Kodak Folding Rainbow Hawk-Eye No.2 Model B

The Folding Rainbow Hawk-Eye No.2 Model B represents Kodak's mid-1930s effort to bring 35mm photography to a broad amateur market. As a folding camera, it offered a compact form factor when closed, unfolding to reveal the lens and focusing mechanism. Utilizing the standard 135 cartridge film that Kodak was actively popularizing, it provided a convenient reloadable format for snapshots. Key features included a simple meniscus lens, a basic shutter offering a few speeds, and a body constructed from materials like metal and leatherette suitable for its consumer price point. It targeted photographers seeking an affordable, portable entry into 35mm photography before the rise of more advanced compact cameras.

This camera was part of Kodak's extensive "Hawk-Eye" line, leveraging the brand's recognition and infrastructure. While incorporating the modern 135 format, its design remained typical of its era's folding cameras, prioritizing simplicity and economy over professional features or optical sophistication. Its significance lies in its role as a representative consumer-level 35mm camera from a major manufacturer, contributing to the gradual adoption of the 135 format by amateurs, though it predates the more significant compact 35mm boom of the late 1930s and post-war years.