DIY Brownie Hawkeye Tripod Mount

[DennyN]

Didn't want to drill my Kodak Brownie Hawkeye or glue anything to it so I made this tripod mount. Thought others might like the idea. I have heard various ways of making a mount. I decided to make this version using hook Velcro on the bottom of the base, a small piece under the camera handle and a soft Velcro loop strap to go around the camera and attach to the Velcro points on the camera and base. I put cork on the surface to minimize slip and attached the base to an Arca Swiss style Manfrotto plate. The plate screws into a t-nut on the base and I painted the wood black. I am anxious to see what kind of looks I will get walking around with this. With a shutter speed of 1/30th to 1/50th the tripod comes in pretty handy, not to mention the available bulb mode. Judging by my test roll, my shaky old hands are going to need this.

 

[Lockheed_Tvr]

Didn't want to drill my Kodak Brownie Hawkeye or glue anything to it so I made this tripod mount. Thought others might like the idea. I have heard various ways of making a mount. I decided to make this version using hook Velcro on the bottom of the base, a small piece under the camera handle and a soft Velcro loop strap to go around the camera and attach to the Velcro points on the camera and base. I put cork on the surface to minimize slip and attached the base to an Arca Swiss style Manfrotto plate. The plate screws into a t-nut on the base and I painted the wood black. I am anxious to see what kind of looks I will get walking around with this. With a shutter speed of 1/30th to 1/50th the tripod comes in pretty handy, not to mention the available bulb mode. Judging by my test roll, my shaky old hands are going to need this.

View attachment 167462

Hey there, fellow Clevelander! I stumbled across your post while looking for tripod options for my Hawkeye. I was considering drilling a hole for one, it's not like these are rare (I have somehow acquired 5 of these now) but I started considering some sort of platform and bought a metal projector tray with a tripod mount but it seems flimsy. What you've come up with seems more stable and the size is much more manageable.

Is there any chance you could post some photos of the attachment of the wood to the tripod plate? I don't have a Manfrotto style tripod so I can't quite visualize what you wrote up.

Thanks for posting this. It is very useful information!

 

[terri]

Just an FYI, please note the date on this thread.

I approved your post here since this member is still active but doesn't post often. You may not get a reply here.

Thanks!

 

[cgw]

Looks pretty simple: Go to HomeDepot; find a t-nut that fits your tripod's threaded bolt; attach it to a chunk of wood; velcro strap the camera to the wood. That appears to be what DennyM generously shared 4+ years ago.
Have used similar hacks to attach homebrew light modifiers to tripods, light stands, Manfrotto Superclamps, etc.

 

[greybeard]

When I was 3 or 4 my aunt Cloie came to visit us from Newfoundland. She had a Brownie Hawkeye just like the ones you and I have. She let me take my 1st picture ever with it. I can still remember looking down at the viewfinder and taking the picture and that was in 1953-54. She and her camera are responsible for this crazy expensive hobby of mine..............lol

 

[DennyN]

Hey there, fellow Clevelander! I stumbled across your post while looking for tripod options for my Hawkeye. I was considering drilling a hole for one, it's not like these are rare (I have somehow acquired 5 of these now) but I started considering some sort of platform and bought a metal projector tray with a tripod mount but it seems flimsy. What you've come up with seems more stable and the size is much more manageable.

Is there any chance you could post some photos of the attachment of the wood to the tripod plate? I don't have a Manfrotto style tripod so I can't quite visualize what you wrote up.

Thanks for posting this. It is very useful information!

Will be happy to post some pics, will get them up this weekend or sooner. Any tripod camera mount can be attached to the wood. The velcro strap wraps around itself in addition to the velcro on the top of the camera and the bottom of the wood so the camera will not slide around.
Denny

 

[Lockheed_Tvr]

Will be happy to post some pics, will get them up this weekend or sooner. Any tripod camera mount can be attached to the wood. The velcro strap wraps around itself in addition to the velcro on the top of the camera and the bottom of the wood so the camera will not slide around.
Denny

Thank you!

 

[DennyN]

Hey there, fellow Clevelander! I stumbled across your post while looking for tripod options for my Hawkeye. I was considering drilling a hole for one, it's not like these are rare (I have somehow acquired 5 of these now) but I started considering some sort of platform and bought a metal projector tray with a tripod mount but it seems flimsy. What you've come up with seems more stable and the size is much more manageable.

Is there any chance you could post some photos of the attachment of the wood to the tripod plate? I don't have a Manfrotto style tripod so I can't quite visualize what you wrote up.

Thanks for posting this. It is very useful information!

Here are the pics that were requested. The mount on the bottom photo (1) would be the mount of your choice based on you tripod system. It screws into a proper t-nut just like putting it on your camera. On mine I added an extra wood screw as I did not want it to come loose and start twisting around. Velcro hook was also added to the base and top of the camera to keep the velcro loop strap from comming off. A wordof advice about the base. Don't cut the wood to match the exact width of the camera. It needs to be a bit wider for the starp to hold properly. I suspect non slip rubber on the top may have gripped better than cork and be more durable. Hope this was helpful.

 

[Lockheed_Tvr]

Here are the pics that were requested. The mount on the bottom photo (1) would be the mount of your choice based on you tripod system. It screws into a proper t-nut just like putting it on your camera. On mine I added an extra wood screw as I did not want it to come loose and start twisting around. Velcro hook was also added to the base and top of the camera to keep the velcro loop strap from comming off. A wordof advice about the base. Don't cut the wood to match the exact width of the camera. It needs to be a bit wider for the starp to hold properly. I suspect non slip rubber on the top may have gripped better than cork and be more durable. Hope this was helpful.

Thank you very much! Great advice.

 

[Lockheed_Tvr]

Here are the pics that were requested. The mount on the bottom photo (1) would be the mount of your choice based on you tripod system. It screws into a proper t-nut just like putting it on your camera. On mine I added an extra wood screw as I did not want it to come loose and start twisting around. Velcro hook was also added to the base and top of the camera to keep the velcro loop strap from comming off. A wordof advice about the base. Don't cut the wood to match the exact width of the camera. It needs to be a bit wider for the starp to hold properly. I suspect non slip rubber on the top may have gripped better than cork and be more durable. Hope this was helpful.

Thanks again for the idea. I finished mine up yesterday and it's working well. I went with a thin sheet of rubber and you are correct, it really holds the camera in place. I haven't put any velcro on the top of the camera body yet. I think I'll shoot a roll first and see if it needs it. The Hawkeye that I was going to use is in nearly perfect shape and I'm not sure I want to stick adhesive to it. I might clean up one of my other ones to vecro up. Here's a photo of mine.

 

[DennyN]

Thanks again for the idea. I finished mine up yesterday and it's working well. I went with a thin sheet of rubber and you are correct, it really holds the camera in place. I haven't put any velcro on the top of the camera body yet. I think I'll shoot a roll first and see if it needs it. The Hawkeye that I was going to use is in nearly perfect shape and I'm not sure I want to stick adhesive to it. I might clean up one of my other ones to vecro up. Here's a photo of mine.

Very, Very nice !! I like the wider strap. Thanks For sharing.