Evening star., 1948-06-27

The pros and cons OF 8-mm. cine
matography have been argued Tor
a long time by those who like the
small movie camera and by those
who do not. 1t is significant that
8-mm. camera fans have continued
to grow in number and seem to be
happy and contented with their lot
and with their equipment. There's
a reason for it. The same gadgets
and accessories that are part OF
the larger 16-mm. instruments are
now being taken for granted among
the 8-mm. group as standard equip
ment. Gone are the days OF the
one-speed job with a single uni
versal focus lens. Today home pro-
ductions are we'll within the reach
of the 8-mm. fan. Let's see what
makes the little fellow tick.
One advantage, right at the start,
is the small, compact size OF the
camera. Several are small enough
to be carried in large pocket and
none of them is big enough to
bother you with its weight or bulk.
The small magazines are convenient
to carry in your pockets and they
are so easy to load that you can
perform that operation with your
eyes closed. Magazines are inter-
changeable without the loss OF hlm
due to Jogging. For instance, you
can pull out a black-and-Whlte
magazine and slip in one loaded
with color film at minutes notice
without any trouble at all.
An 8-mm. magazine carries
25-foot load Of specially designed
16-mm. film. Only one-half OF this
film is exposed as the strip runs
through the camera. The magazine
is then turned over and the film is
rerun, exposing the second half OF
the film. Thus your 8-mm. frame
is one-half the width and height
of the l6-mm. frame. During fac
tory processing, the larger MIN Is
split down its center and spllced
together to form a 50-foot roll OF
film. that is returned to you Tor
screening. Screening time through
the 8-mm protector is the equivalent
of the time needed to screen 100
feet of 16-mm. film, so 1t is readily
apparent that your original invest
ment for the 25-foot magazine Is
we'll worth while.
Switching Lenses.
A typical 8mm. camera may well
have 13-mm. lens as standard
equipment. If you wish. you can
supplement this lens with others
that are designed to help in certain
situations where the regular lens
can't do the best job. At baseball
game your 13-mm. lens might be
Just right, considering the camera
position, to take in the catcher,
batter, pitcher and outfield. But
you might want to show runner
on third base at the same time you
are getting the action at the plate.
If you are too close to make this
shot possible with your standard
lens, you could, without moving
your position, encompass the whole
scene by switching to a 9-mm. wide
angle lens. On the other hand, II
you are at distance 100 great 10
show the closeness of play, you
can correct this by using 3S-mm.,
50-mm. or 63-mm. telephoto lens to
bring the closeup" to you. Cam
eras built to accommodate several
Lenses have adjustable finders
which, of course, must be changed
each time lenses are switched SO
that you will have an accurate pic
ture of the scene you are shooting.
The additional lenses will save
you a lot of footwork and often
make it possible for you to obtain
otherwise impossible shots. How
ever. you should not attempt tele
photo lens unless the camera is
either mounted on tripod or held
firmly against some rigid support.
Otherwise, each minute movement