Tag Archives: advertisement

a rose by any other name

Posted on January 14, 2022 by Robert

Toronto. One of the earliest ambitions of film makers was to expand their film’s sensitivity spectrum down to the reds. By the mid 1930s when Agfa-Ansco made this film, yellows, greens through near violet blues could be captured. Such a … Continue reading →

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fleet of foot, with fully adjustable slow speeds too

Posted on January 12, 2022 by Robert

Toronto. In 1935, advertisements pointed out how a particular camera or maker was different. Was superior to the rest. Was a far better buy than the competition. This was especially noticeable in highly competitive America. For example, Leitz NY would … Continue reading →

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a neater meter

Posted on January 7, 2022 by Robert

Toronto. One area of photography that absolutely demanded consistency in exposure was movies. Any unexpected exposure shift between scenes or reels was obvious and annoying to theatre goers, especially those who paid hard earned money for the movie experience. Weston … Continue reading →

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daylight blues

Posted on January 5, 2022 by Robert

Toronto. In the mid last century, one could buy daylight or tungsten transparancy (slide) film. The difference was in their white balance. Incandescent bulbs would have a colour balance around 2700 degrees kelvin and a special blue filter on the … Continue reading →

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boys will be boys

Posted on January 4, 2022 by Robert

Toronto. Most of us have heard of the rivalry between Leica (Leitz, Wetzlar) and Contax (Zeiss, Jena) last century. On page 455 of the October 1935 issue of American Cinematographer,  Leitz, New York placed this ad to extol the virtues … Continue reading →

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keeping an eye out for Hirohito and Adolf

Posted on December 28, 2021 by Robert

Toronto. When I was a little kid, WW2 was still active. I remember one little toy made of wooden pieces. When the strings were pulled, Tojo (Japanese PM in WW2) and Hitler took swings at each other. While America considered … Continue reading →

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a star is born

Posted on December 20, 2021 by Robert

Toronto. Today, with modern digital cameras and smartphones, we take colour for granted and convert the results to B&W only for a ‘special effect’. It wasn’t always the case. For many decades various colour processes were tried. Some had good … Continue reading →

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night moves

Posted on December 19, 2021 by Robert

Toronto. Ahhh, 1934 (before I drew a breath) Kodak was advertising its newest film – Super Sensitive (SS)  Panchromatic – plus a couple of inexpensive cameras and special photoflood bulbs ready to screw into their special reflectors or into ordinary … Continue reading →

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never heard of Hessercolor – have you?

Posted on December 18, 2021 by Robert

Toronto. George Dunbar sent me a link from the January, 1934 issue of International Photographer. titled, “The Wonders of Hessercolor“.  There is an interesting article on Hesser at “Broadway Photographs“. Hesser took on Kodak and failed to succeed. He was … Continue reading →

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black is beautiful

Posted on December 17, 2021 by Robert

Toronto. In the 1800s and early 1900s, black enamel was a choice for finishing metal. Sewing machines, microscope bases, lamps, and even the ubiquitous Model T Ford all came in the black enamel finish. When Leica cameras were first sold, … Continue reading →

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