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Kodak No. 2 Brownie Model E – Photographing outside of the box
There is a saying that a camera is just a light tight box to capture the image. Box cameras are the best example of this, only one step more technologically advanced from a pinhole camera. In the early 1900s Kodak was introducing box cameras in all shapes and sizes for a range of different film sizes. The Kodak No. 2 Brownie thankfully uses one of the more common film formats, and in-fact introduced 120 film to the world, which is still the standard size for medium format photography. Every so often, after using a variety of cameras, it is cathartic to get back to basics and box cameras are perfect…
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Kodak No. 1 Pocket Autographic – The Original with EXIF Data
It’s 1926, you want to record details about your photo and don’t want to carry a notebook, enter the Kodak No. 1 Pocket Autographic. It might not be automatically recorded, but considering this was 91 years ago, that is quite progressive. Kodak folding cameras had been introduced just over 30 years earlier in 1895 and had slowly been progressing during that period. The other major line of cameras from Kodak at the time was the box cameras which were very basic. You can read more about one of them here. We owe a lot to both cameras, especially the folding Pocket cameras, which introduced the real concept of not only…
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Kodak Retinette 1B Type 037 – Fat Boy
Secondary lines for cameras in the past have created iconic cameras. The Kodak Retinette series had the pedigree to achieve this, following up from the hugely popular and very well regarded Retina range. The Retinettes were aimed more at the general camera users rather than the enthusiasts, but having been built with some very good and quality parts they are quite well regarded. The Retinette 1B Type 037 is a middle child model of this range. As to why it is called the Fat Boy, I am not sure. I have searched online but while it is called this in many places I cannot find any reason why it is…
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Kodak No. 0 Brownie Model A – Shooting at over 100 years strong
Sometimes there is a real sense of clarity by stripping back to basics. There are of-course basics and then there are real basics. That is what using a camera that is one-hundred years old and is effectively designed as a box brings us. The Kodak No. 0 Brownie Model A is a camera which helped introduce photography to the people, but how is it to use in the modern age? History Kodak has a long and very focused history, of which is well known and too long to include in this article. The Brownie history is also a very long one, starting in 1900 until the final model being produced…
