American cinematographer (Aug 1936)

350 American Cinematographer • August, 1936 Eastman Bantam Special • With the announcement of the Ko- dak Special the Eastman Kodak Com- pany adds to its line of cameras de- signed for the advanced enthusiast. The Bantam Special has a die-cast and machined aluminum case, finished in a new-type baked enamel. When closed, the case provides protection for the lens, shutter, and front elements of the view-finder and the range-finder. The range-finder is built-in, and of the split-field, military type. The hous- ing in which it is located is an integral part of the camera body casting and is completely enclosed. Coupled and syn- chronized with the focusing mount, the range is found by moving the focus- lever which operates from a position di- rectly above the shutter. When the split image is brought into a coinci- dence, the lens is in focus. To the right of the range finder is a built-in optical view finder. An auxiliary focus- ing scale on the lens mount shows at what distance the picture is being taken. In addition to the shutter release a special plunger release or cable release, may be used. Panatomic and Super X film are available for this camera. Kodak Bantam Special is 4y8" long, 3 Vs” wide and 1 13/16” thick; it weighs 1 6 ounces. New Ektar Lens • Eastman announces the appearance of the first of the Ektar lenses—a new series of Kodak Anastigmats. The 45mm f.2 Ektar lens is a six element anastigmat. Made according to 0 newly computed Eastman formula, it is claimed the Eastman lens designers, in this new Ektar, have succeeded in reducing both the spherical and chro- matic aberration to neglible proportions, at the same time maintaining a perfect- ly flat field, free from astigmatism and distortion to a degree which is remark- able in a lens of this very large aper- ture. WHEELS OF INDUSTRY Two Films Available The Kodak Bantam Special loads with eight exposure roll film. Two different types of film are available—Panatomic, F828: Super X, X828. Note that Super X Film X828, is now available for Bantam Special own- ers. Extremely sensitive to yellow, green and red, it makes possible good negatives much earlier and later in the day, and is ideal when very high shut- ter speeds are necessary to catch rapid action. Used indoors. Super X goes a step farther than Kodak "SS" Pan, and with all its added speed, does not show an increased grain size. The develop- ment instructions, packed into each roll should be followed exactly. Color Photography • The American Photographic Publish- ing Company have just released a book on color that should prove very popular. It is titled, "Natural Color Processes," and is authored by Carlton E. Dunn. The descriptive line says it is "a concise outline of the available methods with practical instructions." The book sells for $2.00. A listing of the chapter headings will give a comprehensive idea of the con- tents of the book. They are: "Simple Color Analysis," "Making Color Separa- tion Negatives," "Autotype Trichrome Carbro," "Belcolor Printing Film," "The Chromatone Process," "Reliefs and Im- bibition for Color Prints and Transpar- encies," "Duxochrome and Colorstil Color Printing Films," "Dye Mordant- ing," "Screen Color Transparencies," "Dufaycolor," "The Finlay Process," "Motion Pictures in Color." Perspective Book • A book published by Caliborn Prod- ucts, Inc., of West Orange, N. J., has reached us. While it has the broad title of Caliborn Note Book, its sub- ject is "Perspective and Optical Illu- sions of Depth." Its three main divisions are "Illusions of Depth," "Perspective Methods" and "Perspective Problems." This is a book which will undoubted- ly prove of great benefit to artists, art directors and to photographers in that it gives them the fundamental rules gov- erning perspective, which is so important in photography. Film Speeds • It is worth while picking up the new Weston Film Speeds sheet at your deal- er if you use a Weston meter. The lat- est sheet is dated June, 1936. Con- siderable space is given to Kodachrome film. It rates this film at 4 for day- light (with or without filter) and 1.5 for photoflood with filter. It gives 8mm the same rating. Special note is made about Kodachrome A and gives it a rat- ing for tungsten or photoflood the same as regular Kodachrome for daylight. In other words, it rates it 4 for inter- ior lighting. It rates for still film as well as movie film and also gives rating for positive film when used in the camera. B & H Catalog • A catalog on accessories for 16mm and 8mm Filmo motion picture cam- eras and projectors has just been issued by Bell & Howell Company for free dis- tribution. Many new accessories are revealed in this booklet; new exposure meters, new lighting equipment, auxiliary camera equipment for advanced cinematography, an entire new line of film editing equip- ment based upon an entirely new film splicer; and many others. As indicated by the table of contents, the book is arranged in sections, each devoted to a related group of units. Fully 500 separate accessory items are listed. Everything from a camera aper- ture brush to portable gasoline-engine- driven generators for operating Filmo projectors and Filmosounds, is given due place and description. Copies of the catalog may be had without charge by request to Bell Cr Howell Company.