Box Brownie Identification & Film Help

[Andrew Taylor]

Hi everyone, this is my first post on this forum so I hope I'm posting in the right place.

A few years ago I found an old box brownie camera in my Grandads shed and thought it looked cool, but never bothered to see if it actually worked. Recently I decided that I would give it a try, but realised I have absolutley no idea what I'm doing with it.
After a bit of research I think I've found out that it is a Houghton Ensign Box 2 1/4" B camera with 3 apertures and a fixed focus lens.(Please correct me if I'm wrong about any of that).

So what I really need is some film. The label inside (see pictures) says that it needs 2 1/4 inch "Ensign Speedy" film, but as far as I can tell, that isnt produced any more. I think the closest equivailant is 620 film as the emtpy spool inside the camera looks thinner than the 120 film. I'm not 100% sure on that but can anyone tell for definate from the pictures.

If it is 620 I need, I don't think you can buy that any more either, and you would need to remount 120 film on the 620 spool. Unfortunetley I lack the skill to do this (and don't have any empty spools) so I was wondering if it would be best to buy one ready prepared from this webite:
620 Film for vintage and collectable cameras | Photo Supplies UK
Alternativley does anyone know of a better film to buy, or a better place to buy it from (I live in the UK).

Finally, I think all box brownies can shoot in colour but I wanted to check that too?

Thanks for any help you can give,
Andrew.


Pictures (Sorry if they're big and take a while to load)

 

[Pete Askew]

Welcome to RPF Andrew. Did you have an interest in photography before the encounter with the 'Brownie'? It is not important and I am sure you'll enjoy this place anyway. Brian is the man to help you I think, and I'm sure he'll be along soon. In the mean time enjoy RPF and maybe post a quick 'hello' in the Meet and Greet so people spot you (although I expect they will anyway).

I can answer one of your questions anyway, yes it'll shoot colour with the right film!

With Kind Regards,

 

[Andrew Taylor]

Thanks for your warm welcome! Yeh I've always had an interest in photography at an amateur level, but never really got any expensive equipment; I just like taking pictures.

I'll have to check out the Meet and Greet section now.

 

[Brian Moore]

Hi Andrew,...I believe I may be the Brian that Pete is alluding to. I find this kind of thing absolutely fascinating!

I think that camera uses 120 film. First, the label says it's 2 1/4. (One of the image formats for 120 is 2 1/4 x 2 1/4) Secondly, the diameter of that spool looks bigger than a 620 spool to me.

I'd take it to a good camera shop--one that sells 120 film, and ask them if 120 is what it takes. I'd guess they would be able to tell you straight away, or they'd be willing to try putting a roll in to test it.

As to re-spooling 120 onto a 620 spool, if that's what it turns out to be, it pretty easy really, as long as you have a changing bag. If you get to that point let me know and I can send a link to a video that shows the procedure.

Good luck! (If it were me I'd not be able to sit still until I was shooting with that old gem.)

 

[Hamish Gill]

Is say its def 120 ...
But you are in the best place to tell
There is a guide here on respoolling 120 to 620 which will hopefully be of no use to you but it does show a picture of the two spools side by side
How To Respool 120 Film Onto A 620 Spool - The Brownie Camera Page

Nice looking bit of kit that! If you get some photos i for one would love to see them

Oh and welcome to the forum!

 

[Pete Askew]

Hi Andrew, I just checked and it is indeed 120 roll film so you'll have no problem getting it. Negatives are 2 1/4 x 3 1/4 inches and the frame numbers will appear in the little red window in the back. You'll get 8 shots per roll.

Good luck and let us see the results.

 

[Brian Moore]

I woke up thinking about this issue this morning!

It had bothered me last night that the label on the inside only specified one dimension: 2 1/4. I only had a few minutes to respond last night because I was being badgered by SWMBO about dinner. (She was refusing to put it into the oven since I had not yet changed out of my work duds and into my casual gear and there was--in her mind--no telling how long I'd be on the computer. This confounded me no end, since it was a pizza for goodness sake--our traditional Friday night cuisine--which will last for endless hours post-oven whether I am changed or not. Out of frustration I broke away from my response to Andrew mid-sentance and put the damn thing in the oven myself. Then back to Andrew! Well, this required a bit of smoothing over but suffice to say that all was well in the Moore household mere minutes after the smoothing over tactics were employed. I offer the foregoing by way of explanation for my haste in responding to Andrew's questions last night. I have more time now, since all residents of the Moore Household save for myself and Sadie--who is currently reading the New York Review of Books over by the fireplace--are currently comatose, it being only 6:30 am in Southern California as I write this.)

OK. So I woke up thinking about this single, 2 1/4 dimension this morning and I realized the camera may originally have been designed to use masks. Thus, the second dimension would have been variable based on which mask was used. I would agree with Pete that it would shoot 8, 2 1/4 x 3 1/4 (sometimes referred to a 6 x 9 cm) frames in the configuration shown in the photos. That's a lovely negative size.

 

[Pete Askew]

Nice explanation Brian (although you failed to mention what sort of pizza it was!). Did Sadie identify any potential good reads in the review - I guess a trip to the library is in the offing!

 

[Brian Moore]

Nice explanation Brian (although you failed to mention what sort of pizza it was!). Did Sadie identify any potential good reads in the review - I guess a trip to the library is in the offing!

It was a vegetarian pizza, Pete, with homemade sauce and dough. As to Sadie, she has developed an interest in paleontology lately and so I picked her up a book called "Once We All Had Gills" by Rudolph A. Raff. She saw a brief write up of it in the NYRoB. Thanks Pete.

 

[Andrew Taylor]

Thanks for the great replies guys, you've all been really helpful.
Unfortunately there are no photo shops near to where I live that have films like this, so I'm going to order some online.
I've gone for Kodak films as these seem the easiest to find and get developed (T-Max for B&W, Ektar for colour), so hopefully I should be able to start shooting in a few days
Thanks again, and I'll post the results here when I get them.

 

[Hamish Gill]

When it comes to getting them developed take a look here
http://www.realphotographersforum.c...imaging-north-wales-rpf-loyalty-discount.html
You will have to stick around the forum a bit more to get the discount as its for members with 100+ posts, but Joan is very nice and the service is brilliant!