Tag Archives: film

eye of the beholder

Posted on February 21, 2022 by Robert

Toronto. In the May, 1936 issue of American Cinematographer, the Home Camera Co. in NYC advertised the Foth Flex TLR camera. To the innocent eye, the camera seems to be made by the “Home Camera Co.” Since you could buy … Continue reading →

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fade to black

Posted on February 20, 2022 by Robert

Toronto. Professional movies shot on 35mm film or larger used a variety of techniques to switch the film – and audience – from one scene to the next. In one method, the scene ending was slowly faded out while the … Continue reading →

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and you thought your camera was big!

Posted on February 19, 2022 by Robert

Toronto. We often seem to be fond of making comparisons. In 1935, Technicolor offered a way to make colour films in Hollywood. The process was downright expensive so only some films – scenes – were in ‘full colour’.   This … Continue reading →

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carousel anyone?

Posted on February 17, 2022 by Robert

Toronto. For many years the Kodak Carousel series of slide projectors with round horizontal trays were the top of the line in North America. One series was sold for home use and a second series as industrial machines. This short … Continue reading →

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no tanks

Posted on February 16, 2022 by Robert

Toronto. Popular Mechanics often ran short ‘filler’ articles which were interesting and seemed to be practical to the frugal but of  little value. Typical is this darkroom article from the April, 1941 issue on a way to increase productivity when … Continue reading →

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PHSC News newsletter for February 2022

Posted on February 12, 2022 by Robert

Toronto. The Kiev 88 shown here is from the right top of page 1 in this month’s PHSC News newsletter. This rather poor copy of a Hasselblad was favoured byHelena Mayans who is featured on page 1. Well, here we … Continue reading →

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photographic ideas that fizzled

Posted on February 11, 2022 by Robert

Toronto. In 1939, some people disliked photographic darkrooms because they were ummm – dark. So somebody came up with contact print paper with a built-in orange filter and a special ‘flexible frame’. As a filler, Popular Mechanics published a small … Continue reading →

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more than skin-deep

Posted on February 9, 2022 by Robert

Toronto. Do you remember when you had an annual chest x-ray to detect TB? No? You must be a lot younger than me! This Popular Mechanics article from the January, 1939 issue shows how Westinghouse made an ‘electronic flash’ gizmo … Continue reading →

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we have a winner!

Posted on February 7, 2022 by Robert

Toronto. Sometimes a low price and great hype pay off. This combo paid off in spades for the Universal Camera Corporation in the late 1930s through the very early 1950s when its Univex 8mm movie cameras introduced a huge number … Continue reading →

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a camera called Iris

Posted on February 3, 2022 by Robert

Toronto. After the minicam revolution took off, some camera makers tried to ‘fake’ their products as great minicams. Univex in the States tried a number of different models and business plans (guessing this from models and ads). For the Iris … Continue reading →

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