Historical Context

The Star 335 represents 90s plastic point-and-shoots, the Kodak Tele-Ektra 1 is a perfect artifact of the late 1970s (specifically introduced in 1978).

This camera belongs to the era of the ultra-slim 110 pocket film cartridge, a format Kodak introduced in 1972 to make photography literally pocket-sized. The Tele-Ektra 1 added a clever mechanical trick to the format that felt incredibly futuristic at the time: dual focal lengths.

Normal Mode: In one position, you are shooting through a standard 22mm lens, perfect for wide family group photos or landscapes.

Telephoto Mode: Slide the switch, and an internal optical element slides into place behind the window, transforming the lens into a 44mm telephoto lens. This gave everyday consumers a 2x optical zoom long before motorized zoom lenses were small enough or cheap enough to put in consumer pocket cameras.

Even better, sliding the switch didn’t just change the lens optics; it mechanically adjusted the glass inside the viewfinder as well, instantly narrowing your view so you could accurately compose the zoomed-in shot.