Taking Pictures with the Baby Brownie Special Camera – Instruction Manual

About this edition

This text edition transcribes all eight source images of Taking Pictures with the Baby Brownie Special Camera, including paired printed pages 2-15 and the cover panels. Illustrations and decorative photographs are omitted; readable labels, the contact-print caption and all operating text are retained. Original American spelling and historical product claims are preserved. Printer code: 11-48-S-GXX-R.

Credit: Eastman Kodak Company, Rochester 4, N.Y. Source copy: The Brownie Camera Page.

Outdoors

Outdoor pictures should be made in bright sunlight, from 1 hour after sunrise until 1 hour before sunset. The sun should be behind your back or over your shoulder. Satisfactory pictures, however, can be made of subjects in open shade with unobstructed clear sky overhead, and on slightly cloudy days when the light is bright.

Indoors

NIGHT pictures can be made with Kodak Super-XX Panchromatic Film and a No. 1 and a No. 2 Photoflood Lamp in suitable reflectors. Place the subject near a light-colored wall, with a lamp on each side and 3½ feet away.

Lighting diagram labels: A – No. 1 Photoflood; B – No. 2 Photoflood.

Important Points

1. Keep the camera at least 5 feet from the subject because the Baby Brownie Special is a fixed-focus camera and everything 5 feet and beyond is photographed sharply.
2. Hold the camera steady. If it is moved during the exposure, the picture will be blurred.
3. Keep the hands away from the front of the lens when making the exposure.
4. Take the picture by pushing the EXPOSURE BUTTON slowly until it clicks. If no click is heard, the shutter has not been released and no exposure has been made.
5. Hold the camera level by keeping vertical and horizontal lines in the subject parallel to the sides of the front frame of the finder. Hold the finder as close to the eye as possible.
6. Keep the lens clean by wiping it with a clean soft handkerchief. Occasionally wipe the inside of the camera and the film holder.
7. Kodak Super-XX Film is not recommended for pictures in bright sunlight with this camera.

Photograph caption on pages 8-9: Contact Prints.

Loading

For outdoor pictures in sunlight, Kodak Verichrome Film, V 127, or Kodak Plus-X Panchromatic Film, PX 127, is recommended. For indoor pictures with photofloods, use only Kodak Super-XX Panchromatic Film, XX 127. All 8 exposures.

1. Load the film in subdued light – never in direct sunlight or strong artificial light.
2. Slide the metal handle latches down as far as they will go and remove the front of the camera which contains the film holder.
3. The empty spool in the film holder under the WINDING KNOB is used as the take-up spool.
4. Put the roll of film in the side of the film holder opposite the WINDING KNOB, with the unslotted pin end of the film spool in the hole in the spring; then push down on the spring until the slotted pin end slides into the upper hole.
5. Break the seal on the roll of film. Pull the end of the paper across the back of the film holder and thread it through the longer slit in the take-up spool as far as it will go. The black side of the paper must be toward the inside of the film holder. Bind the end of the paper to the take-up spool by turning the WINDING KNOB two or three turns. Be sure that the paper is started straight.
6. Replace the front of the camera and fasten it securely by pulling up the carrying handle until the metal latches are at the top of their tracks.
7. Turn the WINDING KNOB, until a small hand appears in the red window on the back of the camera; then continue turning slowly until the figure 1 is centered in the window. You are now ready for your first picture.
8. Make it a habit to wind the next number into position after each picture in order to avoid double exposures.

Illustration labels: WINDING KNOB; LATCH.

Unloading

1. After all exposures have been made, turn the WINDING KNOB until the end of the protective paper passes the red window; then continue turning until all the paper is wound on the spool to prevent the light from fogging the film when the film holder is removed.
2. In subdued light, remove the film holder. Be careful not to allow the film to unwind from the spool. Remove the roll of exposed film by pushing down on the spring to free the upper end of the film spool.
3. Do not twist the film tight on the spool or you may scratch it. Fold under the end of the paper and fasten it with the sticker.
4. Move the empty spool to the WINDING KNOB side of the film holder with the slotted pin end of the spool in the upper hole and engaged with the WINDING KNOB crosspiece. The camera is now ready to reload.
5. All films should be developed as soon as possible after exposure.

Developing – If you wish to develop your own pictures, obtain the booklet Developing, Printing, and Enlarging from your Kodak dealer.

Close-Up Attachment

For head and shoulder portraits or close-up pictures of flowers and similar subjects, use a Kodak Close-Up Attachment No. 3. Snap the attachment over the lens and hold the camera between 3 and 4½ feet from the subject.

Pictures in Full Color

Kodacolor Film C 127 (6 exposures) is available for use with this camera. Exposed outdoors in bright, clear sunlight only, it yields color negatives from which Kodacolor Prints can be ordered through Kodak dealers.

Eastman Kodak Company, Rochester 4, N.Y.
11-48-S-GXX-R
Printed in the United States of America.
T. M. REG. U. S. PAT. OFF.