Kodak Hawk-eye...

[Weaving Wax]

I'm putting this here because it says it takes 120 film, so I assume it's medium format.

My mom just gave me a Kodak Hawk-Eye No. 2 Folding Cartridge Model C that was lying around. I looked it up on the kodak brownie site and it said it was made in the 1930's. It looks really dusty and I might need to take some WD-40 to it, but I was wondering if anyone knew anymore information about it and how do I load the film and take pictures with it?

 

[Mitica100]

WW, in order to load the film you need a take up spool. If it' not already in the camera you can find one at any photo lab that does 120 size film. Just go and ask for an empty spool, they will give it to you.

Now, once you have the spool in the correct place (should be activated by the wind up knob), you take the 120 film, break the seal and put it in the other side. You might need to push onto some metal tabs in order to make it go in. Take the leader made out of paper and cross over the exposure chamber making sure the black side of the paper faces the lens. Insert the narrower lead into the slot of the take up spool and start winding until it catches. Now close the back and start winding slow until you see the number 1 in the little round red window on the camera's back. You're ready now for your first picture. Have fun.

 

[Weaving Wax]

WW, in order to load the film you need a take up spool. If it' not already in the camera you can find one at any photo lab that does 120 size film. Just go and ask for an empty spool, they will give it to you.

Now, once you have the spool in the correct place (should be activated by the wind up knob), you take the 120 film, break the seal and put it in the other side. You might need to push onto some metal tabs in order to make it go in. Take the leader made out of paper and cross over the exposure chamber making sure the black side of the paper faces the lens. Insert the narrower lead into the slot of the take up spool and start winding until it catches. Now close the back and start winding slow until you see the number 1 in the little round red window on the camera's back. You're ready now for your first picture. Have fun.

Thanks! I have an extra spool in my Holga, but how do I open the back on this camera?

 

[Mitica100]

All folding cameras like that should have a little tab or leatherette covered button on which you push. That will make the back either open if it has hinges or come off if it does not.

It's been a while since I've seen one of these folders, maybe if you can post a pic of the back I might be able to be more precise.

 

[Weaving Wax]

Thanks! I figured it out!

 

[blackdoglab]

Check inside the camera to see what format it takes. Obviously medium format, but with vintage cameras, it often means more than 120. 620 format cameras take the same size as 120, only your 120 spools will have to be slimmed a bit. You can also adapt 616 film cameras to take 120. Then you've got formats like 116 ( my folder takes this) that is a heck of a lot wider than any 120 spool I know of. Then again, you should be able to figure out a way to get it to work. You can also stalk ebay, estate sales, junk stores, etc, for spools of the size your camera takes, then respool the film. Also be aware that the red window might not be calibered to 120. In other words, the window might display the frame numbers for shooting 6x4.5, but the camera uses a larger size like 6x9. Experiment and have some fun.

Hey, since you're a holgaphile, you might want to try some 35mm in there. Just don't make the mistake i did and let light get into the room where you're rewinding the film. The negs came out, but were overexposed.

 

[Weaving Wax]

Check inside the camera to see what format it takes. Obviously medium format, but with vintage cameras, it often means more than 120. 620 format cameras take the same size as 120, only your 120 spools will have to be slimmed a bit. You can also adapt 616 film cameras to take 120. Then you've got formats like 116 ( my folder takes this) that is a heck of a lot wider than any 120 spool I know of. Then again, you should be able to figure out a way to get it to work. You can also stalk ebay, estate sales, junk stores, etc, for spools of the size your camera takes, then respool the film. Also be aware that the red window might not be calibered to 120. In other words, the window might display the frame numbers for shooting 6x4.5, but the camera uses a larger size like 6x9. Experiment and have some fun.

Hey, since you're a holgaphile, you might want to try some 35mm in there. Just don't make the mistake i did and let light get into the room where you're rewinding the film. The negs came out, but were overexposed.

Thank you! The camera says on it "use 120 film" or something and the spool that came with it looks about the right size.

I thought about the 35mm for the Holga, but I might stick to 120 for a bit. I like the larger format and winding the 35mm sounds like a pain.

A lot of my Holga shots are super blurry because I forgot to take it off of bulb for hand-held shots. I just ordered some film so I'll have some new stuff up soon...