Amateur Photographer & Cinematographer (1937)

January 13th, 1937 hi AMATEUR PHOTOGRAPHER p 6 CINEMATOGRAPHER a Storing Miniature Negatives By BERNARD ALF1ERI, Jun. WITH a miniature camera taking 36 exposures on each strip, negatives are inclined to ac¬ cumulate at an alarming rate, and chaos supervenes unless some simple and con¬ venient way of storing and filing them is found. Fig. 1. A film in its Wallet. One of the few things on the market to solve this universal problem is the Contax wallet. This consists of a stiff paper cover to which are attached grease-proof pockets sufficient to hold one 36-exposure film cut into six strips of six exposures each, and there is space to list the pictures, with data, on the cover itself. It so happens that the ordinary biscuit tin is a fraction deeper than the length of the wallet, while the width is sufficient to take three rows of wallets, and still allow space for thin partitions. Each row will hold about a hundred wallets when full, which means that one biscuit tin, containing 300 wallets, provides adequate storage for 10,800 exposures, which should be sufficient to keep most amateurs busy for a time without worrying where the last lot of negatives were mislaid. A tin, being fireproof and damp-proof, is ideal for storage purposes, and it would require a very prolific photographer who would need to find the space for many tins. In order to improve the appearance and ease of handling, the paper covering can be stripped off, and the tin re¬ covered with book-binder’s cloth or thin leather. The lid can be hinged, using ordinary hinges riveted on, and it will be helpful to fix a draw handle to the front of the tin and the lid front, as shown in the accompanying illustra¬ tions. It will only cost a few pence to have this done, if the photographer does not want to do it, and the finished job makes a presentable-looking box which will adorn any shelf or cupboard. Some sort of index system should be used to enable any required negative to be found. This may consist either of a card stuck to the inside of the lid dealing with separate wallets, leaving the index on the wallet itself to provide the details of individual negatives, or there may be a separate card index which will not only give the number of the wallet, but also the number of each negative separately, which is particularly useful where there are duplicates. If a contact print from each negative has beeh made, or if small trial enlargements of perhaps postcard size are available, these may very well be used in the card-index file, which will then become a real guide to the negatives. Fig. 2. Ten thousand negatives, each readily found. Having found the number of any parti¬ cular wallet it is an easy matter to pull this out as shown in Fig. 2, and to examine the strips of negatives without removing them from the pockets, while having them in strips of six exposures is more convenient for the enlarger than shorter lengths. Fine Grain Developers (11). PARAPHENYLENEDIAMINE WITH GLYCIN. THE addition of glycin to a paraphenylene-diamine developer reduces to some extent the fineness of grain, but reduces also the necessity for giving increased exposure. These results are more marked the greater the proportion of glycin added. The following formula differ only in containing progres¬ sively increasing quantities of glycin, and they require respectively about three, two and one and a half times normal exposure with super-speed panchromatic or fast ortho, films. For fine-grain pan. films practically no additional exposure is needed. Sease Formulae Nos. 2, 3 and 4. Hot water (about 1350 Fahr.) 15 oz. (750 c.c.) Sodium sulphite (anhydrous) 865 grs. (90 grm.) Paraphenylene-diamine . . 96 grs. (10 grm.) Glycin : For Formula No. 2 For Formula No. 3 For Formula No. 4 Water to make 10 grs. (1 grm.) 57 grs. (6 grm.) 1 15 grs. (12 grin.) 20 oz. (1,000 c.c.) For super-speed panchromatic and fast ortho, films the times of development at 68° Fahr. are respectively 22, 17 and 15 minutes for the three formulas. For fine-grain panchromatic films the times are 11,9 and 9 minutes at the. same temperature. Any of these developers, or the Sease No. 1 formula given last week, can be used repeatedly. Each litre (equals 35 oz.) will develop eight Leica strips or an equivalent area (380 square inches) of other films. But it is probably unsafe to work developers to this extent unless the films are developed in rapid succession. Miniature Matters A selection of readers’ queries that deal with “ miniature ” photography will be answered here every week. CHOOSING BROMIDE PAPER. In a recent note in the “ miniature ” section, it tvas suggested that one surface of bromide paper be used for almost all purposes. What exactly was the reason for this suggestion , and what surface would you suggest? M. W. [Yeovil.) When a strip of film is developed, you are giving the same development time to 12, 16 or 36 negatives of different subjects. Probably there are among these negatives some exposed on subjects of high contrast (brilliant sunshine or exposures against the light, or even at night) and some exposed on sub¬ jects of quite low contrast (dull-day exposures, for example). You will therefore obtain some negatives with a very long range of gradation, and others with a much shorter range. If you were to print them all on a paper suitable for the long-range negatives, those taken on a dull day would give very fiat grey prints. Conversely, if you were to choose a paper that would give a bright print from the dull-day negatives, those of more contrasty subjects would yield prints of the “ soot-and-whitewash ” order. You will need, therefore, to have at hand bromide paper of at least two, and hiore probably of three, grades of contrast for printing the negatives on this one strip of film. For every new surface that you add to your stock, you will therefore need three extra packets, one of each grade, if you are to be in a position to print any desired negative on paper with this surface. If you wish to have matt, semi-matt, glossy and rough paper all available, you will have to keep stocks of twelve different papers — glossy soft, glossy medium, and glossy contrasty, and so .on for each of the other three surfaces. It was with a view to reducing the need for so many packets that the suggestion was made that a single surface should be chosen and used for all but special purposes. The actual choice of a surface is a matter of taste ; slightly rough or grainy surface with a distinct sheen seems to suit the majority of subjects very well. EXPOSURE METERS. In view of the fact that one has to develop a large number of negatives together in miniature camera work , is it necessary to expose more accurately than when negatives are to be developed independently ? Using a plate camera , I have had satisfactory results from exposure tables ; will the change to a miniature necessitate a photo-electric meter ? F. C. [Crewe.) The amount of compensation for incorrect exposure that can be made in development is much less than is often believed. If your tables, which you obviously know well, have given satisfactory results with your plate camera, they will continue to do so with your miniature. You must, however, be prepared for some variation in density of your negatives, which may make exposures difficult to estimate when enlarg AN ENLARGER QUERY. I am about to buy an enlarger for my miniature negatives, and am in doubt whether to obtain one with automatic focussing. Is the mechanism reliable, or would I be more certain of sharp prints if I gave the focussing individual attention each time ? Or, on the other hand, will the mechanism focus more sharply than I could hope to do by eye ? W. L. [London.) Provided the automatic enlarger is well made, we do not think any difficulties are likely to arise but, on the other hand, we should not expect it to give sharper results than can be had by manual focussing. We should regard automatic focussing as a great con¬ venience in saving time and trouble, but as having no bearing whatever on the excellence of the results eventually obtained. MINIATURE SIZES. I am rather puzzled as to what is meant by “ V.P. size," for there appear to be two sizes bearing this name. W. G. [London.) The original V.P. size for plates was 4.5 x 6 cm., or about if x 2| in. When a similar size in roll films was introduced, it was made longer and narrower, being 4 x 6.5 cm., or about if x 2\ in., and this is the size of each negative from a standard V.P. film. By making 16 exposures on a 3f x 2$ film the original V.P. size for plates, 4.5 x 6 cm., is obtained. Both these roll-film sizes are now very widely used. 18 34