The Kodak No. 2 Brownie Model A (1904~1907) takes 2 ¼ x 3 ¼  pictures on 120 film. Both the No. 2 Brownie and its close cousin the No.3 Brownie have value as collectibles.  Cameras with the red bellows seem to sell more easily as well as carry a slightly higher price tag than cameras with the black bellows.

Open the camera by pushing the bed-release button on top of the camera, Fig. 1. The bed swings open as shown in Fig. 2. To set the focus, push down the tab on the focus lever, Fig. 2. Then slide the focus lever until you can clip its tab to one of the three slots in the focus scale—each slot corresponds to a focus distance.

Setting the focus distance positions a stop lug, Fig. 2, for the lens standard The lens-standard clip has three openings at different positions. The shorter the focus distance you select, the further you're moving the lens standard move from the film.

Pull forward the lens-standard clip until one of its three holes clicks onto the focus-lever stop lug (although you can't see the focus-lever stop lug with the lens extended, you can feel the lens-standard clip engage). To return the lens standard, push down the tab on the focus lever—that disengages the stop lug from the lens-standard clip. Then slide the lens standard into the camera body.

At first glance, the camera seems to be missing a lens. There's no lens on the shutter. The lens sits behind the shutter in the lens standard. You'll see the lens when you remove the shutter or open the camera back.

Open the camera back by pushing the back latch (from right to left, with the camera held in the picture-taking position). The camera back swings open. Load film and close the camera back. The ruby window in the camera back allows you to see the numbers on the film's paper backing.

SHUTTER IN THE MODEL A BROWNIE
The Brownie Automatic shutter has only three controls. Push down the release lever, Fig. 1, to both cock and release the shutter. The IBT lever at the top of the shutter allows you to set I (instantaneous), B (bulb), or T (time). The exposure-control lever at the bottom of the shutter has three settings—the settings determine how far the shutter blades open (there's no separate diaphragm). For the maximum aperture, set the exposure-control lever to 1. Set the exposure-control lever to 3 for the smallest aperture.

To remove the shutter from its bayonet mount, hold down the spring-loaded locking lever, Fig. 3. Then turn the shutter a slight distance in a clockwise direction. When the shutter comes to a stop, lift it from the lens standard.

To replace the shutter, seat it with its locking knob just clockwise of the stop lever. The three mounting posts at the back of the shutter, Fig. 4, should then fit into the large sections of the mounting slots in the lens standard. Turn the shutter a slight distance counterclockwise until it stops. The stop lever now snaps into place below the locking knob, preventing the shutter from turning clockwise.

SHUTTER OPERATION
Remove the front plate of the shutter by taking out the two screws (visible at the front of the shutter in Fig. 1). Fig. 5 shows the shutter with the front plate removed.

You may already be familiar with the basic operation—it's quite similar to that in other shutters of the era. Push down the release lever to release the shutter. As the release lever moves down, it pushes the main lever in a clockwise direction. The lower end of the main lever slides up and over a sloped lug on the blade-operating ring—that's the cocking part of the operation.

The release part of the operation comes at the completion of the release-lever movement. The tip of the release lever moves past the upper end of the main lever, freeing the main lever to move in the release direction. The mainspring then drives the main lever counterclockwise.

Now the lower end of the main lever catches the straight edge of the blade-operating-ring lug. The main lever pulls the blade-operating ring in a counterclockwise direction, opening the shutter blades.

As the main lever completes its release movement, it disengages from the blade-operating-ring lug. Now free, the spring-driven blade-operating ring rotates clockwise—the direction that closes the shutter blades.

EXPOSURE CONTROL
An air piston (under the cam lever in Fig. 5) connects to the main lever. As the main lever moves in the cocking direction, it draws the piston out of the air cylinder. Then, as the main lever moves in the release direction, it pushes the piston into the air cylinder—against the air resistance. The air piston acts to control and brake the main lever. But the cam lever, Fig. 5, provides the speed control.

The cam lever changes the actual engagement between the main lever and the lug on the blade-operating ring. Try moving the lower, slotted end of the cam lever to the right or to the left. Notice how the cam lever positions the main lever. Moving the slotted end of the cam lever from right to left increases the depth of engagement between the main lever and the blade-operating-ring lug.

At the back of the front plate, Fig. 6, you can see the control for the cam lever. The pin on the exposure-control lever, Fig. 6, fits into a cam-lever slot (the cam-lever slot at a 6 o'clock position in Fig. 5). Moving the exposure-control lever then shifts the cam lever clockwise or counterclockwise. As the slotted end of the cam lever moves from right to left in Fig. 5, the engagement increases between the main lever and the blade-operating ring. The result—a larger opening.

TIME AND BULB OPERATION
Fig. 6 also shows the two screw-pins on the IBT lever.  One of the screw-pins just limits the movement of the IBT lever. But the other screw-pin (the one at a 5 o'clock position in Fig. 6) positions the time/bulb-control lever, Fig. 5.

Notice that you can push down the upper end of the time/bulb-control lever—against the tension of a coil spring under the lower end of the time/bulb-control lever. The screw-pin sits on top of one of the three cam surfaces formed on the time/bulb-control lever. Each cam surface—one for instantaneous, one for bulb, and one for time—is at a different height, Fig. 5.

At the instantaneous setting, the screw-pin sits above a recessed step—the I position in Fig. 5. Here the screw-pin allows the time/bulb-control lever to move up fully. For bulb, the screw pin moves above the middle cam. Since the middle cam is raised slightly, the screw-pin pushes down the time-bulb-control lever. For time, the screw-pin moves above the highest cam on the time/bulb-control lever. The screw-pin then fully pushes down the time/bulb-control lever.

The time/bulb lever, Fig. 7, mounts to the time/bulb-control lever. As a result, the time/bulb lever also moves up and down according to the setting. A pin on the time/bulb lever connects to the release lever. As you push down the release lever, the time/bulb lever slides to the right in Fig. 7; the time/bulb lever slides to the left as the spring-driven release lever returns.

It's a little difficult to simulate the operation on bulb—you have to push down the time/bulb control lever just the right amount. But it's easy to simulate time operation. Simply push down the time/bulb-control lever as far as it will go.

Hold down the time/bulb-control lever and push the release lever. Notice that a lug on the time/bulb lever first catches the bulb tab on the main lever (Fig. 7 points out the bulb tab). On its return stroke, the release lever pulls the time/bulb lever out of engagement with the main lever. If the shutter were set to bulb, the blades would then close.

But on time, another lug on the time/bulb lever catches the second tab on the main lever, Fig. 7. The main lever still can't complete the release travel to free the blade-operating ring. So the shutter blades stay open. The blades remain open when you let go of the release lever.

The shutter blades close when you push the release lever a second time. The release lever pushes the time/bulb lever out of engagement with the main lever. Now the main lever completes its cycle, allowing the shutter blades to close.

SHUTTER DISASSEMBLY
1. Remove the  large screw at the lower end of the time/bulb-control lever. Careful: As you've noted, there's a coil spring under the time/bulb-control lever at the screw position. The screw you just removed has a post that passes through the center of the coil spring.
2. Lift the bottom end of the time/bulb-control lever. Then slide the time/bulb-control lever slightly toward the bottom of the shutter—until the fork at the top of the time/bulb-control lever clears the brass post screw. Lift out the time/bulb-control lever.
3. Lift out the coil spring.
4. Note the position of the long end of the mainspring, Fig. 8—it may rest against the side of the shutter housing or, for more tension, it may connect under the head of the screw holding the blade-operating-ring spring. Disconnect the long end of the mainspring and lift it over the shutter housing to let off the tension.
5. Remove the screw holding the main lever and cam lever. Note that the piston for the air cylinder connects to a tab on the main lever, Fig. 8. As you lift out the main-lever/cam-lever assembly, carefully let the main lever pull the piston out of the air cylinder. Don't use force—force may break the main-lever tab. Alternately, move the cam lever away from the piston. Then disconnect the piston from the main-lever tab. Note the washer that sits under the main lever—the washer is now loose.
6.The release lever and the release-lever spring are a little tricky to remove and replace. Notice how the release-lever spring passes under the release lever, Fig. 9. The hooked end of the release-lever spring then connects to a step on the release lever.

The post screw, Fig. 9, holds the release-lever spring in place (remember, the post screw also controls the travel of the time/bulb-control lever). Be careful when removing the post screw—if you suddenly let off the tension on the release-lever spring, the post screw may go flying. Disconnect the straight end of the release-lever spring and move the spring end above the shutter housing—this lets off most of the spring tension. Keep a finger on top of the release-lever spring as you remove the post screw.

7. Disconnect the hooked end of the release-lever spring from the release lever. Remove the release-lever spring.
8. Remove the screw holding the release lever. Lift out the release lever and the thick washer that sits under the release lever.
9. Disconnect the hooked end of the blade-operating-ring spring from the lug on the blade-operating ring, Fig. 10.
10. Keep one hand over the top of the shutter as you remove the screw holding the blade-operating-ring spring. There's still tension on the blade-operating-ring spring, and both the blade-operating-ring spring and the screw may fly if you aren't careful.
11. Move the blade-operating ring counterclockwise to fully open the shutter blades. Now put a scribe line on the top of the blade-operating ring and a matching scribe line on the shutter housing. The scribe lines will help you replace the blade-operating ring in the proper rotational position.
12. Remove the three large-head screws that hold down the blade-operating ring, Fig.10  .
13. Lift out the blade-operating ring—the shutter blades are now loose, Fig. 11.
14. Note the positions of the six shutter blades. Fig. 11 shows the blade positions in our representative shutter. Two blades sit at the starting position—the first blade you install and the last blade (the cover blade). Lift out the shutter blades. The starting position may be different in your shutter. But the first blade and the last blade (the cover blade) should still be together—one at the bottom and one at the top of the other shutter blades.

SHUTTER REASSEMBLY
1. Seat the first shutter blade at the #1 position shown in Fig. 11 (or in the starting position you noted prior to removing the shutter blades). The tail of the shutter blade fits into a slot in the shutter housing. Shift the shutter blade to the fully open position, Fig. 11. Seat the remaining shutter blades in clockwise rotation, moving each blade to the fully open position. Finally seat the last blade (the cover blade) over the top of the first blade you installed.

Note: The slot in each shutter blade should be over a cutout in the shutter housing. The pins on the underside of the blade-operating ring pass through the holes in the shutter blades and into the shutter-housing cutouts.

2. Seat the blade-operating ring on top of the shutter blades by aligning its scribe line with the scribe line on the shutter housing. Don't push down on the blade-operating ring—the pins on the underside of the blade-operating ring may not be aligned with the holes in the shutter blades. Gently turn the blade-operating ring a partial turn in a clockwise direction. Do all the blades start to close? If necessary, turn the blade-operating ring slightly clockwise and then slightly counterclockwise to align its pins with the holes in the shutter blades—let gravity provide the downward pressure on the blade-operating ring (if you push down the blade-operating ring, you may damage the blade or blades that aren't aligned). It may be necessary to gently probe some blades to the open position. When all the shutter blades move together, replace the three screws holding the blade-operating ring, Fig. 10.

Note: Check now to make sure the blade-operating ring turns very freely in both the opening direction and the closing direction.

3. Seat the blade-operating-ring spring as shown in Fig. 10—but don't as yet hook the blade-operating-ring spring to the blade-operating ring. Align the coil of the blade-operating-ring spring over the screw hole in the shutter housing. Keep your finger on the long end of the blade-operating-ring spring to hold its coil section over the screw hole. Then replace the screw that holds the blade-operating-ring spring, Fig. 10.
4. Hook the blade-operating-ring spring to the blade-operating ring, Fig. 10.

Note: Check the operation of the shutter blades. The shutter blades should move smoothly to the open position when you push the blade-operating ring counterclockwise. When you release the blade-operating ring, the shutter blades should snap closed. Free operation here is critical—especially for proper operation at the largest aperture.

5. Pass the release lever through the slot in the shutter housing, Fig. 9. Slip the thick washer under the release lever; align the hole in the washer and the hole in the release lever with the screw hole in the shutter housing. Replace the shoulder screw that holds the release lever. After you tighten the shoulder screw, make sure the release lever moves freely.
6. Feed the hooked end of the release-lever spring under the slotted end of the release lever. Pass the hooked end of the release-lever spring through the release-lever slot and connect it to the release lever as shown in Fig. 9. Make sure the release-lever spring passes under the pointed tip of the release lever.
7. Seating the other end of the release-lever spring and replacing the post screw can be tricky. Temporarily hook the short end of the release-lever spring under the head of the screw that holds the blade-operating-ring spring—the screw head then helps hold down the release-lever spring. Now use your finger to push the coil of the release-lever spring over the screw hole. Hold the coil in position as you replace the post screw, Fig. 9. Finally disconnect the short end of the release-lever spring from the screw head; seat the short end against the inside of the shutter housing.

Note: Push down the release lever to make sure it moves freely. Then let go of the release lever—the spring-driven release lever should snap to the starting position.

8. Connect the piston to the main-lever tab, Fig. 8. As you seat the main lever, feed the piston into the air cylinder. Position the main lever with its hole over the screw hole in the shutter housing. Seat the thin washer under the main lever; align the hole in the washer with the hole in the main lever and the screw hole in the shutter housing. Replace the shoulder screw that holds the main-lever/cam-lever assembly, Fig. 8. Check to make sure the main lever moves freely.
9. Connect the hooked end of the mainspring to the main lever; connect the upper end of the mainspring to the inside of the shutter housing. Or, for a little more tension, you can connect the upper end of the mainspring under the head of the screw that holds the blade-operating-ring spring.

Note: You can now check operation. Push down the release lever. The main lever should drive the blade-operating ring to the open position. The blades should then close, driven by the blade-operating-ring spring. If the blades don't close, the cam lever may be too far in a clockwise direction. Push the slotted end of the cam lever toward the shutter housing (the position for smaller apertures).

Use shutter grease to lightly lubricate the pointed tip of the release lever (the tip that pushes the main lever to the cocked position). Also use grease to lubricate the lug on the blade-operating ring—lubricate the edge of the lug that's engaged by the main lever and the sloped side of the lug over which the main lever slides.

10. Seat the coil spring over the screw hole for the time/bulb-control lever.
11. There are two concerns as you replace the time/bulb-control lever:

• the pin on the time/bulb lever must pass through the slot in the release lever
• the fork at the top end of the time/bulb-control lever must pass under the head of the post screw.

The pin on the time/bulb lever is on the underside—it's not easy to see. But you can see the top of the pin, the large silver-colored head that rides in a slot, Fig. 12. Push the pin on the time/bulb lever to the left, Fig. 12. Then seat the time/bulb-control lever by passing its fork under the screw head of the post screw. Push down the release lever until its slot couples to the pin on the time/bulb lever—make sure the time/bulb lever slides to the right and to the left as you push down the release lever and allow it to return.
12. Seat the bottom end of the time/bulb-control lever on top of the coil spring. Replace the screw, making sure its long shoulder passes through the coil spring.

Note: Check the operation by pushing down the release lever—if the release lever binds, the pin on the time/bulb lever may not be within the release-lever slot. You should get instantaneous operation. Then push down the time/bulb-control lever against the tension of the coil spring. You should now get time operation (one stroke of the release lever opens the shutter and a second stroke closes the shutter).

Grease lubricate the two main-lever tabs—one that's engaged by the time/bulb lever to hold open the shutter on bulb and the other that's engaged by the time/bulb lever to keep the shutter open on time. Also put a touch of grease on the cam surfaces of the time/bulb-control lever, Fig. 12.

13. As you replace the front plate of the shutter, pass the pin on the exposure-control lever, Fig. 6, through the slot in the cam lever, Fig. 12. Now turn the front plate until its two holes align with the two screw holes in the mechanism plate. Replace the two screws that hold the front plate. You can now check all of the shutter functions.