Tag Archives: lens

The Amalgamated Photo History Newsletters Vol 2-4 (April 2021)

Posted on April 24, 2021 by Robert

Toronto. The Australian Back Focus issue plus some old articles are reproduced here in our special members-only supplement, this time its the June 2020 issue of Back Focus. As a member of the PHSC, you received this supplement Friday, the 23rd … Continue reading →

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like a surgeon

Posted on April 13, 2021 by Robert

Toronto. A fitting title in this pandemic crisis we face today! The camera you see here is the Wirgin Gewirette v.1 manufactured by the Wirgin company in Wiesbaden, Germany. This particular camera predates the 35mm minicam revolution. It uses 127 … Continue reading →

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a camera fit for a Queen

Posted on April 6, 2021 by Robert

Toronto. The German optical firm of Ernst Leitz began as a maker of optical objects including microscopes. In the mid 1920s to keep its factory open and staff working, Leitz began the sale and manufacture of the 35mm Leica camera … Continue reading →

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click, clack, clunk

Posted on March 27, 2021 by Robert

Toronto. The most important part of any single lens reflex (SLR) camera design is its mirror box. This amazing idea allows the rays from the subject, through the lens, redirected, and focussed on a ground glass at full aperture. With … Continue reading →

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somethin’ flashy

Posted on January 25, 2021 by Robert

Toronto. Did you ever hear of the ‘National Vulcanized Fibre Company’ (NVFC)? Neither did I. However, parts using that company’s products played a key role in the use of flash in photography. A number of companies in the early 1940s through … Continue reading →

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amping it up

Posted on December 1, 2020 by Robert

Toronto. When I was a school kid in grades 7 and 8 a few years after WW2, I was also an occasional  projectionist for junior classes. We showed 16mm educational movies on (to me) a massive Ampro 20 sound projector. … Continue reading →

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silver and glass

Posted on November 29, 2020 by Robert

Toronto. George Dunbar came across this article on Kodak’s work on films and lenses. It appeared as the article “Brains of Sliver — Eyes of Glass” in the April 1930 edition of Science and Invention magazine. The article covers Kodak’s … Continue reading →

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what’s leaves got to do with it

Posted on November 3, 2020 by Robert

Toronto. Falling leaves. Cold. Damp. Windy. November in the city and winter is about to rush in. As I write this post on the 1st, we are seeing our first snow flurries of the coming season. Leaves have a lot … Continue reading →

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that’s how the light gets in – II

Posted on October 8, 2020 by Robert

Toronto. When the Daguerreotype process was announced in January 1839, it was so slow that only still life and landscape views could be recorded. The news of the process speed resulted in a two direction thrust: chemically, to enhance the … Continue reading →

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don’t let the light get in

Posted on October 2, 2020 by Robert

Toronto. Cameras are all the same in one sense whether they cost pennies or thousands of dollars: they are a light tight box separating a light sensitive medium from a lens so that any object at infinity is in focus … Continue reading →

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