International photographer (Jan-Dec 1934)

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October, 1934 The INTERNATIONAL PHOTOGRAPHER Seven in others. Generally, two systems of calibration are used, the British-American and the Continental. Below is reproduced a table giving the diaphragm openings used in each of these systems and the relative exposure of each stop. It will be noticed that in either of these systems, each stop has double the value of the one preceding it when the lens is opened and, conversely, double the amount of exposure is required over the stop preceding it as the lens is closed down. Lens Stt >ps British American Continental Relative Exposure f:l 1/64 f:1.4 1/32 f:2 1/16 f:2.8 H f:3.2 1/6 f:4 Va f:4.5 Vz f:5.6 H f:6.3 5/8 f:8 l f:9 m f:11.3 2 f :12.5 2/2 f:16 4 f:18 5 f:22.6 8 f:25 10 f:32 16 f:36 20 Chamois Skin: I have reached that stage where I regard chamois skin as an indispensable part of my equipment. My first use for it was to clean the dust from my camera. One day I noticed that the handsome chrome finish on the latter was acquiring some scratches despite the fact that I have a fine leather case for it. Being one of those finicky individuals who cannot bear to see his camera acquiring any marring factors, I had a small bag made from a piece of chamois skin which easily slips into the case with the camera. This bag has proved quite a handy adjunct, for whenever I wish to slip the camera into my pocket and leave all cases, etc., home, I am assured that the miniature will not become scratched by other objects in my pocket, nor will any dirt particles fall into spots where they will cause considerable trouble. Small bags have also been made for filters, so on occasions when even an eveready case may be too bulky, the necessary photographic equipment can be slipped into pockets with the assurance that no marring factors will be acquired. A small piece of clean, soft chamois kept in the camera case serves to clean the lens, view finder, etc., and there are many times when, for some unaccountable reason, these optical parts have become smudged. Japanese lens tissue is undoubtedly one of the finest expedients to employ for cleaning optical glass, but a soft chamois skin is an ideal substitute. During the processing of the miniature film, I usually employ a chamois to remove the excess moisture from the film when it has been removed from the wash water. For this purpose the chamois is constantly kept in a jar of water to guard against the formation of hard surfaces. Before it is applied to the film, the chamois is washed in fresh water, wrung out and then run down both sides of the film, care being taken not to apply it too firmly to the emulsion surface It readily absorbs the droplets of moisture on the film without causing any scratches. During enlarging, dust particles and small hairs seem to be so prevalent and numerous at times as to rob the photographer of all the joy which he anticipates in the making of his prints. Before inserting the film in the enlarger, it is best to examine it and remove all dirt By Augustus Wolfman and dust particles, and a chamois skin is quite handy for this purpose. Before a new portion of film is placed in the negative carrier, I usually wipe it with the chamois and after every two or three prints have been made, both the film and the glass negative carrier are removed from the enlarger and the carrier is wiped with the chamois. Such procedure may not be necessary on all occasions, but there are times when the air seems to be charged with dust particles. Some workers will claim that when the film is wiped static electricity is formed which creates a magnetic atraction for the dust in the air. This may be true, but none the less, as long as dust particles are present on the film they must be removed and the chamois is an ideal expedient for this purpose. There may be many other possible uses for chamois skin and from personal experience I have deemed it wise always to keep a fresh piece around. A Fine-Grain Tip: There are many occasions where the photographer cannot use his pet fine-grain formula, such as in traveling and if it is necessary to develop the film on the spot, a few precautions should be kept in mind. Before proceeding, the prepared fine-grain formulas on the market should be kept in mind ; there are many which are quite reliable, producing excellent finegrain results and one or more packages of such developers taken along on a trip will be found quite helpful. An occasion may arise in which we must accept whatever developing solution there is at hand and in such an instance a few facts should be borne in mind. The first is to employ a good fine-grain film such as Perutz, Agfa Fine-Grain Plenachrome, Panatomic, DuPont Micropan, etc. The film should receive a correct exposure but should not be over-exposed. Over-exposure will cause development to proceed at a fast rate with the grains in the emulsion rupturing their gelatin coating and uniting with other grains to form clumps of silver grains, resulting in coarse grain. The negative should be developed on the thin side. The longer the negative remains in the developer and the more the density increases, the more will graininess be augmented. It is a fact that if a print of constant density is made from negatives of increasing density, the graininess of the print increases as the density of the negative increases. If these precautions are observed, it will be surprising to see to what degree the negative can be enlarged without any objectionable grain being observed. In subsequently enlarging the negative, the choice of the printing paper will also help. Rough matte papers have the ability to conceal the grain to some extent, whereas glossy papers readily reveal it. Soft papers also tend to keep graininess down while hard papers seem to reveal it to a great extent. By exercising a little care, it will be surprising to find what can be done in a pinch where an extreme fine-grain developer is not available. Please mention The International Photographer when corresponding with advertisers.