Kodak Brownie Hawkeye
| Kodak Brownie Hawkeye | ||
|---|---|---|
Manufacturer: Kodak Date of Production: 1949-61 Type of Camera: Box Lens: Single Element Meniscus Focal length: 81mm Aperture: f/15 Shutter: Rotary Shutter speeds: Instant or Bulb Viewfinder: Waist level finder |
The Brownie Hawkeye is a Bakelite camera taking 6x6cm images on 620 film, made in the USA and France by Kodak, between c.1949-1961[1]. There were also examples labelled "Brownie Fiesta". The original design did not have a flash facility, but the Flash model was added in 1950 and labeled Kodak Brownie Flash in France.
- Produced: May 1949-Nov 1951 (non-sync model); Sept 1950-Jul 1961 (Flash model)
- Shutter: Rotary type, Instant setting is thought to be 1/30th or 1/50th + Bulb setting
How to tell when a Kodak Brownie Hawkeye was made
If you ever wondered how old your Brownie Hawkeye was, Kodak used a system whereby its manufacture date can be ascertained. If you remove the back of the camera, on the underside of it, where the exposed film spools go, you will find four letters printed in silver. These letters correspond to dates, using Kodak's code word "CAMEROSITY":
| C | A | M | E | R | O | S | I | T | Y |
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 0 |
If your camera, for instance, has the letters CARM, that means it was manufactured in 12/53. Kodak used 13 4-week periods to divide up each year[2], so those numbers would translate to the 12th 4-week period of 1953 (sometime between the latter half of November through the beginning of December).
Gallery
|
| with flash fitted image by John Kratz (Image rights) |
|
| Kodak Brownie Hawkeye Flash model image by Kenneth Dwain Harrelson (Image rights) |
|
| Manual cover image by Kenneth Dwain Harrelson (Image rights) |
|
| Early non-"Flash" Hawkeye lacks flash sync attachment sockets image by cyanide45 (Image rights) |
|
| Brownie Flash (France) model image by photoli2009 (Image rights) |
|
| Brownie Fiesta name variant (see other Brownie Fiesta models) image by photoli2009 (Image rights) |
|
|
|
|
Kodak Brownie Flash variant | ||
References
- ↑ Kodak.com History of Kodak Cameras
- ↑ The article International Fixed Calendar at Wikipedia notes Kodak's use of this quixotic calendar reform scheme.
Links
- Kodak Brownie Hawkeye Flash Group on Flickr
- Brownie Hawkeye on brownie-camera.com
- Brownie Hawkeye images at several angles and photos taken with it by David Richert
- Brownie Hawkeye on www.collection-appareils.fr by Sylvain Halgand
- France Pathé Brownie Flash at Sylvain Halgand's [1]
- Fiesta variant picture on Flickr, by Càmaras Màgicas JC
- Brownie Hawkeye flash model and how to use it with 120 film at Kurt Munger's [2]
- How to rejuvenate your Kodak Brownie Hawkeye on Flickr, by Kenneth Dwain Harrelson
- Interview with a professional photographer who uses only the Hawkeye Flash
- Modifying a Brownie Hawkeye Flash with a tripod socket and cable release by Diwan Bhathal
- images of Brownie Flash at BOITES @ IMAGES [3]
