Cameras That See by Sound

For instants, for instance, Polaroid outdistances Kodak

Amid the hype and hoopla that usually enliven its annual meetings in a vast warehouse at Needham, Mass., Polaroid Corp. last week pulled a few more rabbits from its seemingly bottomless hat of technological tricks. President William McCune Jr. showed off a new SX-70 camera that uses ultrasonic waves to focus its lens instantly and automatically. With unaccustomed modesty, Chairman Edwin Land, the father of instant photography, said: "This is the first development in which the only part I played was in expressing admiration for those who did the work."

Beneath a small honeycombed disc on the front of the camera is a thin, gold-coated plastic foil diaphragm that acts as both transmitter and receiver of sound. The diaphragm emits a millisecond "chirp" that bounces back from the object aimed at and, in a series of steps that take a fraction of a second, fixes the lens at the precise focus, from 10 in. to infinity. Not an accessory, the device is an integral part of the camera, which will go on sale late this year. List price: about $280, v. $233 for the regular SX-70, which produces developed color pictures in minutes.

Land has no present plans to sell or license sonar focusing to competitors. Potentially, it has uses that go well beyond photography. For example, the small unit might be employed as an obstacle locator for the visually impaired and those who work in the dark, or as an underwater ranging device for divers.

Polaroid's sonar focus will help in its bruising marketing fight with Eastman Kodak, which also held its annual meeting last week. Though Kodak offered no new products, it had good news: earnings for the first quarter rose a record 50% from the depressed period of a year ago, to $141 million.

Still, Kodak has cause for concern. It plans an appeal of an adverse judgment in an antitrust case brought by Berkey Photo; Kodak could be ordered to pay damages as high as $113 million. Despite its dominance of the $8.5 billion photographic-supply market, Kodak has been unable to dethrone Polaroid in the instant-photography field, which accounts for 40% to 50% of the sales of nonmovie, amateur cameras. Kodak remains the industry's giant, but Polaroid has been catching up. On sales of $5.9 billion last year, Kodak's net earnings dipped 1%, to $643 million; meanwhile, Polaroid's profits jumped 16%, to $92 million, on sales of $ 1 billion.

When Kodak plunged into the instant market two years ago, it seemed to have a chance to win top spot. Within a year it captured a third of the fast-growing market -but then went no higher. Polaroid came out with its $39.95 OneStep to challenge Kodak's identically priced Handle. Though both cameras were immediate successes, accounting for more than half of all instant-camera sales, the OneStep outsold the Handle by about 2 to 1. The OneStep has a motor that instantly ejects the print after exposure, while the Handle must be cranked before the print emerges. Kodak has brought out two improved instant models, the Colorburst 100 and the Colorburst 200, at $44.95 and $54.95, but few analysts believe the company will be able to wrest a substantially larger share of the market from Polaroid any time soon.

The clash between Kodak and Polaroid has done much to expand the market. Polaroid spent about $30 million and Kodak $20 million in advertising for instant photography last year, and in the process won many new converts. One result: Polaroid is now selling more cameras than before Kodak elbowed in. During 1975 Polaroid shipped 3.5 million cameras in the U.S., v. 4.5 million units last year, and plants are working three shifts to meet a large backlog of orders. As for Kodak last year, says President Colby H Chandler: "We sold more than 2 million Handles -all we could make." But much of the company's gain in instants was made at the expense of its conventional camera lines. One top Wall Street analyst reckons that instant sales jumped by 58% last year, while conventional camera sales dropped by 14%. Sales of Kodak conventional cameras were down, but the company will not say how much.

The instant market is attracting the covetous glances of other firms. Japan's Fuji Photo Film may show off a new instant camera later this year. Other firms, too, are developing instants. Though al] this activity will spur sales, both Kodak and Polaroid may find that holding on to their market shares could become increasingly tougher. qed

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