The Ansco Panda is a relatively tiny medium format twin lens reflex camera from the 1940s, American made and introduced just after the close of World War II.

Camera is MOST basic, f:15 single piece lens, 60 mm focal length, fixed focus, one shutter speed of 1/40 second, curved film plain, 6 x 6 format, mostly plastic, 1947 or so, that is about all there is to it.

It was designed to use 620 roll film, which is the same width and spacing as size 120 film, but with smaller diameter spools. 620 spool size has been obsolete for decades. But with a little practice, 120 sized film can be transferred to 620 spools, and used quite effectively in a Panda.

Below, thumbnails from a roll of Fuji NPS 160 that I respooled, and ran through one of my Pandas, trying to capture some of the Spirit of this Holiday Season with this simple tool.

Much of the set was shot as our first major storm of the season progressed, here in East Central Missouri.

Indoor lighting was assisted with tripod-mounted 625 watt Sun Gun movie lights. The closeups were with the aid of diopter lenses, held in front of the camera's lens. The Panda itself has no mechanism for focusing.
To capture the Christmas Tree in dim lighting, since the camera has only one shutter speed, I mounted it to a tripod with a mini-bungie, then repeatedly opened the shutter about 30 times in succession, to "build an exposure."

Please click on thumbnails to see larger sized images.
All images are ©2007 E.J.Kowalski.