Movie Makers (Jan-Dec 1949)

104 FOUR LENS TURRET A new turret head for the CineKodak Special having been announced recently. I take pleasure in submitting my own solution to this problem. The photograph will show in general how the job was tackled. First. the original turret head plates of the Special, roughly 3 inches square. were removed. These were then replaced with a pair of plates exactly 4 inches square, and the point of rotation of the turret was shifted over by half an inch. The increased spacing of the lenses thus obtained on the turret permits the wide angle and the 6 inch lenses to be mounted together without interference in the fields of view of the short objective. The original Kodak bayonet mounts were retained, so that the four lenses on the turret can be interchanged swiftly from one focal length to another. The matching Kodak viewfinder element always goes around with its corresponding lens, thus permitting immediate changes of focal length in shooting such subjects as sports events and the like. The one drawback of my arrangement is created by the fact that the wide angle lens juts back into the body of the camera. This does not permit the turret to be rotated with this particular lens in its seat. In closing, it should be obvious to all that alterations of this kind FOUR LENS TURRET for Cine-Kodak Special, designed by Dr. S. S. Hayward, ACL, of Johannesburg, is seen above. Wide angle and 6 inch lens are used together. require the highest kind of precision machining. It is not work to be undertaken lightly by the inexperienced or untrained home hobbyist. My design was actually carried out by a specialist in camera repairs here in Johannesburg. Dr. S. S. Hayward, ACL Johannesburg, South Africa. TALLER REWINDS I do not doubt that there are many other movie makers like myself who began their editing activities with the purchase of 400 foot capacity rewinds. These were fine until the larger 1600 or 2000 foot reels came along, with their obvious advantage of an unbroken screening. My solution of this difficulty was to mount each rewind on a block of wood cut to the same size as the rewind base and six inches in height. These were then fastened to a new editing board with wider spacing between them, (1) to accommodate the larger reel diameters and (2) to leave room for an editing viewer which I intend to add shortly. William C. Roeger, ACL Chalfont, Pa. COAT INTO DARKROOM Here is an idea that may be useful to some of your members who suffer a jammed camera when miles from a darkroom or other shelter. My solution was to take off my coat, sit down and tuck the edges of the coat between my legs, with the camera wrapped in the middle of the coat. Then, putting my hands down through the sleeves, I was able to open the camera and rethread the film without fogging a frame of it. Naturally, the heavier the shade one can do this sort of thing in, the better are one's chances of success. Ray Lawson Victoria, Australia EXPOSURE ON ICE About the middle of last month I went to Sonja Henie's ice show at Madison Square Garden, and no sooner had I taken my camera (Bolex H-16) out of its case than fifteen to twenty other movie makers gathered round me. Their chief ques Pictures, plans and ideas to solve your filming problems tion was did I think my pictures would come out. I am glad to inform readers of The Clinic that color movies of this spectacle come out perfectly exposed. Supporting the camera on a unipod, I used the following lenses at maximum aperture: Kodak 1 inch f/1.9 and a Kern Yvar 3 inch f/2.5. The standard lens was used for the big production numbers, with the telephoto picking up closeups of Miss Henie and other solo artists. My camera position was about 50 feet from the edge of the ice, so that I focused the 3 inch lens at 100 feet and the 1 inch midway between 50 feet and infinity. Regular sixteen frame camera speed was used throughout except for the closing scenes of Miss Henie's hula number, which called for eight frames per second. In this, all regular lights are extinguished and she appears in a special blue spotlighting which makes her treated costume irradiant. Nash Aussenberg, ACL New York City NEW TRIPOD HANDLE The grip on my tripod panning head being small and uncomfortable, I recently fashioned a new one from a screwdriver which had a large plastic grip that would fit my hand. This can be done very simply by snipping off the bit end of the screwdriver and then cutting threads on the end of the shaft to match those of the tripod head. I now have a very handy control for the pan head at negligible expense. I can also recommend the addition to one's camera kit of a plastic bag ( of the type used to store food in the refrigerator). It should be large enough to fit well over the camera when it is tripod mounted, and should have a simple drawstring at the bottom. It is invaluable in protecting your camera from dust on long auto trips and from sudden rain squalls in the field. Karl Williams, ACL Wadsworth, Ohio