The Brownie Camera

The Brownie Camera could arguably be the first everyday camera as it was cheap, easy to use and hugely popular. It was designed in the late 18th century by Frank Brownell who was asked by George Eastman, the owner of Kodak, to produce a cheap yet effective camera. And that's exactly what he did. By using cheap materials and mass production, they managed to reach their aim of increasing sales by making photography easy and affordable for everyone. Originally, the cameras were intended for children and so, were named 'Brownies' after a popular television character, however, it soon became apparent that their popularity lay with adults. This was mainly down to their ease of use and price as they cost only 5 shillings in Britain (25 pence). They had an f/14 meniscus lens and a simple rotary shutter for time and instantaneous exposures. If a viewfinder was needed it had to be bought separately and clipped on and only six 2 and 1/4 inch square negatives could be taken. However, for a small five inches long, three inches high and three inches wide box, it was a great success.
Brownies were very simple cameras and followed a similar process to the Box camera. The process of taking a photograph using a Brownie camera went as follows: the shutter is opened to allow light, that has been reflected by the object being photographed, to pass into the lens. To let in more light, the shutter is kept open for longer and vice versa. Once the light has passed through the lens an image of the object is formed on the light sensitive paper at the back of the camera. This image is inverted, similarly to how our eyes invert images on our retinas. The image is then developed using specific chemicals to form the final photograph.
I found Brownie cameras very interesting to research as they are very simple yet effective cameras and appear to be very influential in everyday photography. They also seem to be very nostalgic items that played a large part in the idea of recording visual memories. I love the simplicity of Brownie cameras too as so often nowadays cameras overly complicated. Clearly, they were a huge success not only in the photography world but also in the everyday life of consumers.

Bibliography: https://nationalmediamuseumblog.wordpress.com/2012/10/26/a-z-photography-collection-b-is-for-brownie/

http://www.brownie-camera.com/articles/petelutz/article.shtml