A technique based on computer-aided image processing was combined with a full flow field particle tracking procedure (FFFT) to yield a non-intrusive method for quantification of qualitative images. The method yields time dependent trajectories, velocities and accelerations throughout the entire flow field. The method has been applied to a geometry of eccentric cylinders with the inner cylinder in rotation. The observed flow patterns are similar to the ones postulated by the three-dimensional flow simulations in narrow gaps. In this application the flow is characterized by a low bearing Reynolds number (Reh = Rωc/ν). The qualitative and quantitative part of the study concentrates on the flow characteristics in and around the cylinders' minimum clearance. The minimum radial clearance can be varied from 0.0254 to 0.889 mm (0.001–0.035 in). The study of this geometry yields knowledge with immediate application to flow in hydrodynamic journal bearings.