Moving Picture World (Jan-Jun 1910)

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THE MOVING PICTURE WORLD 503 Mr. Thanhouser's earnestness and ability will make good in the production of moving pictures. Now, to the Bianchi camera. The reader hardly needs telling that the salient feature of the moving picture camera in general use is, that the film in its passage behind the lens has an intermittent movement, produced by the operation of sprocket and perforations. As the film is led down on the focal plane it has a brief moment of rest, and is given a brief moment of obscuration by the revolving shutter. This means, in practical language, that it is kept still for an appreciable length of time in order that the image may be rapidly impressed upon it. It is at the moment of rest for roughly, let us say, one-twentieth of a second. This, we repeat, is the fundamental principle of the camera mostly in use in the United States, if not the world, to-day. The Bianchi camera entirely ignores this fundamental principle. The film in its passage along the focal plane behind the lens has a continuous movement. It is never at rest. It is always in motion. The reader will therefore perceive that in this respect the vital principle of the Bianchi camera differs entirely and radically from the principle of other cameras. In the latter we have practically what is very rapid stationary photography, and in the Bianchi camera it is very rapid movement photography. That is to say, while the subject moves so does the film upon which the image is projected. In theory, then, according to the laws of persistence of vision the film in the Bianchi camera must, while not remaining still, -have the effect of doing so, in order that a sharp image may be impressed upon it. If means were not adopted for keeping the film still for an appreciable length of time in the Bianchi camera, then you would not get a sharp image. You would have simply a blur and so your picture would be all fuzzy and out of focus. It would lack sharp definition the essential feature of the little pictures which go to make up the reel of moving photographs. How, then, has the inventor overcome this difficulty, and, as it were, "squared the circle," in his camera? How has he reconciled theory with partial neglect of it ? Simply, we may explain, by compensatory means in the optical part of the camera. Mr. Bianchi, with remarkable ingenuity, has worked out a beautiful optical problem in keeping his image still at the focal plane for the necessary length of time. To explain : Immediately in the axis of the taking lens, that is, in simpler language, at the back of it, he places another lens. Then, in the revolving shutter which is interposed between the lens and the focal plane, there is placed another specially designed lens, which, as the shutter revolves, is always erect and which, area for area, roughly synchronizes in movement with the particular part of the film upon which an image is imprinted. In other words, supplementary lens and film move together, so that the image which that supplementary lens receives is sharply impressed upon the sensitized celluloid. Now, nearly in contact with the latter, is a little frame which also moves perpendicularly to the axis of the image, so that the effect of this frame on the pictures is to keep each picture separate one from the other and prevent overlapping. We have stated the principle of the Bianchi camera, we think, in as simple language as possible, in order that even the reader of limited knowledge may understand the exceedingly novel principle availed of in keeping the picture stationary on the film without the necessity of the film having to be at rest. To quote the familiar advertisement of one of the optical houses : "It is all in the lens." In other words, it is an optical principle rather than a mechanical one ; whereas in the other form of cameras it is a mechanical principle rather than an optical. And therein lies the difference between the Bianchi and the other cameras, namely, that Mr. Bianchi achieves his result mainly by ingenious optical means instead of mechanical. There are some other points with regard to this ingenious camera that deserve mention. First of all, we were naturally of the opinion that the loss of light by adding two extra lenses to the system would be appreciable. In practice, however, this loss of light is not very serious. Seemingly, for studio work, it does not slow the exposure to any extent. Then, again, we were also curious to ascertain whether this compensatory lens system gave a perfectly non-distorted picture. Apparently it does. In other words, the Bianchi lens system acts, roughly, pretty much as a telephotographic lens system in ordinary photography. A telephotographic lens, as the reader is aware, is a combination of lenses for giving enlarged images of distant objects with very short extension of camera". In the Bianchi camera the image is apparently not magnified, because the lens, as we have pointed out, is of a compensatory character as regards its focal length. Seemingly they do not distort the picture, nor do they slow the exposure very much, and, to sum up the whole matter, the Bianchi camera gives just as good a photograph for moving picture work as other cameras in use. We specially witnessed the first release of the Thanhouser Company, which was photographed with a Bianchi camera. This was "The Actor's Children," to which reference has already been made and which lias been shown in moving picture theaters these last few days. The critical examination of the photography from the technical standpoint shows that it was of a high order of merit. Just as good, in respect of definition, lack of distortion and general clearness of images, as the best photographs being made elsewhere. But more than that we Mil. J. BIANCHI, INVENTOR OP THE BIANCHI CAMERA.