My thrift Brownie Hawkeye with reverse lens

[Mainecoonmaniac]

I love this LoFi camera.

https://www.flickr.com/photos/mainecoonmaniac/albums/72157657948690305

 

[gone]

I like them too. They very much remind me of the pics that came from my now departed Diana cameras.

 

[Ken Nadvornick]

Good manly white gas lanterns...



Ken

 

[GRHazelton]

Good manly white gas lanterns...



Ken

"White gas" I haven't heard that phrase in .... too many years to admit!

 

[Mainecoonmaniac]

Tuning them up

Good manly white gas lanterns...



Ken

They're classic and timeless. Some folks collects them like old cameras.

 

[Steve Smith]

Some folks collects them like old cameras.

Crazy fools!


Steve.

 

[Richard S. (rich815)]

Randy of Holgamods has been doing some nifty cleanup and reverse lens modifications of the Hawkeyes and they are really nice.



More info here:

http://www.holgamods.com/hawkeye/Hawkeye/Welcome.html

And a gallery of really cool mods he did here:

http://www.holgamods.com/hawkeye/Hawkeye/Cameras_Built.html

Now I gotta take mine out and use it more!

 

[Ken Nadvornick]

"White gas" I haven't heard that phrase in .... too many years to admit!

Recall the smell of burning white gas in the wilderness? It's as distinctive as acid fix in the darkroom.



Ken

 

[MontanaJay]

White gas lanterns and stoves are another hobby of mine. See Colemanforum if you're interested.
I grew up among Amish in Lancaster, Pa., and they still use them, along with campers.
Comes in handy during a power outage too.
For you young whippersnappers, white gas is basically naphtha, or gasoline without all the additives that are put into motor fuel.

 

[M Carter]

I've got my hawkeye modded with a pop-on 52mm filter adapter, tripod socket, PC synch adapter and cable release. Yeah, kinda nuts, but I wanted to do IR and have a fuller range of light it could work in.

 

[Mainecoonmaniac]

Thanks for the link!

Randy of Holgamods has been doing some nifty cleanup and reverse lens modifications of the Hawkeyes and they are really nice.

View attachment 115641

More info here:

http://www.holgamods.com/hawkeye/Hawkeye/Welcome.html

And a gallery of really cool mods he did here:

http://www.holgamods.com/hawkeye/Hawkeye/Cameras_Built.html

Now I gotta take mine out and use it more!

It's a great use of old cameras. I wish the mod would include them being able to take 120. Re-spooling to a 620 reel is tedious

 

[Richard S. (rich815)]

It's a great use of old cameras. I wish the mod would include them being able to take 120. Re-spooling to a 620 reel is tedious

He does that too.

 

[Ken Nadvornick]

The earliest Brownie Hawkeye, the one before the flash attachment, does not require respooling onto 620 reels.

I have one that my brother bought at a yard sale and gave me as a gift. It has a spring steel roller holder that can natively accommodate 120 reels. Later versions were modified to prevent this inadvertent compatibility.

I went to the hardware store and purchased a few tiny nylon bushing spacers to insert into the 120 reels to reduce the diameter of the reel opening. But this is not absolutely necessary.

There are other simple DIY adjustments that can be made to a Hawkeye. Some of them are quite effective. Here's a post from 2008 summarizing what I did with mine:

(there was a url link here which no longer exists)

Ken

 

[M Carter]

My understanding is that it's not the flash or no flash that makes 120 simple. It's metal knob or plastic.

I just ordered a metal knob flash version, so we'll see… but I understand you can just bend some of the metal tabs in any version and use 120 as long as you have the metal take-up spool.

 

[Terry Breedlove]

He does that too.

Oooooo I must contact him then thank you

 

[BAC1967]

It's very easy to mod your Hawkeye to take a 120 reel. There's a metal tab on the spring metal that holds the feed reel in place that needs to be bent or removed. I find it easiest to bend it back and forth a few times with needle nose pliers until it breaks off. You will still need a 620 spool for take-up. There is the same metal tab on the take-up side but a 120 reels still won't fit there without some modification.

I have a few that I have flipped the lens in and painted custom colors, obviously inspired by Randy of Holgamods:
https://www.flickr.com/photos/60348236@N07/albums/72157633773953911

 

[Richard S. (rich815)]

My Brownie is not 120-modified, but as long as I use a 620 spool as a take-up I can use 120 film as-is no problem. 620 spools can usually be found fairly reasonably. Just gotta to remember to save them after if you develop your own, or ask the shop who might develop for you to return them.

 

[cb1]

My Brownie is not 120-modified, but as long as I use a 620 spool as a take-up I can use 120 film as-is no problem. 620 spools can usually be found fairly reasonably. Just gotta to remember to save them after if you develop your own, or ask the shop who might develop for you to return them.

same with my Hawkeye flash, 120 supply/620 take up. no issues to report. My camera is dated 11/55

 

[bvy]

I either respool the film when I remove it or develop it right away. I only have one 620 spool.

I also flipped the lens and do some street portraiture with it.

 

[Mainecoonmaniac]

I either respool the film when I remove it or develop it right away. I only have one 620 spool.

I also flipped the lens and do some street portraiture with it.
View attachment 160247

Awesome! I love the look.

 

[BAC1967]

I have three brownies right now, two that I painted. They are fun cameras and you can do some interesting stuff with the lens flipped. If you want to make it take a 120 spool it's just a matter of bending a small metal tab on the spring metal. This only works for the feed spool, the take-up spool needs to be 620.

Orange Brownie Hawkeye by Bryan Chernick, on Flickr

Riley Closeup by Bryan Chernick, on Flickr

https://www.flickr.com/photos/60348236@N07/albums/72157633773953911

 

[Gerald C Koch]

Thanks for the link!



It's a great use of old cameras. I wish the mod would include them being able to take 120. Re-spooling to a 620 reel is tedious

Actually the Hawkeyes are one of a few 620 cameras that will accept 120 film. You do need a 620 takeup spool however. Have done it lots of times. No other modifications are necessary.

 

[OptiKen]

Ok, this is all new to me.
'Flipped lens'????
I love the look of the OP's shots.
Is flipping the lens as easy as it sounds? Just remove the lens - reverse it - re-insert the lens????

 

[BAC1967]

Actually the Hawkeyes are one of a few 620 cameras that will accept 120 film. You do need a 620 takeup spool however. Have done it lots of times. No other modifications are necessary.

There's two screws that hold the metal film housing in place. Once you remove the two screws you will have access to the lens. Just flip it and put it back together. There are tutorials with pictures that will help.



https://www.lomography.com/magazine...phic-techniques-with-americas-favorite-camera

http://filmphotographyproject.com/content/features/2012/06/lens-flip-fun-kodak-brownie-hawkeye

 

[OptiKen]

Thank you, BAC1967.
Looks like I have a couple of cameras to take apart tonight.

Duh! I just realized I made the classic mistake here...

thinking: 'All I need is that guys (the OP) camera and I will take pictures that look like his!

If only it worked that way.
(sigh)