  The membership of some galaxies in the nearby (d ~ 12 Mpc) Coma I cloud is
uncertain. Here we present globular cluster luminosity functions (GCLFs) from
the HST for two bright ellipticals which may belong to this group. After
fitting the GCLF, we find a turnover magnitude of m_V^0 = 23.23 +/- 0.11 for
NGC 4278 and m_V^0 = 23.07 +/- 0.13 for NGC 4494. Our limiting magnitude is
about two magnitudes fainter than these values, making this data among the most
complete GCLFs published to date. The fitted GCLF dispersions (~ 1.1 mag.) are
somewhat smaller than typical values for other ellipticals. Assuming an
absolute turnover magnitude of M_V^0 = -7.62, and after applying a small
metallicity correction, we derive distance modulii of (m -- M) = 30.61 +/- 0.14
for NGC 4278 and 30.50 +/- 0.15 for NGC 4494. These distance estimates are
compared to other methods, and lie within the published range of values. We
conclude that both galaxies lie at the same distance and are both members of
the Coma I cloud.
