Kodak No.2 Folding Cartridge Hawk-Eye Model C first time using it. Any tips?

[micwag2]

I've had this camera for awhile, but only recently have I patched the bellows to where it is light tight once again. I downloaded at least 2 copies of the original operator instructions but I've read from several sources 2 differing charts for the F:stops. One says that 1=F8, 2=F16, 3=F32, 4=F64. The other says 1=F11, 2=F16, 3=F22, 4=F32. So which is it? Also it has only "T" for timed or bulb exposure and "I" for instant. I believe that the shutter speed is actually 1/25 but can anyone confirm this? I plan on using Tri-X 400 as this is what I have on hand. Will I run into problems with this film being too fast? Should I use a Neutral density filter to slow things down some or compensate during development? Thanks folks! 111

 

[Peltigera]

I think you need to understand that you are not going to get negatives exposed to the standard we are used to with modern auto-exposure cameras. Film has good exposure latitude and this camera would have expected to make full use of it.

As to the shutter speed, it will have been 'quite fast' - fast enough to hand hold on the understanding the negative would be used for contact prints only. I wouldn't worry about the exact speed. You need to 'waste' a roll of film bracketing shots with several of the stops to see how they work. They are not necessarily calculated to actual f stops. If you assume the speed to be anything you want to and take light meter readings, you can work out what the effective aperture is based on your guess at shutter speed. The fact that shutter speed and aperture are both technically wrong doesn't matter if you get a printable negative.

Effectively, you need to develop your own version of EV values for this one camera and forget about shutter speed and f stops.

 

[Jim Jones]

Sometimes one model of Kodak was fitted with various lenses and shutters. You can roughly determine the f/number on your camera by dividing the diameter of the aperture into the distance between it and the negative. Shutter speeds were usually between 1/25 and 1/50 second. You'll certainly need a ND filter for bright sunlit photography. That works much better than trying to compensate for incorrect exposure when developing the film.

 

[micwag2]

I think you need to understand that you are not going to get negatives exposed to the standard we are used to with modern auto-exposure cameras. Film has good exposure latitude and this camera would have expected to make full use of it.

As to the shutter speed, it will have been 'quite fast' - fast enough to hand hold on the understanding the negative would be used for contact prints only. I wouldn't worry about the exact speed. You need to 'waste' a roll of film bracketing shots with several of the stops to see how they work. They are not necessarily calculated to actual f stops. If you assume the speed to be anything you want to and take light meter readings, you can work out what the effective aperture is based on your guess at shutter speed. The fact that shutter speed and aperture are both technically wrong doesn't matter if you get a printable negative.

Effectively, you need to develop your own version of EV values for this one camera and forget about shutter speed and f stops.

Thanks for the reply. I'm aware that this camera relies on the exposure latitude of the film to get an acceptable print. I was looking for some suggestions from those who are currently using one of these to get a good starting point for an acceptable exposure. By having the correct aperture sizes and the approximate shutter speed I can guess the rest from there.

 

[John Koehrer]

As Jim suggested it's easy to determine the maximum aperture. The others simply fall into place.

I would think the speed is about 1/25th as you have so Tri-X will be way too fast for you. Even a current medium speed film
is going to be overexposed. With an ASA of 25-32 and Sunny 16 you would be right in the neighborhood of correct.

If you have a 3 stop N.D. filter would get you to an EI of 50 another stop to 25. It will take a bit of trial and error even if
someone is using the same camera. shutter speeds tend to go long in old cameras like this.

Anyway Wiki had this:
For example, the Uniform System (U.S.) of apertures was adopted as a standard by the Photographic Society of Great Britain in the 1880s. Bothamley in 1891 said "The stops of all the best makers are now arranged according to this system."[21] U.S. 16 is the same aperture as f/16, but apertures that are larger or smaller by a full stop use doubling or halving of the U.S. number, for example f/11 is U.S. 8 and f/8 is U.S. 4. The exposure time required is directly proportional to the U.S. number. Eastman Kodak used U.S. stops on many of their cameras at least in the 1920s.

This paragraph would suggest that BOTH sources you have are correct but one(f8) is converted from the older U.S. system.

 

[athanasius80]

This chart is usually accurate... good luck!

http://www.brownie-camera.com/tech.shtml

 

[micwag2]

This chart is usually accurate... good luck!

http://www.brownie-camera.com/tech.shtml

Thanks! That chart will help a lot.