Around tho CAMPUS
With The Editors Of Modem Photography Magazine
/What Type Of
Camera Do
You Need????
P ocket 110 camera? Instant-picture
camera? All-weather camera? Sin
gle-lens reflex camera? Pocket 35
camera? Auto-focus camera?
They are all very different and serve dif
ferent functions and different users. It may
well be overkill if you’ve been persuaded
to buy a single-lens reflex when all you
want is a no-nonsense pocket camera
which means you can learn as little about
photography as possible.
Books have been written about proper
camera type selection. No matter—we’re
going to reduce it all into five thumbnail-
size sketches and descriptions. We might
not be able to accompany you all the way
to the proper choice, but at least we can
head you in the right direction.
35mm Single Lens Reflex (SLR)
You see what you get by viewing and
focusing right through the lens, be it a
wide-angle, normal, telephoto or zoom;
extremely versatile, available with manual
control, auto-exposure only, or auto
exposure plus manual override. But SLRs
are bulkier than pocket cameras or other
35s, heavier, more expensive, more com
plex, take more care to use. Accessory list
is enormous with fully-coupled auto flash
and battery-powered auto winders heading
35mm Lens/Shutter Camera
Uses optical finder (like a miniature
telescope) for sighting, optical rangefind
er in some models for focusing. Lowest-
priced models use simple scale: you guess
distance, then set footage marker accord
ingly and hope it’s right.
Advantages include rugged, simple de
sign and lower-than-SLR cost, plus great
er compactness and lighter weight than
SLR. Models now available include built-
in electronic flash, auto-exposure, super
compact pocket versions, auto focusing.
But only a few high-priced cameras
offer interchangeable lenses. Good snap
shot cameras, however.
110 Camera
Tiny and super-tiny easy-to-load cam
era using miniature film size. There’s a
wide range of models from simple box-
camera equivalents to a single-lens reflex
and underwater types. Newer models have
built-in electronic flash, automatic expo
sure, built-in auto winders. Rugged, sim
ple, light and compact, the 110 turns out
good snapshots but small film size limits
sharpness of enlargements.
Instant Camera
If you must see your color prints within
minutes, the instants will deliver the
goods. Cameras tend to be bulky, lenses
slow. Cameras are fully automatic, film
fairly expensive, enlargements of poorer
quality. Great for making friends all over
the world, shooting at parties, weddings.
Closeups
And Copying:
School Aids
H ave a lab experiment you want to
preserve before you break it down?
Do you need a copy of a map,
drawing or painting but can’t get it
to a copying machine? Is there some mate
rial in a book that you can only glom onto
for a few hours? The answer is to copy it or
shoot a close-up with your camera. You
can use any camera, except pocket cam
eras—the negatives or transparencies
made with them are generally too small to
carry enough information—for copying
and close-ups.
Most 35mm SLRs focus as close as 18
to 24 in., which may be enough for some
copying and close-up work. Other cam
eras reach 3 ft., which is usually too far.
Close-up lenses are by far the simplest
and most convenient accessory to allow
you to focus nearer than the regular mini
mum distance of your camera. They’re
easiest to use on an SLR. since you can
thread one over your normal lens and
focus right through the finder. Close-up
lenses are generally available in three
major strengths: +1, +2 and +3.
While we could give you the distances
at which the close-up lenses will allow you
to work, what you really need to know is
how large an area the close-up lens will
take in when fitted on your normal lens.
For a 50mm normal camera lens a +1
9
Underwater/All-Weather Cameras
Specially designed to withstand ele
ments, these auto-exposure cameras are
ideal for hunters, fishermen, sailors,
backpackers, when extremely rugged
camera is needed. Some are water resis
tant only; others can go to 15 ft. or so.
Only one, the Nikonos, is a true underwa
ter camera with interchangeable lenses!
close-up lens will cover a subject from 9 l A
x 14 in. to ISVs x 28 in. depending on
the focus setting of the camera. A +2 will
allow areas from 6'/a x 9 l A in. to 9 3 /s x
14 in., while a +3 will get you from 4 1 /2 x
6 7 / 8 in. to 6'/4 x 9 3 /s in.
These close-up lenses can be combined
for even closer work with smaller areas.
It’s now simply a matter of choosing the
right close-up lens depending on the size
of your subject area you want covered. For
instance, if you were copying a map in a
book which was 8 x 10'/a in., a +2 close-
up lens would do nicely.
With a single-lens reflex camera, mak
ing a close-up is no more complicated than
lining up the camera and subject and
shooting. Use the built-in, or a hand-held,
meter recommendation for the correct
exposure.
While close-up and copying lighting
can get very complicated, even, shadow
less daylight from a window (or from a
skylight in a library reading room) will do.
With cameras other than SLRs, follow
the directions that come with the close-up
lenses as to proper camera distance set
tings and actual distance from the subject.
If you don’t have a single-lens reflex, you
won’t be able to rely on your viewfinder to
show you just what will be framed in the
close-up picture. Instead, measure care
fully from the very center of your camera
lens to the very center of your subject
using a rigid or coiled metal tape.
How can you hold the camera steady
enough, particularly if you need a longish
exposure and you don’t have a tripod or
copy stand? The accompanying pictures
show you just how to do this with books as
supports for the subject and camera.
Table-top set-up, +2 close-up lens made picture below for paper on Dickens.
If you load up with a fast (ASA 400)
film, you should be able to make good
exposure in reasonable light. For sharp
pictures with close-up lenses, you will
have to close your lens down to f/8 or
f/11, which means a fairly long exposure
if the light is poor. If your meter can’t
handle such a low light level, you’ll have
to experiment by making exposures at a
number of longish times until you find the
proper exposure.
Avoid using color print film for copying
if you are photographing a map or printed
matter. Instead, shoot black-and-white
negative or transparency material. View
the slides (or even the negatives) with a
projector or by means of a fairly powerful
(10X or more) magnifier. If it’s a negative
you will want to have a print made.
With careful copying, your transparen
cy or negative should have all the detail
from the original that you’ll need.