Originally posted by Douglas_of_Sweden
Though it does smell a bit of peeping Tom.
I am pretty sure I've even seen 3rd party copies of this great invention, so there must have been a market???
Heehee. Yeah, actually, these were kind of a fixture of Spiratone ads and such in America, at least, ....I don't recall if I've ever actually seen one, but they were commonly advertised as a novelty item for 'candid photography,' (or peeping Toms,) I never heard of one made by a major manufacturer before, actually.
But, I grew up in an age of very clever, or would-be-clever gadgetry being a big part of the photo-hobbyist spending budget. As a kid, I was given many 'special effects' things by well-meaning relatives. I mostly gave them to hippies who were kind to me when fortunes turned a little later in life. I never really understood who thought those mirror adapters would fool anyone but the person you were *not* photographing, but there really was kind of this thing about the aforementioned 'Candid Photography,' (ie, 'it's more real if you're unobserved.' ) I think I was influenced in the opposite direction by some of that hype, actually, to a more interactive way of photographing people.
People's reactions have changed, though. It used to be that if they realized they were being photographed, the biggest problem would be that they'd mug and jump around, nowadays, people tend to be more inured and guarded. Closed-off, even.
But, I've always been fascinated with the second *after* someone feels they've been photographed. This is one reason I've always liked slow winders, and the noisier the better, in some ways.