I'm having trouble using the "brilliant" finder on a Brownie Hawkeye. The camera appears to be in mint condition and I cleaned up the viewfinder (the optics are in A-1 condition) but it seems difficult to bring images in to focus. Is there a trick to mastering this camera?

-- John Reichenbach (jreich_33324@yahoo.com), June 08, 2001

Answers

Hi, John, As long as you're the proper distance away from your subject (about 5 to 6 feet), getting your pictures into proper focus should be a no- brainer. Are you moving the camera slightly when you take the picture? This can cause a fuzzy picture. The manual suggests that you hold your breath slightly when taking a picture - as old- fashioned as it sounds, this method for keeping the _photographer_ still, still works!

If you cleaned up the viewfinder but not the lens, Charles Clemens has a really useful article on cleaning the Hawkeye. You can find it thru Chuck's "Gallery of the Brownie Shooters" section.

If you don't have the manual for your Hawkeye, go to my picturetrail gallery for "various Kodak Manuals" (you can access it thru Chuck's website) and find it there. Feel free to copy and save it, and print it out at your convenience. Best of luck!

-- Peter Lutz (mariner8378@hotmail.com), June 10, 2001.