Image: Centro Português de Fotografia, Porto
The Centro Português de Fotografia has chosen a 1950s PIC camera by Pressure Sealed Plastics Ltd, England, as its July 2026 'Document of the Month'. The featured object comes from the António Pedro Vicente Collection, held in the museum’s Camera and Photographic Equipment Collection, and is presented as an example of mid-20th-century photographic design shaped by portability, novelty and ease of use.
The museum describes the PIC as a distinctive camera with an unusual circular shape and a lightweight plastic body. Its compact construction gave it a playful, experimental character, while its technical setup remained deliberately simple. According to the CPF, the camera uses a fixed-focus lens, a single aperture and a rotary shutter with one speed and bulb setting, and operates with 127 roll film.
That film format allowed for 16 exposures measuring 30 by 40 millimetres. The CPF presents the PIC primarily as a tool for spontaneous and informal pictures, aligning it with the idea of snapshots: photographs taken quickly to capture everyday moments. In that sense, the camera is offered not only as an object of design, but also as evidence of a photographic culture that valued immediacy and casual use.
The July selection is part of the museum’s regular 'Document of the Month' programme, a format used by the Centro Português de Fotografia to draw attention to individual items from its holdings. In this case, the emphasis falls on an object that bridges technology and visual culture, showing how manufacturers in the 1950s pursued originality while keeping photography accessible.
The museum’s accompanying text notes that the PIC reflects a period when designers sought to combine originality, lightness and functionality. Its circular form and technical simplicity are presented as features that helped bring photography closer to everyday life, rather than positioning it only as a specialised practice.
The camera is identified in the CPF’s collection records as 'PIC, ca. 1950' and is catalogued under reference PT/CPF/CCEF/APV/00446. The object is part of the António Pedro Vicente Collection, preserved within the Centre Portuguese of Photography’s museum collection in Porto.
