This Vintage Kodak Brownie Was Converted into a Pinhole Film Camera

Daniel Berrangé is a fan of the low-tech simplicity of pinhole cameras. In a world full of complex DSLRs that have controls for every minute detail of a photo, the humble pinhole camera offers a refreshing “just point it at something” experience. Berrangé has constructed multiple pinhole cameras in odd enclosures over the years, and his newest creation is built into a vintage Kodak Six-20 Brownie camera and even uses the original film.

The Kodak Brownie line of cameras were incredibly popular over the course of their 80-year production run, mostly due to their low cost and ease-of-use. But, they weren’t pinhole cameras, so Berrangé’s first step was to remove the lens from his Six-20. Almost all the parts on the Brownie are simply press-fit, so disassembly was as easy as carefully prying it apart.

With the lens removed and pinhole installed, Berrangé could have reassembled the camera and it technically would have worked. But, because the distance between the pinhole and film is pretty wide, the light hitting that film is really low. That means that it requires a long exposure time, which makes it unsuitable for handheld shooting. The obvious solution was to use a tripod, but the Brownie didn’t have a tripod mount. So, Berrangé’s final step was to add a tripod mount so he could shoot with standard 620 film.