I was a small child in the early 1960's and a few of these "belly button" (as they were called) cameras were still in use at that time. I do remember parents telling us to "smile, say cheese" and to be perfectly still, when the shot was taken. I do not remember the photos to be in color either. Only black and white. Color photos were taken only on special occasions. A graduation, wedding, and perhaps milestone anniversaries. Color film was very costly, and more costly for processing as well. One would take a roll in for processing, and there would be a two week wait before they were ready for pick up. Also, photos were not taken that often. As a result, one would frequently find Christmas photos, along with summer beach pictures on the same roll, after they were picked up from processing . It all sounds almost prehistoric by todays standards, but stop and think how many of the old photos still exist as a time capsule of yesteryear. With todays photos taken and stored on electronic devices, and usually lost forever when the electronic device fails, which is the best way to stand the test of time?
And nowadays colour films are ready in a few days, and I have to wait 2 weeks for B&W development... also B&W film is a bit harder to come by, sometimes even pricier than colour. How the things have turned... And yes, we can shoot hundreds and thousands of digital photos, but do we ever really watch them through? Do we cherish them as we do with old paper photos? Do we take care to save them from oblivion and hardware failure? Most of us probably don't... that's why I've started again to shoot on film as well, alongside digital, even if it's harder and much more expensive.
The brownie camera was the one that Kodak said "You push the button, we do the rest". Most of the original film was Black and White. The view window on the back for the frame number was Red so as to not expose the Black & White film (the film was blind to red light), plus the paper backing was thick enough to not let light pass though. I was born in 1942, so I lived through that era.
Very interesting point - that we need to interpret the past with an awareness of the limitations of the recording technologies that were available at the time. I have a large collection of negatives dating from about 1900, many taken with this type of camera, as that was all we could afford.
When I shot with my Mother's 1950's Brownie back in the 1960's - when I was a kid, I think the red acetate film window was a lot darker. My memory was you could just read the film number through it. Perhaps the red acetate has faded over time? We did not have bad light leaks back when the cameras were relatively newer. The fading might have caused the light leaks you experienced.
My mum used a Box Brownie for our family photos in the early 1960s when I was little. I have the one my wife’s old auntie took to the USA and Canada with her as a young woman. I took it to Edinburgh and got quite good results from it using 120 film. I wish my mum was still with us because she would get a kick out of using one again. Lovely car, lady, cat and video...you’re nice too 😄.
RUclips helped me find your channel when I was looking at a video of a person developing a 120 year old film. I really like your two videos of the Kodak Brownie Camera. Keep on sharing! Thanks so much.
That is a very good observation of how peoples in the past appeared in their images. The limitations of the camera. These cameras prob never had a tripod either. Thank you for sharing.
Powerful insights: Not only are we shaped by the technology we experience, but even our memories and what we know about ourselves! There's also an remarkable piece of applied experimental archeology! Excellent work!
Great video! It brings back a lot of memories. I am one of the "old guys" that started out shooting film. My main cameras used 120 film and I kept several "vintage" cameras, including box cameras around for special shots. I personally feel that virtually every serious photographer should dedicate a portion of their time shooting older film cameras. They will learn so much about image creation (as stated in this video). When a photographer only has 24-36 shots per roll (assuming 35mm) and they CANNOT review their shots, they will slow down and be so much more exact. It will help with their digital photography in so many ways. Once again, great video! Edit - fixed spelling error
I totally agree, I made the video modern photographer tried 100 year old camera trying to use a 116 cardboard 2a, and messed it up, but if you not failing your not trying eh? The video film bs digital in 2020 is about exactly what you just mentioned.Ultimately photography is just problem solving.
@@olitography I just finished watching that video and you are spot on. You have a new subscriber and a new fan. Really looking forward to catching up on your videos and watching your new content.
Great video, as always. Shot a roll with a Zeiss Box Tengor. Didn't like it a lot. Probably mainly beacause I forgot to bring a suitable connector for my tripod. It didn't use the 1/4-20 screw. This year I got a simpler box camera. Agfa Synchro Box. Made sure i had all the stuff needed. I was quite impressed with the results. It was at about 7pm at end of september. So the tripod was needed. A wire release and my phone lightmeter did the job. From ten seconds to 3.5 minutes. I'll use that camera again.
Excellent video, should have more views. Many of us have wondered what it was like taking photos with old, film cameras. This video really captures that experience.
Ye Olde Rolleicord V also wasn't winding the 120 roll tightly, so I had some edge "light leaks." That was enough to send it to a Rollei repair station in the late 1960's. The camera came back "good as new" with the added bonus of a much better split-image-center focusing screen. It, along with my film cameras, wait for me to get over "this digital thing" and get back to Serious Photography.;) Unfortunately, 120 Kodak Verichrome and Plus-X Pan films are a thing of the past, though Ilford FP4 and other medium speed films are still available.
I have one and am going to take some shots with it. My thoughts are that I will use a very slow black and white film and shoot in T mode using exclusively long exposures. Hopefully the red window shooting black and white will minimise the light leaks but I will tape it between shots.
There's a King Missile lyric that goes "I want to drive the tractor of innocence and return to the childhood I never knew." I think you're halfway there - please, keep posting images from the other side :o)
I have a 1940s Brownie that uses 616 film. I took many wonderful photos with it back in the early 1980s, until Kodak stopped making 616. Any suggestions for what to use in it these days?
Put a gash roll of 120 film in it, with spacers as I the video, mark up the numbers with lines and count the turns you need in order to love from one number to the other or buy a 120 brownie for a few bucks.
There used to be a website that was specifically about how to use these box cameras and how to overcome limitations. As an example, it is possible to get a closer shoot by holding a magnifying glass at a short distance in front of the camera. But I don't know if the website still exists (that was in the 90s)
Nice video and cameras, I enjoy using them myself. In the unboxing the one on the right appears to be a No. 2 Model D (1914-1919) and the other a No. 2 Model F (1924-1932ish, longer in the UK I believe). I have both and I have to say the Model F with it's metal body is very nice indeed.
Nice review. Well done. Which ASA or ISO did you used on you 120 filmrol? And which is the best using in those cameras? I have a Kodak brownie no.2 model f colour blue and a Kodak hawkeye major six 20.
Good video, I enjoyed that and your model is beautiful. Try this; get 2 similar Box Brownies that have tripod bushings, put quick release plates on both of them and the receiving plate on the tripod. Get some frosting tape and put it over one of the brownies with the camera set to Bulb mode, this will help to frame the image correctly, you then replace the camera with the one with the film in it, a bit fiddly but it works.
I'm old enough to remember being photographed with cameras that were only slightly better than your, such as a twin lens reflex super 620 camera. Yes, posing was important and people looked stiff. Modern flashes with synchronization changed all that.
Love everything about your video...except the sound quality. Now...I think I'll skip ahead a few years and get out my old Brownie Hawkeye and see what I can do...
We may have better technology now to record our lives but no digital file will last longer than a negative or glass plate. As for the brownie, they were never the best cameras to use and if I was looking for a film camera now, this certainly wouldn't be it but it makes me realise how much more difficult taking a photo was in those days and why many of my grandparents photos are blurry.
Nice images. The cameras you are showing unboxing at the beginning of the video are not from the 50's. Those look like a No2 Model E with trigger guard which makes it around 1920-1924 and a No2 Model F with round knob from around 1931-1935.
@@olitography Hello, I have restored and used quite a few of these over the years. I have several reference books like Coe's and McKeown's among others. There are also Brownie specific websites. Thanks!
Thank you for you advice, however if that were the case 1 the film I loaded would have been generally fogged ( it wasn’t) 2 everyone would have to return home between rolls to hide the under covers. Just avoid loading it bright sunlight, even then it’s never had any effect on me. it is however farrr more Important that you unload the film in the shade!! The edges will fog fast as the camera doesn’t wind on the film tight enough.
@@olitography I didn't know it came in 800 speed. I've got some Rollei 25 Ortho. I bought it for my Ica Tudor reflex. You ought to make a video with one of those SLR box cameras.
Brilliant video. I've just been given a couple of 120 box cameras. Can't wait to try them.
Awesome, hope the video helps, Any questions just ask.
There is a person selling in India you can try.
My grandmother always took photos of us squinting looking into the full Sun. Now I know why. Thank you.
I was a small child in the early 1960's and a few of these "belly button" (as they were called) cameras were still in use at that time. I do remember parents telling us to "smile, say cheese" and to be perfectly still, when the shot was taken. I do not remember the photos to be in color either. Only black and white. Color photos were taken only on special occasions. A graduation, wedding, and perhaps milestone anniversaries. Color film was very costly, and more costly for processing as well. One would take a roll in for processing, and there would be a two week wait before they were ready for pick up. Also, photos were not taken that often. As a result, one would frequently find Christmas photos, along with summer beach pictures on the same roll, after they were picked up from processing . It all sounds almost prehistoric by todays standards, but stop and think how many of the old photos still exist as a time capsule of yesteryear. With todays photos taken and stored on electronic devices, and usually lost forever when the electronic device fails, which is the best way to stand the test of time?
3713msg working in a lab in the late ‘70s we would still get rolls that had two Christmas’ on them
And nowadays colour films are ready in a few days, and I have to wait 2 weeks for B&W development... also B&W film is a bit harder to come by, sometimes even pricier than colour. How the things have turned...
And yes, we can shoot hundreds and thousands of digital photos, but do we ever really watch them through? Do we cherish them as we do with old paper photos? Do we take care to save them from oblivion and hardware failure? Most of us probably don't... that's why I've started again to shoot on film as well, alongside digital, even if it's harder and much more expensive.
Ah man this just made me really sad at all the photos on old cell phones I’ve lost
you have cloud storage these days, so the photos aren’t lost even if the device is gone
This old Brownie makes the exposures appear like they were taken with a pin hole camera. Beautiful model, love her red, vinyl dress!
How far we've come. Still I cherish the pictures my father took with the Brownie camera when I was a little child, blurriness, faded colors and all.
The brownie camera was the one that Kodak said "You push the button, we do the rest". Most of the original film was Black and White. The view window on the back for the frame number was Red so as to not expose the Black & White film (the film was blind to red light), plus the paper backing was thick enough to not let light pass though. I was born in 1942, so I lived through that era.
A[[apparently the Brownie will soon be a cure fro CV19, stay safe
Very interesting point - that we need to interpret the past with an awareness of the limitations of the recording technologies that were available at the time. I have a large collection of negatives dating from about 1900, many taken with this type of camera, as that was all we could afford.
I have some glass plates left to me, there. Really fascinating
When I shot with my Mother's 1950's Brownie back in the 1960's - when I was a kid, I think the red acetate film window was a lot darker. My memory was you could just read the film number through it. Perhaps the red acetate has faded over time? We did not have bad light leaks back when the cameras were relatively newer. The fading might have caused the light leaks you experienced.
Either that, or a lot of people said film speeds were much slower, perhaps a mixture of the two.
My mum used a Box Brownie for our family photos in the early 1960s when I was little. I have the one my wife’s old auntie took to the USA and Canada with her as a young woman. I took it to Edinburgh and got quite good results from it using 120 film. I wish my mum was still with us because she would get a kick out of using one again. Lovely car, lady, cat and video...you’re nice too 😄.
RUclips helped me find your channel when I was looking at a video of a person developing a 120 year old film. I really like your two videos of the Kodak Brownie Camera. Keep on sharing! Thanks so much.
That is a very good observation of how peoples in the past appeared in their images. The limitations of the camera. These cameras prob never had a tripod either. Thank you for sharing.
Glad you enjoyed it
Powerful insights: Not only are we shaped by the technology we experience, but even our memories and what we know about ourselves! There's also an remarkable piece of applied experimental archeology! Excellent work!
Thank you
Fantastic - I love how you transport us back in time.
Thanks
Great video! It brings back a lot of memories. I am one of the "old guys" that started out shooting film. My main cameras used 120 film and I kept several "vintage" cameras, including box cameras around for special shots. I personally feel that virtually every serious photographer should dedicate a portion of their time shooting older film cameras. They will learn so much about image creation (as stated in this video). When a photographer only has 24-36 shots per roll (assuming 35mm) and they CANNOT review their shots, they will slow down and be so much more exact. It will help with their digital photography in so many ways. Once again, great video!
Edit - fixed spelling error
I totally agree, I made the video modern photographer tried 100 year old camera trying to use a 116 cardboard 2a, and messed it up, but if you not failing your not trying eh? The video film bs digital in 2020 is about exactly what you just mentioned.Ultimately photography is just problem solving.
@@olitography I just finished watching that video and you are spot on. You have a new subscriber and a new fan. Really looking forward to catching up on your videos and watching your new content.
Great video, as always.
Shot a roll with a Zeiss Box Tengor. Didn't like it a lot. Probably mainly beacause I forgot to bring a suitable connector for my tripod. It didn't use the 1/4-20 screw.
This year I got a simpler box camera. Agfa Synchro Box. Made sure i had all the stuff needed. I was quite impressed with the results. It was at about 7pm at end of september. So the tripod was needed. A wire release and my phone lightmeter did the job. From ten seconds to 3.5 minutes.
I'll use that camera again.
This is such a beautiful way to explain, and explore, the past. Wonderful.
Glad you enjoyed it!
Excellent video, should have more views. Many of us have wondered what it was like taking photos with old, film cameras. This video really captures that experience.
Thank you, its frustrating but rewarding
Cool video...overlooked that it could come on after the other one i saw. Thanks for all your hard work!
Ye Olde Rolleicord V also wasn't winding the 120 roll tightly, so I had some edge "light leaks." That was enough to send it to a Rollei repair station in the late 1960's. The camera came back "good as new" with the added bonus of a much better split-image-center focusing screen. It, along with my film cameras, wait for me to get over "this digital thing" and get back to Serious Photography.;) Unfortunately, 120 Kodak Verichrome and Plus-X Pan films are a thing of the past, though Ilford FP4 and other medium speed films are still available.
got one of these for Christmas. I'm going to use a digital camera to set up shots so they'll hopefully turn out better well
Good luck with them.
How do you not have more subscribers? Your videos are so high quality!
That’s very kind, go fourth spread the word 😎
Good point about the limitations of the equipment skewing our perceptions of the subjects.
I have one and am going to take some shots with it. My thoughts are that I will use a very slow black and white film and shoot in T mode using exclusively long exposures. Hopefully the red window shooting black and white will minimise the light leaks but I will tape it between shots.
Very helpful video, can't wait to shoot with my brownie six 16 📸
As usual lovely photoshoot subject and location You sir, are a master.
Thanks, super old video but should pull the Morris out again
There's a King Missile lyric that goes "I want to drive the tractor of innocence and return to the childhood I never knew." I think you're halfway there - please, keep posting images from the other side :o)
I have a 1940s Brownie that uses 616 film. I took many wonderful photos with it back in the early 1980s, until Kodak stopped making 616. Any suggestions for what to use in it these days?
Put a gash roll of 120 film in it, with spacers as I the video, mark up the numbers with lines and count the turns you need in order to love from one number to the other or buy a 120 brownie for a few bucks.
Inspiring video, great technique, love this stuff, have bought a few Coronet cameras recently and an Artima, keep up the good work but stay safe.
You too
That footage at 0:45 looked like a 1950s film.
There used to be a website that was specifically about how to use these box cameras and how to overcome limitations. As an example, it is possible to get a closer shoot by holding a magnifying glass at a short distance in front of the camera.
But I don't know if the website still exists (that was in the 90s)
The question really is why, would you use these cameras today.
@@olitography for fun !
Ngl the kodak brownie camera quality is genuinely better than my iPhone 11 camera
Each to there own
Nice video and cameras, I enjoy using them myself. In the unboxing the one on the right appears to be a No. 2 Model D (1914-1919) and the other a No. 2 Model F (1924-1932ish, longer in the UK I believe). I have both and I have to say the Model F with it's metal body is very nice indeed.
Nice review. Well done. Which ASA or ISO did you used on you 120 filmrol? And which is the best using in those cameras? I have a Kodak brownie no.2 model f colour blue and a Kodak hawkeye major six 20.
I used Portra 400 but a sunnier place than England might give you a chance use something slower.
Super cool, Im bidding on a starflex now!!
Good video, I enjoyed that and your model is beautiful. Try this; get 2 similar Box Brownies that have tripod bushings, put quick release plates on both of them and the receiving plate on the tripod. Get some frosting tape and put it over one of the brownies with the camera set to Bulb mode, this will help to frame the image correctly, you then replace the camera with the one with the film in it, a bit fiddly but it works.
I will try that, thank you
I'm old enough to remember being photographed with cameras that were only slightly better than your, such as a twin lens reflex super 620 camera. Yes, posing was important and people looked stiff. Modern flashes with synchronization changed all that.
I have a twin Lens Yashica Its great, it’s funny how things can reverse there meaning over time.
I love vintage technology. Those photo's turned out great, in my opinion.
Just bought a Kodak brownie for $9 in the box with the manual at a thrift store, now I have to figure out how to use it.
Love everything about your video...except the sound quality.
Now...I think I'll skip ahead a few years and get out my old Brownie Hawkeye and see what I can do...
We may have better technology now to record our lives but no digital file will last longer than a negative or glass plate. As for the brownie, they were never the best cameras to use and if I was looking for a film camera now, this certainly wouldn't be it but it makes me realise how much more difficult taking a photo was in those days and why many of my grandparents photos are blurry.
Couldn't agree more
How did you get pictures? That infrared hole lets in too much light.
The film is paper backed
3:25 absolutely nails it!
Nice review. Which iso filmrol did you used?
Probably some expired portrait 400
Cool video thanks for sharing !
Great insight
Thank you
Does anyone know where I can find batteries for this
😳😂
Where'd you get your hat..? What brand..?
Stole it from a friend
Nice images. The cameras you are showing unboxing at the beginning of the video are not from the 50's. Those look like a No2 Model E with trigger guard which makes it around 1920-1924 and a No2 Model F with round knob from around 1931-1935.
That’s helpful, where did you find that info?
@@olitography Hello, I have restored and used quite a few of these over the years. I have several reference books like Coe's and McKeown's among others. There are also Brownie specific websites. Thanks!
Cat doing what cats do best
Yep, not doing a lot, eating sleeping and demanding attention
Sounds about right
I came here for the cat!
He knows,
0:45 Ill be blunt. Its possible to stall that car driving in such high waters.
Any car can stall in a Ford. I was more concerned about making sure it was dried out before it was put away. Not driven it since making that video.
lovely modele
You are meant to load the film in a darkened room or under a blanket.
Thank you for you advice, however if that were the case 1 the film I loaded would have been generally fogged ( it wasn’t) 2 everyone would have to return home between rolls to hide the under covers.
Just avoid loading it bright sunlight, even then it’s never had any effect on me.
it is however farrr more Important that you unload the film in the shade!! The edges will fog fast as the camera doesn’t wind on the film tight enough.
It might work better if you used orthochromatic film, then maybe you wouldn't have to worry so much about light leaks from the peep hole.
That is something I would like to try out, Ilford make a good 800 ISO one.
@@olitography I didn't know it came in 800 speed. I've got some Rollei 25 Ortho. I bought it for my Ica Tudor reflex. You ought to make a video with one of those SLR box cameras.
What is my cat doing on your desk
Looking for food
Ur indoor comments are inaudible