Amateur Photographer & Cinematographer (1933)

August 2nd, 1933 Thi AMATEUR PHOTOGRAPHER a 6 CINEMATOGRAPHER a Viewed .viewed by J. Z$. An Automatic Washer. A decidedly useful siphon to enable plates and prints, especially enlargements, to be washed free of hypo or other chemicals in an ordinary shallow developing dish, has just been introduced by Messrs. Ensign (88-89, High Holborn, W.C.i). Many a photographer will find it a good thing to have at hand. At first it struck me as looking rather like a section out of a cornet or saxo¬ phone or other wind instrument ; but in reality it is an Sshaped tube, seven inches high and of nearly half-an-inch diameter, with a smaller tube joined alongside it. To wash, say, an en¬ largement, you put the dish, with the print in it, on a box under your tap and and let the tap run gently. Hang the siphon, which is not connected with the water supply) over the edge of the dish and it will soon be¬ gin to siphon the water out of the dish — from the bottom if the dish is shallow, from half-way down if the dish has deep sides. Leave the tap running and the siphon does its work without any attention. It can be made to run continuously if the water flow is sufficiently generous, or it can be made to work intermit¬ tently — the dish filling and emptying every few minutes if a very gentle trickle from the tap is employed. An enlargement can be washed efficiently in this way without risk of damage or abrasion (don’t we all know those washers which bruise our bromide prints ?). .One of my tests was to wash six 5X4 plates after treatment for the removal of pyro-soda stain, and it seemed to me to do its work as well as any washer which requires the plates to stand on their edges would have done it, and with no risk of frilling the edges of the emulsion. (This was after a hydrochloric acid bath, by the way.) The effective way it soon changed a dishful of strong permanganate solution to clear water with only a gentle trickle from the tap, without any attention, showed me that it can safely be left to do its work “ on its own.” Strongly made and with a nickel finish, it costs 7s. 6d., if for use with dishes. Another type, designed for use with tanks (which are deeper than dishes), costs 8s. 6d. It is a good thing to have at hand, however complete your equip¬ ment may be, and it shoidd last a photographic lifetime — and a bit more. Kodak Panchromatic Films. When Kodak gave the amateur the Supersensitive Pan. Cine Film in 16-mm. size, and the Eastman S.S. Pan. Cut Film in all sizes (professionals’ material that a good many amateurs like) some of us looked for the time when a fast, fine-grained pan. material such as these would be available for the advanced amateur who uses roll film and film packs. Well, it is here now, and very fine stuff it is. After more than a hundred exposures on Kodak S.S. Pan. film packs, which use the same emulsion as the roll films, I find myself delighted with it, from the first exposure to the latest ; and henceforth when my reflex and my Verichrome packs are taken out there must always be at least one S.S. Pan. pack and another adapter ready for the moment when I meet a subject which Verichrome will do well but a red-sensitive pan. film of high speed and firstclass quality will do better. Kodak do not tell us the “ actual speed ” of their pan. pack beyond saying that it is 50 per cent faster than Verichrome in daylight, and three times as fast by artificial light. Let us assume that Verichrome in daylight is round about 500 H. & D. (as amateurs accept those H. & D. markings) and I will contentedly accept the statement that the pan. is 50 per cent “ faster.” Save for the obvious fact that you should keep all pan. material away from your red lamp, I have discovered no need to “ nurse ” the Kodak S.S. Pan. films. All my exposures have been developed in a Kodak film-pack tank, with the paper kept at the back of the films, and all have been developed with pyro-soda (Kodak tank powders), and they have all been fixed in acid hypo with Kodak liquid hardener added. Each of these Kodak packs turned out 12 beautifully clear negatives with no unpleasant stains, whether the fixer was freshly made up or was stale almost to the point of exhaustion. The gradation was, of course, better when I used my Wratten filter, but even without a filter the film’s colour selection was good, and its gradation a joy. (Kodak do not believe in soot-and-whitewash negatives, and they are right). A K 1 filter requires the exposure to be increased i£ times in a daylight exposure. The film is backed with a dark green backing which disappears during development and fixing, and so far it has left no trace behind. As a warning and guide to photographers and dealers the pan. films are put up in green wrapping (with a green metal case for the film pack) and there is an explicit warn¬ ing about exposing the film to the dark-room light. High-speed backed pan. films cannot be expected at the price of ordinary ortho film unbacked. While the ordinary spool of Kodak ortho film (eight exposures) in 2% X 3 J size costs is. 2d., and in Verichrome costs is. 4d., the new pan. film in the same size costs is. 8d. per spool. A 2^x3^ film pack — which in the ortho range costs 2s. 8d., and 2s. i id. in Verichrome — costs in the new pan. packs 4s. 118 28