Agfa motion picture topics (Apr 1937-June 1940)

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directly above the photographing position was correctly aligned with the movable, upper ground-glass aperture. Thus where focus, rather than precise composition, was wanted, one could slide the focusing magnifier upward to where it reflected the image on this ground glass, and focus from there. In addition, the camera’s six-lens turret could he fitted with three pairs of matched lenses, while the upper aperture was adjustible from the outside to correct for vertical parallax. Thus equipped, the action could he followed through the upper lens while it was being photographed through the matched lower lens, in much the fashion of the American Akeley. The upper aperture was above the shutter’s disc, so the image did not flicker when the camera was in operation. Present Camereclair The present-day Camereclair has been completely redesigned, and has little in common with old one except the name. It is self-blimped and genuinely silent, built from the start for use as a studio sound camera. According to whether you compare it with the old, silent-picture cameras or the present talking picture cameraand-blimp combinations, it may be regarded either as one of the heaviest or one of the lightest types ever built. Its weight — roughly 140 pounds — is vastly more than that of the average silent-picture camera, but just as considerably less than that of the bulky camera-and-blimp combinations with which we are familiar. The intermittent of the new Eclair is a single claw, working in conjunction with a single pilot-pin and an intermittent pressure-pad. The designer's preference for this type of move ment is based on tests which showed that under many conditions the film might actually he moved and registered by hut a single claw and pilot-pin, even though two were actually provided; accordingly the single-claw movement seemed simpler and more accurate. Focusing is by a modernization of the Mery system. A reflex focusing magnifier is provided on the left side of the camera. This may be used in the fashion dear to European cinematographers, to focus or follow action during filming directly on the film; an automatic shutter is fitted to the eyepiece of the magnifier, to prevent fogging the film through this optical system. For more normal focusing, operation of a control on the outside of the camera rotates aperture, film and reflecting prism 90° hack and downward. and slides a second aperture, fitted with its own ground glass and mirror, into place. It is not necessary to open the camera at any time during this operation; and the image is not reversed from right to left as was the case in so many other older reflex focusing methods. The focusing knob is on the right side of the box, and three separate focusing scales are provided in different positions on the outside of the case. The finder is located outside the camera on the right. Here again reflex prisms are used, this time to permit placing the finder lens as close as possible to the objective. In this way parallax is reduced to a minimum. The camera no longer has a revolving lens turret, but is fitted with highly ingenious quick-change lensmounts. The mounts themselves provide compensation for differences in 22