International photographer (Jan-Dec 1934)

Fourteen The INTERNATIONAL PHOTOGRAPHHK February, 1934 E.Leitz, Wetzlar Cross Section of the Leica Camera O you really know your miniature camera? Do you know how it looks inside, and what "makes it go?" And do you make the most of the advantages your camera offers you? Few people do. Let us for a few moments dwell on the camera itself. To most folks, a camera is merely a light-tight box, at one end of which is the lens, and at the other a receptacle for holding the sensitive material (plate or film). This is, of course, correct basically, but the miniature camera consists of far more than this. It must be remembered that the miniature camera is to many more than merely a camera ; it is an instrument of precision, and such it should be known as, for it is more than a picture-recorder in the usual sense of the word. Everyone should regard the baby camera as something more than just a camera, for when this attitude is accepted, a greater range of activities can be foreseen with the midget camera. Many complain that the baby camera is priced far too high. This is true when we consider the average camera, but when we begin to understand what the tiny camera is made of, we can no longer regard it as being expensive. An examination of the accompanying illustrations will reveal the complex mechanism of the Leica camera, which can be used as a representative. It will be seen that the tiny camera body is crowded with a maze of gears, springs, rollers, and whatnots. Some of the parts are extremely tiny, as can be understood, and in order that they operate year after year with the greatest of accuracy, they must be made with ever-so-much care and from the finest possible materials. Some of the cost goes here. Each part, large or small, must fit exactly. Tolerances are not permitted. After the numerous parts have been made, they must be assembled and crowded into the limited space provided in the camera body. To give you some idea as to how carefully everything in the camera is checked, let's take the shutter as an example. All shutters are notoriously faulty when it comes to clicking the exposure-intervals. For example, if the shutter is set to produce an exposure of 1/1 00th second, does it actually give that exposure? Nine shutters out of ten will not hit the 1/ 100th interval exactly — they may run to from l/80th to l/125th, but for all you and I know, or care, the exposure is 1/ 100th. Thanks to the tremendous latitude offered by our modern emulsions, slight discrepancies such as these are unimportant. In fact even if the shutter is considerably off, we would still be unable to notice any difference in the resultant negative. So we promptly forget our errors. And this does not mean any one particular type or make of shutter either ; all of them will very often be found wanting when it comes to exactne^. As has been mentioned, slight errors in shutter speeds can safely be ignored, yet the focal plane shutter of the Please mention The International Photographer when corresponding with advertisers. UNDERSTANDING THE MINIATURE CAMERA By Karl A. Barleben, Jr., F.R.P.S. Leica must be checked carefully before it leaves the factory. A tester sits before a stroboscope all day long, snapping shutter speeds and seeing to it that when he sets the shutter for l/500th second, the characteristic curve is seen through the aperture as the shutter snaps past. Should the curve not be just right, the camera is sent back for a new adjustment. In this way, the shutter speeds may be regarded as being accurate when the camera is purchased. In time, with wear and use, the speeds may shift slightly, in which event another checking with the aid of a stroboscope will easily remedy the defect. That is something else you pay for when you buy a precision camera. When it comes to lenses, we cannot help but admit that most of our money goes into the optics. Only lenses of the finest type are considered for use on miniature cameras. Not only that, but the lenses are mounted in interchangeable mounts with the aid of a microscope. No slip-shod methods here. In bigger cameras where focusing is done by means of a ground-glass, the lens can be attached to the camera practically anywhere out front. It can be always focused visually with the ground-glass. But such is not the case with the miniature camera. The lenses are in themselves jewels of the finest glass, and it would indeed be a pity were they carelessly attached to the camera. It will be seen, then, that the miniature camera is not really expensive when you consider the care that is taken in its manufacture. But aside from this, there are other factors which must be reckoned with. Consider the small size and convenience afforded. Think of the economy of operation. Appreciate the countless advantages afforded. Isn't it worth while to spend a bit more on the initial purchase and save in operation? Or would you prefer to buy a less expensive camera and be burdened with large operating bills forever after? Not that the miniature camera will ever entirely replace the larger and more conventional types of cameras, but that it should be accorded its due share of credit in the fields of photography. Already its influence has been felt in practically every phase of photography. During the "depression years" it has been a decided boon to all photographers, particularly the amateurs who would have had to give up photography as a hobby were it not for the great saving effected by the use of the baby camera. In many cases some of these amateurs lost their positions in the business world. What to do? Those who were wise enough to thoroughly master their equipment saw possibilities in it, and lo and behold, many of these now are Cross Section of the 50 mm. Lens