[Don Joe]

Just a footnote, to add that the point of that content above on the uber-modest Minolta consumer camera being used successfully in space, is that the rigors of space are not automatically guaranteed to destroy anything but the most ultra-robust handmade half-million dollar cameras. And even a cheap digicam is inherently much more rugged than that fairly delicate Minolta Autoset (speaking as someone who spent many years hunched over the bench as a camera repairman).

[Don Joe]

I cannot resist! :)

Here's one last post on this topic. This is a better picture of the actual camera, as modified by Red Williams, from the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum:

"Ansco Autoset 35mm camera used by John Glenn on Friendship 7, the first U.S. manned orbital mission. Glenn used standard and ultraviolet-sensitive film in the camera which had been modified for left-handed operation.
NASA Photograph"

Here's a description from NASA:

Even the weight of a small camera mattered. Known for his camera expertise, Williams was asked to modify further the off-the-shelf Ansco Autoset camera Glenn would carry into orbit. He removed any parts unnecessary to its basic function, such as decorative leather or metal and replaced the larger hand-pistol grip with a smaller one.

He did indulge in one luxury, adding a larger viewfinder taken off a Polaroid camera so Glenn would have a better view.

(Lots more info on the other camera modifications he did for NASA at that link above.)

[Calvin Locke]

I vaguely recall from my photo period that a Hasselblad was lost on a Gemini EVA mission. I wonder if it's stll zooming around?