Journal of the Society of Motion Picture Engineers (1930-1949)

May, 1930] CAMERA MECHANISM 543 that we are somewhere now where we were twenty-five or thirty years ago. Of course the difficulties which he showed us had to be overcome were not so much difficulties in mechanism but difficulties in material with which he had to deal. MR. HODGSON: We have not yet received or had a camera which is what is known as a swing-back camera for taking tall buildings. I have often wondered why we do not at least make some attempt to put a swing-back gate in a cinematograph camera. Why it has not been done is more than I can understand. MR. NEWMAN: As to the swing-back camera, I am of the opinion that a swing back is hardly required at all, but the rising front to the camera can be very useful. I put a rising front to the first camera I made thirty years ago, and have put rising fronts to many since then. My opinion is that the swing back would be very much more difficult, and there does not seem to be a call for it. However all these things can be produced when required. I was speaking to a man only the other day who mentioned the same thing. He said, "Cannot you possibly make something so that we can correct odd lines?" I told him we would give him a rising front and a swing of the lens and he would be able to correct anything he chose. I do not think the swing back is any advantage at all. In order to correct distortion you do not need the swing, you merely need to drop your mask or raise the lens. MR. VINTEN: There appears to be a fair amount of mud thrown at the film stock, but I think it ought to be known that Mr. Newman has done as much as anybody in this country to correct that. MR. NEWMAN: A question was asked concerning the merits of the single claw movement. With a single claw you could get a steady picture. Inertia and momentum are the bugbears we have had to fight against all the time, so in order to be able to reduce the weight of the reciprocating part to its lowest possible amount, I used one claw. MR. SADLER: Mr. Newman expressed the opinion that he thought in cameras of the future there would be a rise and fall gate. In the case of talking films the camera has got to be quiet. Perhaps Mr. Newman will tell me how the future camera will get over the question of noise, because however the noise question is met, you have still got to get over the question of air displacement. My prophesy is perhaps a little advanced, perhaps not. My point of view is that Mr. Newman is certainly right in the fixed registered pilot pin. If you do not use the shutter you cannot use the registered pin. I dare say it is possible to get over the question of the shutter and the registered pin, but I think the fixed aperture in the camera will be the thing for some time to come. As for a prediction, I think the fixed aperture gate with moving registered pin and some form of pin link motion, which has no eccentric or running slide, which do pick up dirt, will be used. MR. BUCKNALL: We have been experimenting recently with the question of the noise caused by air compression, which of course does take place when the shutter movement is used, and by suitable methods we have decreased that noise, but what noise remains is still objectionable. MR. VINTEN: I heard a Newman camera and I think if anybody tries that out they will find it is quiet running. When I heard it, it was about four feet from the microphone and we could only just hear the running of the camera.