Bolex? Bollocks!

Posted on September 1, 2019 by Robert

Bolex advertises in LIFE magazine to its American audience in late 1957

Toronto. Bolex from Paillard of Switzerland, was indeed the preeminent movie camera maker for 16mm and later 8mm cameras, but this spread (pp58-60) in the December 2, 1957 LIFE magazine sucks since it lists ONLY American dealers in spite of the magazine being distributed world wide. What chance did our camera shops have with Paillard touting ONLY American shops in this ad?

LIFE should have insisted on the ad listing ALL North American dealers and referencing other countries in less detail. Bollocks indeed!

I don’t mind LIFE ads in general especially since many of my ancestors and relatives lived/live in the states. At one time it was an easier border crossing than today with such a high level of paranoia (especially since 9/11 and the recent election of its current president). There are many things American to be admired. This camera ad is not one of them.

Regardless of my curmudgeonesque reaction, I do thank George Dunbar for telling me about his continuing finds in the historic pages of LIFE magazine.

Posted in camera | Tagged , , , | Comments Off on Bolex? Bollocks!

from Talbot to Stieglitz

Posted on August 31, 2019 by Robert

Toronto. In March 1991, the PHSC presented me with this book in the hard cover version. The NY Public Library (or NYC Public Library as I have it listed) became a long time member of the PHSC and remains an institutional member today. In 1982, when the book was first published by Thames and Hudson, Inc., the author, Julia Van Haaften, had been a driving force in the library for a decade. She mixed a long term interest in photography with her work as a librarian in art history in the NYPL to rediscover and document their huge archive of photographic prints. This book was one of the results of her work.

Julia wrote and continued to write many books about famous photographers. This book is a slim 126 pages illustrating just a few of the truly historic photographs in the library’s collection. Track down a copy and enjoy the read.

Unfortunately, I don’t recall the occasion, but it may have been when Don Douglas and I did our dog and pony show on the History of Photography.  The inside label identifying the presentation of the book smacks of the wonderful marketing skills of Les Jones, programme convenor at the time, and himself a photographer and an eclectic collector of photographica.

Posted in book | Tagged , , | Comments Off on from Talbot to Stieglitz

a camera for the common man

Posted on August 30, 2019 by Robert

Minolta A in 1957 Ad

Toronto. I first heard American composer Aaron Copland’s “fanfare for the common man” back in late 1957 when I picked up a Westminster LP titled “Copland“.

And like Copland’s well covered composition, the little Minolta was indeed made for the common man. In 1957, I had its slightly pricier brother, a Minolta Super A which looked much the same except for the faster f/1.8 Rokkor 50mm lens.

Minolta struggled for a foothold in North America, competing against the German marques, Japanese makers, and local (American) cameras with ads like this one in LIFE magazine’s November 11, 1957 issue.  A big thanks to George Dunbar for sharing this find with me and bringing back the pleasure the little camera gave me as I worked diligently to learn photography.

Posted in camera | Tagged , , , | Comments Off on a camera for the common man

I don’t believe it!

Posted on August 29, 2019 by Robert

Argus C3 Ad c1957

Toronto. This was the catch phrase the old curmudgeon Mr. Meldrew used in  the decade long British  sitcom “One Foot in the Grave“. Meldrew was played by the Scottish actor Richard Wilson.

When I saw this page 9 ad from the September 16, 1957 issue of LIFE magazine courtesy of George Dunbar, I immediately thought of Richard Wilson’s famous catch phrase. The “brick” as the Argus C3 was fondly known, was indeed cheap, but to describe it like this, even six decades ago, is false advertising in all its glory. The marketeers went wild to describe its virtues while invisibly suggesting it was as good as pricier German cameras,

The ad suggests it is as simple to use as a box camera but has “advanced camera features …   to match your skills as you become more expert”. In his 1986 book, Ivor Matanle describes, “The unbeautiful Argus C3 [was] produced in vast quantities in the USA, and, with coupled rangefinder, an adequate quality f/3.5 coated lens and ruggedness akin to a builder’s wheelbarrow, performed tolerably well in its youth. … they rarely perform well now… as a doorstop or a paperweight they have much to recommend them.”

Years ago I read that the C3’s rangefinder was prone to misalignment making accurate focussing difficult. To adjust it, the camera had to be disassembled. To test it, the camera had to be reassembled. Not right? disassemble, adjust, reassemble, test. Still not right? Repeat steps … Hence the likely source of the paperweight comment as few would take a cheap camera to be repaired.

Posted in magazine | Tagged , , , | Comments Off on I don’t believe it!

brave new world

Posted on August 28, 2019 by Robert

Editor Lansdale (centre) and new Versant 180 at Aries

Toronto. Aldous Huxley wrote his novel “Brave New World” in 1931. As a youth I read a paper back copy of the story. back in the time when a profusion of paper back titles offered a cheap education to everyone. In this book, originally published a year later in 1932, his tale envisioned a new and strange world.

And like the story, our editor discovered he was in a brave new world when he took the file for his 100th issue down to be printed. Bob Lansdale describes the event like this, “[I] was down to Aries to start the printing of our September issue. Their new machine turns out to be a Versant 180 Xerox machine… very compact and not what I expected it to be. The machine prints both sides of the page, then stacks them in a bin. When the individual book is ready the machine staples the pages together and spits it out the back of the machine.

“Seems to take about a minute to do our 64 page book and it will take a day and a half to do the whole batch. Needless to say I did not stay around for the whole printing. They say everything will be ready for packaging on Thursday but if it is possible for everyone we can do it on Friday.  No rush as we can’t mail it until [after] September 1st.

“There is no screen on the pictures. The image is toner on top of the page surface whereas our former litho printing is wet ink that sinks into the page. [The] Machine guy says that for photographs the litho system is best to get good blacks. I’ll have to work my self thru this again [i.e. how to set the darkest/lightest blacks for optimal printing. Check out any journal issue to see how fussy our editor is with print reproduction.].”

Posted in magazine | Tagged , , , , | Comments Off on brave new world

… blinding me with science …

Posted on August 27, 2019 by Robert

B&H ad in LIFE Magazine September 16, 1957

Toronto. The second release of Thomas Dolby‘s CD “The Golden Age of Wireless” (after the song “She’s Blinding Me With Science” became a hit single in 1982 and was added to the CD) was the inspiration for this post.  In August of 1983, I was in Atlantic City, NJ on a week long security conference. As I wandered around one of the many casino’s, I heard a familiar tune – it was a small group covering Dolby’s famous song.

George Dunbar spotted this 1957 ad for a Bell & Howell 8mm movie camera (p145) using an electric eye mechanism to adjust exposure as the bright daylight shifted in intensity with the clouds and shadows.

The ad touted a “computer” that translated light into movement of the aperture. The tiny 8mm film demanded a short focal length lens which by the laws of physics has a wide depth of field regardless of the normal range of apertures. I don’t ever recall seeing a camera with coloured electric eye cells, but that may have been me since I tended to ignore 8mm movie cameras in those days.

Posted in magazine | Tagged , , , , | Comments Off on … blinding me with science …

collecting and using classic cameras

Posted on August 26, 2019 by Robert

Ivor’s 1986 book on classic cameras

Toronto. When I joined the newly formed PHSC back in 1975, I was looking for good used lenses and accessories for my Leica M4 which I bought a few years earlier. In the late 1970s, I ordered Dr Neill Wright’s Collector’s Checklist of Leica Cameras. That helpful document introduced me to Ivor Matanle, who sold, collected, and used many of the fine old cameras.

In 1986, Ivor published a book on collecting and using classic cameras. That year, I wrote Ivor for a personal copy of his book which he sent on October 31 from his store.

Unlike the traditional histories and detailed models/years/serial numbers lists, Ivor’s book gave a brief history of the “golden years“of what Ivor calls “classic cameras” – the 1930s when film overtook glass plates for professional work into the 1960s when electronics and plastics began to replace mechanical and metal technology to lower manufacturing costs. In his book, he uses the classic cameras to take then modern photos and offers advice on which models to use and which to avoid.

Today, the digital era has annihilated film cameras as practical devices for artistic and personal records. This has created a tiny, loyal niche society that favours the old film technology. Ivor’s book would certainly attract those folk if only to see what can be accomplished with classic cameras of the golden era in photography. N.B. if you want to try the film technology, drop by our fall fair, or auction and get some bodies and lenses and darkroom gear to start this adventure!

Posted in book | Tagged , , | Comments Off on collecting and using classic cameras

isn’t it ironic

Posted on August 25, 2019 by Robert

Jpg file from Huawei P30-Lite smartphone camera

Toronto. As Alanis Morissette sings on her 1993 album “Jagged Little Pill“. The irony is that the camera with the highest Mpx in the house is a P30-Lite smartphone by Huawei with a 27mm (equivalent) ASPH f/1.8 24 Mpx rating. The more expensive P30 and P30 Pro models have cameras boldly badged as “Leica” who collaborated with Huawei on this line. With a regular price of about $470 in Canada, it cost me zero dollars with a 2 year $40/month Canada wide voice and messaging service contract (before taxes and discounts). The camera has AI to determine the scene and many other options. Leica digital cameras and Leica lenses are of course in the many thousands of dollars prices these days.

I bought my first digital camera back when  they were pricy, awkward, and incredibly low resolution. My very first camera was a Chinon ES-3000 from the mid 1990s. Highest resolution was 758×504 pixels (about 0.3 Mpx). No preview screen. Windows only. And glacially slow downloads. My first shot was Larry Boccioletti as he stepped downstairs at our store in the Kingsway. Continue reading →

Posted in camera | Tagged , , , , , | Comments Off on isn’t it ironic

Lenses in Photography

Posted on August 24, 2019 by Robert

1951 – Rudolf Kingslake

Toronto. The late Rudolf Kingslake was born and educated in London, England. In 1938 he joined Eastman Kodak in Rochester NY as a lens designer. By the time he published this book in 1951, he was the Director of Optical Design at Eastman Kodak.

This book is intended to be, “the practical guide to optics for photographers“. It is written in plain English with a few charts, graphs, diagrams, and formulae to clarify some items.

In University we learned from an older/newer (1949/1958) book titled, “Optics” and  written by Francis Weston Sears. Illustrated in colour in this printing, Sears used many more formulae, and much more intense writing to convey the basics of optics for those intending to specialize in the field.

It may be surprising to some that photography demanded special lens designs (dating back to Petzval’s portrait lens for a Daguerreotype camera). The goal was to keep the field of sharpest focus flat to match glass plates and film; to cancel out as much distortion as possible; to focus at least two wavelengths of light in the same plane (anastigmatic) and ideally three (apochromatic); and to have a wide aperture to let in enough light to allow fast shutter speeds to be used in spite of very insensitive (slow)  media (glass plates and film).

Posted in book | Tagged , , | Comments Off on Lenses in Photography

Karl goes digital

Posted on August 23, 2019 by Robert

Digitizing Zotán Glass Photo

Toronto. Mankind has always been fascinated with transportation: horses, trains, bicycles, cars, ships, aircraft, etc. As a kid I always thought Henry Ford invented the automobile. Not so! Ford adapted the assembly line to automobile manufacture and dropped the cost and price so any of his employees could afford a car, like his Model T.

The invention of the first practical automobile was in Germany in 1885 by Karl Benz, whose company evolved into Daimler-Benz,  makers of the famous Mercedes-Benz.  In 2009, Mark Green of the Science and Media Museum in Bradford, England told how the museum was commissioned by  Daimler AG to digitize 10,000 motoring photographs taken in the 1930s by Zoltán Glass like this photo of Hans Stuck in a  Mercedes-Benz SSK racing car.

My humble thanks to George Dunbar for the patience to find this page and the decision to copy me, Thanks George – a great find.

Posted in history | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on Karl goes digital