Fixing up old box cameras.

Candlejack · Nov 17, 2021

So alot of the old brownie and other box cameras seem to be a dime a dozen and in working order. Aesthetically, they seem to have alot of wear and tear.

Have yall done any modifications on your boxes? Curious what you all have seen.. looking for ideas.

Donald Qualls · Nov 17, 2021

I've seen about a dozen colors of Brownie Hawkeye Flash (all were originally either dark brown or black Bakelite). Nothing says something similar couldn't be done to a cardboard box camera; seems especially apt if the original "leatherette" is mostly gone anyway.

It's also fairly common among those who actually use cameras like this to glue on a piece of board with a blind nut in it to serve as a tripod socket, to add a filter ring in front of the lens (or the opening in the front plate, anyway), or to cobble up a way to use a cable release.

removed account4 · Nov 17, 2021

I used to take the front plate off, clean out the 100 year old dust, put a drop-off light oil in there and close them back up so they could be used for another 100 years. did no modifications, just a C+L..

Candlejack · Nov 17, 2021

jnantz said:
I used to take the front plate off, clean out the 100 year old dust, put a drop-off light oil in there and close them back up so they could be used for another 100 years. did no modifications, just a C+L..

What cleaner/lube do you recommend?

removed account4 · Nov 17, 2021

wasn't really a cleaner, I just stuck my fingers in there and pulled out the wad of dust
as for lube, I had this weird jar or some sort of electronics oil, it was light colored, I am not sure exactly what it was called but I used a tooth pick to put it in there
I figured it didn't need much, after all it was just a flippy floppy spring guillotine ...

shutterfinger · Nov 17, 2021

TriFlow. Available at bike shops and some hardware stores.
https://www.amazon.com/Tri-Flow-Squ...,B0789242MX,B001N883UC&srpt=MACHINE_LUBRICANT

peter k. · Nov 17, 2021

Converted a black 1914 Kodak, No.3A Folding Brownie, which used to use postcard film
(3-1/2" x 5-1/2") into one that now uses 120 film.
Makes great panoramic images and you get 5 shots to a roll.
BTW It has a vertical and a horizonal 1/4" tripod mounting hole .

RalphLambrecht · Nov 17, 2021

Candlejack said:
So alot of the old brownie and other box cameras seem to be a dime a dozen and in working order. Aesthetically, they seem to have alot of wear and tear.

Have yall done any modifications on your boxes? Curious what you all have seen.. looking for ideas.

turned mine into a pinhole camera

BAC1967 · Nov 17, 2021

The Brownie Hawkeye Flash cameras are a lot of fun to modify. All my painted ones have the lens flipped. You can do that with any box camera that has a Meniscus lens if you can get the lens out without damaging the camera. I have seen where people added a tripod mount and modifying it to take a 120 roll of film instead of 620 is easy. For the regular Kodak box cameras all I have done is clean them up and get them working properly, no real modifications.

Hawkeyes by Bryan Chernick, on Flickr

Flipping the meniscus lens gives this effect.

Snowy Fence by Bryan Chernick, on Flickr

Candlejack · Nov 23, 2021

BAC1967 said:
The Brownie Hawkeye Flash cameras are a lot of fun to modify. All my painted ones have the lens flipped. You can do that with any box camera that has a Meniscus lens if you can get the lens out without damaging the camera. I have seen where people added a tripod mount and modifying it to take a 120 roll of film instead of 620 is easy. For the regular Kodak box cameras all I have done is clean them up and get them working properly, no real modifications.

Hawkeyes by Bryan Chernick, on Flickr

Flipping the meniscus lens gives this effect.

Snowy Fence by Bryan Chernick, on Flickr

That flip gives an awesome effect! Btw all your colored brownies look beautiful

Fixing up old box cameras.

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