Film and TV Technician (1957)

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May 1957 FILM & TV TECHNICIAN '1*9 My^.m of Mcxjvfn Aft &I3SARI 69 w-... A Technician's Notebook THE B.J. ALMANAC A LONG with all the other pheno£*■ mena of spring we welcome once again the British Journal Photographic Almanac making its 98th annual appearance. And once again we marvel at the prodigious amount of material packed into so compact a volume. In order and lay-out the contents follow the traditional pattern; the regular Almanac reader, I think it is true to say, can turn up the section he wishes to consult, if not blindfold, at any rate without looking it up in the table of contents. " Physics and Metaphysics " First come the special articles headed by the one for which the editors are responsible. This year they have taken as their subject " Physics and Metaphysics in Modern Photography ", a brief but nevertheless fascinating survey of the part played by photography, allied with techniques such as electron microscopy, X-ray crystallography, etc., etc., in the revelation of facts and phenomena that lie beyond the reach of unaided human vision. There are four other more specialised articles by Keith Hornsby, Bernard Alfleri, W. S. Sharps, and George Ashton, who deal respectively with developer replenishment, wild flower photography, photography and television, and the use of filters in colour photography. Abstracts from articles published during the past year, mostly in the British Journal of Photography, are grouped together under the heading Epitome of Progress. Reviews of new apparatus and materials occupy over a hundred pages and form a useful buyers' guide. The lists of sensitised materials for colour and black-and-white still photography and sub-standard cinematography, with data relating to speed, availability, suitable developers, etc., have been brought up to date. The list of colour materials is particularly comprehensive, covering as it does, all known processes. The section dealing with colour photography technique contains the latest information in the processes available in this country, By A. E. Jeakins with instructions for user processing Agfacolor, Ferraniacolor and Gevacolor reversal and European colour materials and colour papers. There is also a very useful list of colour balancing and colour temperature correction filters. New this year is a nine-page section which deals with " the confused situation surrounding electronic flash factors and developing times ", and includes tables for the principal units and sensitive materials available here. The glossary of technical terms, the list of books dealing with the history, technique and applications of photography, the directory of repairers, the formulae are all here, and dozens and dozens of other items for the information and guidance of the photographer, far too numerous to catalogue here. One must, however, mention the pictorial supplement with its thirty-two examples of work in various styles from photographers all over the world excellently reproduced in photogravure. The British Journal Photographic Almanac is edited by Arthur Dalladay and published by Henry Greenwood and Co. Ltd., London. It sells for 6/ or 8/6 according to whether you choose board or cloth binding, and it's excellent value for money, either way. Sharps' Colour Chart " How will that green photograph? " " Umm — a sort of darkish grey, I imagine." A chart recently published by The Fountain Press ought to make it possible to give a more precise answer to that question. " Sharps' Colour Chart and Grey Scale ", to give it its correct title, should prove a valuable aid to the art director, cinematographer, photographer, in fact anybody, whether he works in films or television, who is interested in knowing how colours will reproduce in monochrome. The chart consists of a ten-step grey scale, a set of four cards on which are printed a series of 32 colour patches abstracted from the Wilson Colour Chart, and a colour conversion table. From this table it is possible to find out the grey scale equivalent of any of the 32 colours on the cards, as it will reproduce, not only in the standard Kodak and Uford emulsions, but also on Image Orthicon and Photo Conductive TV camera tubes, by daylight and tungsten. Matching The matching of the colours to the grey scale was carried out by practical tests with the emulsions and television camera tubes. Anyone who wishes to, can, of course, use the grey scale to make his own tests with colours other than those in the chart. The publishers state that they are prepared to arrange for the supply to order of colours not included in the standard set. It is worth noting the warning that coloured materials which contain dyes that reflect light outside the visible spectrum and to which the TV tubes and films are sensitive, may produce different results. "Sharps' Colour Chart and Grey Scale " is compiled by Wallace S. Sharps and, as I mentioned above, is published by The Fountain Press, London. The price is 19/6. Last month reporting on the P.F.P. gate for the Arriflex camera, I said that an adjustment might have to be made to it when using thicker film stocks like Eastmancolor. I am informed that this is not correct and that Eastmancolor has been used successfully with the prototype gate.