Amateur Photographer & Cinematographer (1937)

December 22nd, 1937 The AMATEUR PHOTOGRAPHER p 6 CINEMATOGRAPHER 0 Miniature Camera Gossip By LANCELOT VINING. THIS brings you my best wish¬ es for a very happy Christmas and may Santa Claus bring you all the extras you want for your miniatures. I met the gentleman (he was dressed as a Bishop and had a black attendant) in an Amsterdam night club during the fes¬ tival of St. Nicholas early in December. Presents are ex¬ changed in Holland on this date instead of on Christmas Day. He presented me with a pack of cards and a diary, both of which were glar¬ ing advertisements for the night-club brand of champagne. I hope Santa won’t be as cheap with you. Young Miniaturists. Santa Claus Reads his Speech. 1/25 Ih sec. at // 2, I.S.S. film. Modern Miniature Enlargers THE STUBIGER AUTO MINIATURE. OF the three sizes in which the Auto-Miniature enlarger is made, the one we have had the opportunity of reviewing is designed for nega¬ tives of size up to 6x6 cm. It is a vertical enlarger fitted with automatic focussing, it being necessary only to raise or lower the projector-head to bring the image, which remains sharp as it expands or contracts, to the exact size required. The baseboard is of stout material and carries a tubular upright about 30 in. high. The up-and-down move¬ ment of the head is done by releasing a spring-clamp, when the arm can be slid along the upright into the required position. The lamp-house is large and roomy, and takes a 75-watt lamp in screw cap. Since it is intended that an opal lamp shall be used, no provision is made for centring it. The enlarger can be had at choice with a diffusing screen, a single condenser, or a double condenser. The model reviewed had a single condenser, which is detachably mounted in a square metal cell that fits into a rim in the lower part of the lamp-house, just above the ne¬ gative carrier. The lens fitted is either a three compo¬ nent f/4.5 en¬ larging anastigmat by Laack, or, at a slightly high¬ er price, a four compo¬ nent f '3.5 anastigmat with iris diaphragm. In either case, the focal length of the lens fitted to the 6x6 cm. model is 7.5 cm. A swing-out red filter is fitted as standard equipment. The auto¬ matic focus¬ sing is con¬ trolled by a metal fin clamped at each end to the upright, from the front of which it projects. This fin is shaped so as to operate the focussing mechanism, tapering from a width of about i£ in. at the top to about | in. at the bottom, the curve of the front edge being such as to impart the correct movement to the lens-panel as the projector-head is raised or lowered. The mechanism, except for the end of an arm which projects from within the metal casing between upright and projector-head, is entirely enclosed. A noteworthy point is that the controlling fin can be raised or lowered a little on the upright, thus making it possible to correct the focussing exactly for the error introduced by using a masking frame, which, by lifting the paper off the baseboard, would otherwise remove it from the plane of sharp focus. After the adjustment has once been made sharp focus is auto¬ matically obtained at any position of the head. The negative carrier is designed for film in the strip, which is held between two glass plates. These are normally pressed together by a spring, but can be locked in the “ open ” position to allow a fresh negative to be brought into position or for the easy insertion of a new strip of film. The range of enlargement is from i£ to 7 diameters, the latter figure corresponding to a print i6£ in. square from a full 6x6 cm. negative. Greater enlargement than this cannot be obtained. The Stiibiger Auto-Miniature enlarger costs £13 17s. 6d. in 6x6 cm. size when fitted with single condenser and f/4.5 lens, while a similar model for negatives up to 4 x 4 cm. costs £13 2s. 6d., or £12 12s. fitted to take a Leica or Contax lens. This gives a range of enlargement from 1 j to 10 diameters, making a print up to 15 J in. square from a full 4x4 cm. negative, or about 14 x 9 j in. from a 24x36 mm. negative. Further details and prices can be obtained from the sole importers, Messrs. Actina Ltd., 19, Woodstock Street, Bond Street, W.i. When I visited St. Paul’s School for their photographic society’s exhibition, I was surprised to hear that as many as 60 per cent of its members owned miniature cameras. I was more sur¬ prised still when I examined their work, as there were very few of what I call real miniature pictures, and only two which showed any action at all. Never¬ theless, the standard of work was very good. After tea I demonstrated my Mendel¬ sohn, at the same time making a test for my own edification ; we were at one end of the dining-hall, and I was anxious to see if I could light the far end and hold the foreground with one Photoflux. I gave a full exposure, meaning to cut down the development time, but when I reached the dark-room I remem¬ bered that the other exposures on the film were slightly on the under side, and as they were of some importance I decided to let the flash take a chance. I think No. 16 saved the situation, but re¬ cently it has given me more grain than I like or want, so I shall have to make another alteration and start my tests over again. Flash News. Messrs. Mendel¬ sohn write to say that they have asked Messrs. Philips to send them a batch of Photoflux No. 2 lamps, so that in future all their speedguns will arrive in this country synchronised for this wide-peaked lamp. A phone message to Messrs. Philips brought forth the fact that the lamps are already on the Atlantic, so the next batch of speed-guns should have the correct adjustment. St. Paul’s School Photographic Exhibition. 698 i<)