Polar Dip 2018 – Kodak Brownie

These photos were taken at the Owen Sound Special Olympics Polar Dip 2018 using a restored Kodak Brownie Hawkeye camera. These film cameras were extremely popular in the 1950s and are still kicking around many homes thought seldom used. The camera has a minimum of options which is one of the reasons it was popular – nothing to set just point and shoot.

Restored Kodak Brownie Hawkeye with Custom Front Panel

The effective shutter speed is about 1/30 of a second accounting for the blur of the jumpers in the photos. The effective lens aperture is f/16 so there is a deep depth of field but with the fixed-focus lens, the sweet spot is about 15 feet. Not a good camera for landscapes and close-ups. These cameras were really intended for shots of the family and it does a good job of that.

The camera was designed for use with 620 film, now discontinued but also accepts readily available 120 film. The film used in these shots is Ilford FP4+ available at Foto-Art in Owen Sound. This film has an ASA/ISO rating of 125 making it well suited to the fixed-aperture and shutter speed of the camera. Keep the Sunny 16 rule in mind when using the camera and shots should be reasonable well exposed.

Viewing on these cameras is through a small finder on the top, like many medium format cameras. A simple plastic viewing lens send the image to a mirror which reflects it upwards to the viewfinder. This does present challenges when focussing on moving objects or any subject that requires close cropping.