Three vintage Mid Century cameras including two six-20 'Brow...

Hammer

€21

Three vintage Mid Century cameras including two six-20 'Brownie' C made by Kodak, along with a Brownie Target Six-20 that made from 1946 until 1952. It has the Art Deco stripe design on the front plate that was common back in the era of skyscrapers. See below for some fascinating history of these cameras

Kodak created the Brownie box camera in 1900 as a way to offer photography to the masses at a time when taking photos was largely left to professionals. For $1 the average consumer could take their own snapshots using one of these simple devices. It came preloaded with film and gave you 8 shots. This could be comparable to the disposable cameras we all used in the 1990’s.
Kodak improved the design of their box camera over the years, and by 1932 they decided to create their own film to corner the market even further. Taking the popular 120 film, they changed the 1 to a 6 for the 6 shots the film originally would include, and they rolled the 120 film onto their slightly smaller 620 spool. They even stopped making cameras that took 120 film until they finally realized 120 film was more popular.

Although some 620 cameras can take 120 film if the spool will fit into the film holder, this camera does not. You will have to buy the 620 film from a supplier who hand rolls it like I did from Film Photography Project, or you can respool the film yourself. Doing this second option opens your film up to scratches and dust, but it is the cheaper option.By the time the Kodak Brownie Target Six-20 was created in 1946, the price for taking your own pictures was $3.50. Like most of the box cameras, it has a meniscus lens, meaning it has one convex side and one concave side like a crescent moon. This lens doesn’t have the best quality, but it does its job and often gives that soft focus, vintage look that instagram tries to duplicate with filters.

The fixed focus keeps you limited to staying 8 feet or more from your subject, unless you have a Kodak portrait lens attachment.