Evening star., 1949-07-03
Camera Angles
An ANALYSIS of the Land Camera
By Alexander J. Wedderburn


Now that the tumult and the
shouting has abated somewhat.
the time has arrived for an un-
biased examination and report on
the latest in Photographic phenom-
ena-the Land one-step camera.
Most of us have seen the mir
acle" camera that delivers q nm
ished picture one minute after the
exposure has been made. It's per-
formance is impressive but. rs
predicted last December, the cam
era Is not panacea to end all
problems for the photographer.
On the other hand it is an in
strument we'll suited to the use
of the amateur. 1t is strictly linn
tied in professional application.
The average amateur photog-
rapher. who is we'll satisfied with
one print for his collection of
snapshots. will be delighted with
the one-step camera. But those
who enjoy working IN the dark
room. enlarging. making contact
prints, ETC., should give careful
consideration before selecting the
new style camera as their only
tool. At present. the negative pro-
duced by the manufacturer is
made of paper and Is not suitable
for use in making either contact or
projection prints. However. dupli-
cate copy prints can be made
either by the manufacturer. photo
dealers or the camera owner. II
he adds a copying attachment to
his accessories.
The great attraction Of the one
step camera for the snapshooter
lies in its ability to bypass the
usual darkroom procedures Of de-
velopment, fixing. washing, dry
ing. printing, ETC., and all the at
tendant delays between the time
the picture is taken and the re-
suit Of his work. There Is many
a slip between exposure and I'm
ished picture and with the cam
eras we have been accustomed to
using it is usually too late to cor
rect a mistake after 1t has been
discovered. Faults Of exposure,
lighting, composition, and pro-
cessing are generally not discern
ed for at least a day or so after
the pictureS are taken.
Allows Retakes.
At one time or another most
OF us have taken pictures while
on vacation or at some special
event only to discover when the
films were returned from the
professor that one or more were
ruined because Of some error or
miscalculation.
Heretofore we have had to ac-
cept this condition with more or
less philosophical resignation. Or,
just to make sure, we have made
two or more extra exposures of
the same subject. But the Land
camera does away with all of this
doubt and uncertainty. You SIM
ply shoot your picture. wait for
about 60 seconds. and the picture
is completely finished and ready
for your inspection. II you are
not satisfied with the result for
any reason you can retake 1t while
on the spot.
This camera with the built-in
darkroom is surprisingly easy to
operate. In several ways it is
easier to master than other mod
ern cameras. Loading is extremely
simple, with no complicated
threading-the roll is just dropped
into place. Problems of exposure
are also greatly simplif1ed. The
shutter speed and the lens dia-
phragm are operated simultane-
ously by one control. A wide num-
ber of combinations may be Sc
lected. A photoelectric exposure
meter has been designed for the
camera and is easily attached. AL
JllOuSIl COI1lpuGdUlOA1o OH AAdAC
differently. your present exposure
meter will be satisfactory If used
in accordance with the directions.
Prints Can Be Mounted.
Prints are of a good size (slight-
ly larger than 2Ax3A inches) and
are permanent. They are on a
good grade of paper, sepia in tone,
and bordered with the popular
deckle edge. The prints are a
suitable size for mounting in al
buns or even mounting in minia-
ture frames.
1t has been suggested that the
price of the eight prints ($1.7O
Is rather high, but If all factors
are considered it is doubtful if this
is 50. Most people pay for q roll
Of ordinary film, waste several
shots Just to make sure they have
what they want, then pay for de-