What, exactly, was a Polaroid "wink light?"

Apparently neither a flashbulb nor a strobe?

I'd never heard of one, but a quick search of the web shows

a few mentions:

<p>

At <a href="http://swcenter.fortlewis.edu/inventory/photoeqp.htm">

http://swcenter.fortlewis.edu/inventory/photoeqp.htm</a> there's

an inventory of photo equipment including the line <cite>

Polaroid Wink-light Model 252. Light and dark gray plastic body. With Eveready No. 460 45V photographic flash battery</cite>. The

fact that it used a 45V

flash battery strongly suggests it was a flash attachment that used

flashbulbs. That same page lists some cameras from the late

'50s to early '60s that had a Wink Light included, which

further suggests it would be a bulb flash attachment.

<p>

I also found this photo of one. I'm not sure what the

various pieces are, and perhaps the thing in the front is a separate

item, but the red text on the box says "Wink Light"

<p>

<img src="http://www.fun-inc.net/Images-Collectibles-40'sUp/Page-6/Polaroidland2.JPG">

As I vaguely remember and after looking at that picture, it was neither a flash (xenon flash tube) nor a flash bulb. It was an incandescent lamp of some sort. Probably why they dubbed it a "wink" light due to it's low power.

I had one with my Polaroid 900 (bought it used in '69). It was a low-power diffused flash that basically did fill-in of shadows in portraits without blinding the subject. It was helpful because the old Polaroid rollfilm was very contrasty. My Wink-Light had an accessory flashgun with reflector that fired the little AG-1 or AG-1B flashbulbs, which plugged into the body of the Wink Light and ran off its batteries.

Here's a description: Back in the late 50's, when it came to camera flash, photographers had the choice between inconvenient use-once flashbulbs and expensive (and often very bulky) electronic flashguns. The high speed of the just-then introduced 3000 ASA Polaroid films allowed for another solution which combined some of the good points of both. The design of the Wink-Light is quite simple-- a 45 volt battery (similar to a radio 'B' battery of the same era) charges a capacitor. When the shutter is tripped, the capacitor is discharged through a 12 volt automotive turn-signal-style lamp (this is the same sort of circuit used in a typical B-C flashgun using conventional flashbulbs). The result is a brief but bright flash from the bulb. Even though a lamp rated at only 12 volts is used, the brief duration of the flashes means that the bulb should last at least as long as the battery (batteries were each supplied with a spare bulb, thus encouraging the owner to change the bulb at the same time as the battery).

 

For further info on this, or ANY other Polaroid item, check out THE LAND LIST (do a Google search on that term).

Thanks Alec, that's exactly what I was looking for. Bill