What makes a device last for decades?

Our photographer routinely handles cameras from many different eras, using them to take pictures rather than keeping them for display. Those that work best are neither the youngest ones nor the most expensive. What design features make for a long life?

Our photographer writes:

Film cameras first appeared in the nineteenth century, and you can get a couple of models new even now. But it’s rare to find anything earlier than the 1920s still working, mostly because they used glass plates or otherwise need supplies that aren’t made any more. (Some are in the hands of people who make their own photographic emulsions, a practice not recommended for everyone.) And twenty-first century film cameras are rare, since most everyone has moved to digital imaging.

So you might expect that, in our Use that camera! service, we’d see mostly devices from the 1990s or 1980s, a few perhaps from earlier years; and that the more expensive models (being, presumably, better built) would last longest. That’s not how it’s turned out.

In the late ‘80s began the marriage of photography with computers and plastic, including features like complicated program modes and autofocus. We probably see few of these because they’re old enough to be obsolete, but not old enough to feel like antiques. And those we do see often don’t work: there’s a lot to go wrong, many features depend on each other, and few repairmen consider them worthwhile to work on.

We do see a good number of the ubiquitous Single-Lens Reflex genus from the mechanical and mechanical-electrical era, from decade of the 1970s and a bit before and after. Perhaps surprisingly, those that work best are not the top-of-the-line ones. Those tend to have the most features as well as the most advanced features, which means (again) that there’s more to go wrong. In addition, there were more of the inexpensive models made, so they’re more likely to show up in our service. (On the other hand, a top-end camera is more likely to be worth repairing.) In any case, the simpler a device is at the outset, the more likely it is to work after a long time.

But the SLRs are challenged by various other designs from the 1950s and early 60s, rangefinders and Twin-Lens Reflexes and the like, for sheer numbers. I think that may stem from the simple ease of use of the SLR compared with other types: they got used to destruction. But again, the moving mirror added a complication, something to get out of adjustment or break, and simpler lasts longer.

So the camera we’ve seen most is the simple Bakelite box: the Brownie Hawkeye Flash. Many of these were made, and there’s just not much to go wrong. The plastic is thick and tough (especially compared with the plastic parts of the 90s); you can break it, but you have to try.

We find still earlier cameras that are useable, like a ‘30s Art Deco Brownie. It’s as simple as the Bakelite favorite, but being made of cardboard and wood is more subject to simple deterioration. An even earlier Kodak Autographic (up there illustrating this post) is still useable—almost. The shutter, lens and mechanical parts are simple and still work. Not so with the bellows. Leather falls apart over time, as any archaeologist will tell you, and repairing or replacing them is effectively a lost art. The Autographic leaks too much light to use.

Of course no camera was deliberately designed with a lifetime of half a century or more in mind, and the biggest single factor is how it’s been used and cared for. But to design a device that lasts it seems you need not make it expensive, just make it simple. Digital camera companies, take note.