Amateur Photographer & Cinematographer (1937)

Thi amateur photographer I P 6 CIllEMATOGRAPHER o I A Page Developing and Loading Short Lengths By d.b.k. IF the user of a 35-mm. film finds himself with a partly-exposed strip to develop, he is often unwilling to try to cut off the exposed part. A very little systematic preparation, how¬ ever, will make it easy, even in the dark, to cut the film exactly where required. A 36-exposure film, of length 65^ in., generally gives 38 exposures. The film is divided up into, first, the 6£-in. leader for loading, then 57 in. of exposable film (38 exposures each occupying in.), and finally 2^ in. waste film at the tail. The first step in preparation is to mark out these distances on a length of wood some 70 in. long, or on the front of the dark-room bench. Each of the separate i^-in. lengths must be indi¬ cated, and they must be numbered consecutively, beginning at No. 1, next to the 6J in. left for the leader. This film-cutting board, with three drawingpins and a pen-knife as auxiliary ap¬ paratus, enables a film to be cut anywhere. Suppose twenty exposures have been made. In daylight, the end of the leader is fixed with a drawing-pin to the position marked for it on the board. For finding frame 21, where the cut is to be made, a second drawing-pin is pushed into the board at that point in such a position that when the film is unrolled the pin will not be lost beneath it. A third pin is inserted at frame 22 to hold the film down while cutting. Now the light is turned out, and the film unrolled until the drawing-pin at frame 22 can be put through one of the sprocket-holes, and with the film so anchored the drawing-pin at frame 21 is found by touch and the film is cut across opposite to it. The portion cut off is rolled into a tanjr and developed, while the short length remaining in the cassette is tapered for reloading. The same device may be used for cutting a film, before development, into sections which, having perhaps been exposed on widely different subjects, require different treatment in developing. After exposing perhaps ten frames in a theatre make a blank exposure to accommodate the cut and proceed to take those dull-day street scenes which will call for nearly double the time of development. Having noted the number of the blank exposure, the film is cut across the middle of the correspondinglynumbered section on the film-cutting board. Where the camera is used with reloadable chargers, the board may be used for measuring out lengths of film from a roll of 15, 50, or 100 feet, and by this means strips to give any desired number of exposures may be prepared. For a 1 2 -exposure strip, the length required is from the leader-end of the board to frame 14, the extra length providing the tail. May 26th, 1937 of 35-millimetre Notes The Slow-speed Dial of the Leica. IT is desirable to get thoroughly well acquainted with the method of quick¬ ly adjusting the shutter for slow speeds, because occasions for them some¬ times happen suddenly and unexpectedly. Practically all cameras using focal-plane shutters have a special auxiliary brake mechanism for slow speeds. The user of such a camera should take special pains to see that he makes himself completely familiar with the procedure of setting. The slow speeds on a Eeica can be set equally well before or after the film is wound, and it is important to note that although this camera has a separate dial-knob for slow speeds, the latter is only in operation when the main speed dial is set on the mark " -20-1,” as shown in the figure. This must be done, as usual, after the film is wound. Slow Speeds on the By DAVID CHARLES. Leica Loading the Cassettes By ALFRED KIRBY. NOW that there are quite a number of miniature cameras using 35mm. film, and having reloadable cassettes, many users will no doubt have hesitated using panchromatic film from the bulk, i.e., buying 50 to 100 ft. at a time, because of the difficulty of trim¬ ming the film and fixing securely to the spool while working in absolute darkness. The device described is for eliminating the need for working in the dark for the most difficult part of the operation. A small light-proof chamber is made as follows : Obtain a cube of wood about 2 in. each way and bore a hole, along the grain, about if in. in dia¬ meter. Next make a sawcut f in. thick at an angle to the bored hole as seen in the sketch. The wood at this stage is nicely smoothed down with sandpaper. Obtain a short length of velvet ribbon with a deep, soft pile and finished with a corded edge. The width of this ribbon should be the same as the length of the hole in the wood. With the pile inwards the ribbon is glued around the inside of the hole, bringing it through the sawcut, and \ in. or so along the outside. Care must be taken not to get any glue on the pile, particularly in the sawcut opening, as this part forms the lightproof entrance. One end of the chamber is now covered up by tacking and glueing a piece of plywood on to it, first covering with a piece of velvet. Next a lid is made with a flat beading around it; this is also lined with velvet, and can be kept in place when in use by a rubber band. The use of the cham¬ ber is as follows : A length of film is meas¬ ured off the large reel in the dark, rolled up, and slipped into the chamber, allowing 1 1 in. to protrude through the light¬ proof cut in the side, the lid is replaced, and a white or orange light switched on. The end of the film is trimmed and fixed to the centre spool of the cassette. The room is put in darkness again and the film is reeled up on to the spool and slipped into the cassette. Be¬ fore closing up the cassette the end of the film is caught and drawn out to the ex¬ tent of 5 in. or so. The light is then turned up and the end of the film trimmed, with the aid of the template, to the correct shape for the trailer end. If preferred, both ends of the film may be trimmed by use of the chamber, by taking the film out and reversing it for each end. By working in this way a number of lengths, for 9, 12, 18 or 36 exposures, as required, can be treated and put away ready for use. 531 18