Kodak Brownie Hawkeye Camera Flash Model (1950-1961)

This Brownie Hawkeye was made in Rochester, NY, in 1953. It takes twelve 2-1/4" square pictures on a roll of Kodak 620 film. 

Front

Back

The lens on the Brownie Hawkeye is a simple f/15 uncoated glass meniscus lens. The shutter is a single speed (about 1/50 second) rotary shutter with instantaneous or long exposure settings. The viewfinder is a waist level brilliant finder. The camera body was designed by Arthur H. Crapsey, Jr. Eastman Kodak Company made these cameras by the million and they are not hard to find. Their simple construction makes them easy to clean up. They supposedly are popular among hipsters. Kodak 620 film was discontinued in 1995, but you can re-spool current 120 size film onto 620 spools. It also is sometimes possible to squeeze a 120 film into the supply holder and use a 620 spool in the take-up holder. This camera has some re-spooled 120 loaded. The number 1 is visible through the little red window on the back of the camera. It is a good idea to cover the window with a piece of black tape if the camera is going to be used outside. Daylight coming through the red window can expose modern film, which is more sensitive to red light than the films available for the Hawkeye when it was new.

Before he went to work for Kodak, Arthur H. Crapsey, Jr. was a B-17 bomber pilot in the European Theater of Operations. He was wounded in action over Germany in 1943, losing a leg to his wounds.

Probably the most famous user of a Brownie Hawkeye is former President Bill Clinton. I recall seeing a photo of a 16 year old Clinton carrying one at the Boys Nation meeting in 1962, where he got to shake hands with President John Kennedy.

[Update] Oops. I replaced the top lens on the viewfinder upside down. This is fixed now.

[Update] The camera can still take a picture. This was shot on 120 Ultrafine eXtreme 100 respooled onto a 620 spool, developed in D-76 and scanned on an Epson 4990 photo scanner.

The Readers, an outdoor sculpture at Sally Beaman Park, Nashville, Tennessee. The Green Hills branch of the Nashville public library is in the background.

The Hawkeye name came to Kodak from Samuel N. Turner's Boston Camera Company by way of the Blair Camera Company. Turner was the first to put picture numbers on roll film backing paper and Eastman bought the company to get the patents. Kodak produced a number of cameras with the Hawkeye name.