportunities for academic enrichment during non-school hours for children, particularly students who attend high-poverty and low-performing schools. The program helps students meet state and local standards in core academic subjects, such as reading and mathematics; offers students enrichment activities that complement regular academic programs; and offers literacy and other educational services to the families of participating children.</p>

<p>Heh. I know exactly what it was used for: making filmstrips. Remember those?</p>

<p>Peter, I think you nailed it: a filmstrip camera. I'd figured out the Title IV B part, but because of many contiguous references to IMC as "Income Maintenance Caseworker"... </p>

<p><a href="https://ssw.unc.edu/dssjobsnc/index.php?q=node/1050" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">https://ssw.unc.edu/dssjobsnc/index.php?q=node/1050</a><br /><br />...I assumed that the camera was used by a social worker. Your explanation makes more sense. Thanks for the detective work!</p>

<p>Cool find, looks like an aftermarket modification. You can now enjoy the vaunted experience of shooting APS-C digital -- but on film, with classic camera handling!</p>

<p>I read Klinger and instantly think of the M*A*S*H Corporal (played by Jamie Farr).</p>