To avoid complications for consumers when loading and unloading roll film cameras, Kodak developed a new film format in the 1960s. Inventor Hubert Nerwin developed the 126 film cartridges for Eastman Kodak. In 1964, he received a patent for it.
The 126 film format, called "Kodapak" by Kodak, uses a 35 mm wide film, spooled with a paper backing into a plastic film magazine. The exposure area is nominally 26 × 26 mm, although it is actually 29 × 28 mm, masked to about 26½ × 26½ mm. To avoid image overlap, there is an index hole for each section.
In the same decade, the Japanese Minolta introduced the first camera for this film format. Among others, a rangefinder camera for the 126 film format was also developed. Some models were sold both under the "Minolta" brand and under various private labels.
Today, unfortunately, there are no more films for these cameras.