Box Cameras

Vintage box cameras though antiquated compared to today’s digital models still find favor with many photographers due to their reliability and simplicity. It is likely that you will run across one of these either in an attic, at a yard sale and even on Ebay.

The box-type camera was first developed in the late 19th century and marketed under various names. George Eastman of Eastman Kodak Co. made millions selling the simple-to-use Brownie box cameras for just one dollar.

A Brownie camera operates through a shutter in the front of the camera that allows light to pass through the lens. The light is then reflected from the object being photographed and forms an image of the object that is inverted. The lens then projects the inverted image onto a light-sensitive film at the back of the box.

Users of this box camera looked through a viewfinder, which consisted of a front window, a window at the top and an angled mirror inside that connected the two. The camera was held at waist-level and you looked down into the viewfinder. Once ready to snap the picture, you would depress the shutter lever.

Generally, these rotary shutter cameras have a fixed-focus lens that allows for picture taking from eight feet to infinity. Some also have a second lens that can be dropped down in front of or behind the regular lens for taking pictures five to eight feet away. Shutter speeds can be pre-set from 1/25th to 1/50th of a second. They also have a bulb setting that is engaged usually by a lever found on the camera.

While Brownie cameras do not have the best lenses, shutters, internal mechanisms or outer coverings, they are particularly sturdy and have thus survived to this day. Initially, various films were available for these cameras, but today they take either 116 or 120 roll film. One box camera was called the Ansco Dollar camera that took eight images on 127 film. Another, the Spartus box camera used 120 film.

If you are interested in these types of box cameras, you can even build your own. A box camera can be made using a simple cylindrical oatmeal box or even a wooden box. Begin by spray painting the interior of the box and plastic cap with flat, black paint. Once it is dry, tape all the seams and around the lid with black electrical tape to ensure that no light gets in. Leave a bit of tape over the lip of the lid so you can remove it to change your film.

You will then need to place a one-inch-square piece of heavy-duty aluminum foil between two pieces of cardboard. Make a pinhole in it by rotating a No. 8 needle through all three layers. Once done, discard the cardboard and sand the two sides of the aperture with 300-grit sandpaper or emery paper. Then cut a ½-inch round hole in the center of the side of the cylinder box and sand off the edges. Attach and tape the aperture in place by centering its hole to the hole on the outside of the box. Finally, cut a small bit of tape and put it over the aperture hole to serve as the camera’s shutter.

You can test the light-tightness of the box by placing a strip of black and white photographic printing paper inside the camera while in the darkroom. Then take it out into the light for about two minutes. Go back into the darkroom and process the strip. If there are no dark or foggy areas on the paper, you have done it right.