Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1955-03-27
Camera Angles

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slowed away for the cold
months should be taken out.
cleaned, and tested. to insure
getting good snapshots during
the pleasant weather ahead.
No matter how careful you
may have been. a certain
amount of dust will have
found its way into any camera
after several months. The
lens should be given particu-
lar attention, as well as the
folds of a bellows. and the in
terror. Even if dust or dirt
is not a factor. there is still
the possibility that oxidation,
caused by changes in room
temperature, may have affect
ed the accuracy of the timing
of the shutter.
Cleon Both Lens Surfaces
Dirt, dust, or smudgeS on
the lens will definitely cut
down on its effectiveness.
Check both the outer and in
ner exposed surfaces. Apply
lens-cleaning fluid with lens
tissue, or, lacking this item.
a soft, lintless cloth.
Should your camera have a
bellows extend this to its full
est length without applying
undue strain and remove &C
cumulated dust with a camels
hair brush. This can be used
to get rid of dust in other easy
to-reach places, both inside
and outside the camera. For
crevices and hard-to-reach
spots, air can be blown in with
a small rubber bulb that can
be purchased at any drugstore.
Grit Holes in Bellows
Accommodations of gritty dust
over long periods are especially
harmful to camera bellows.
When present in the folds of
the bellows tiny speck of grit
may eventually abrade the ma
terial to the point where a vir-
tually undetectable hole will be
formed. This, of course, will
let light into the camera and
fog the film or cause ghost
images to appear.
These tiny holes can best be
detected by testing the camera
in the darkroom for light leaks.
Do this by inserting a lighted
Xmas tree bulb or a pencil
fiashlight inside the camera
while the bellows is fully ex-
tended and all lights are out
in the darkroom. A special
liquid is available for coating
minor leaks. Where major
light leaks have developed re-
pair should be made by a tech
nician or a new bellows in
stalled.
Dust or oxidation can ma
terially affect the timing &C
curacy of the cameras shutter.
If you have experienced con-
sistent difficulty obtaining &C
curate exposures even though
a light meter was used you
may consider it very probable
that the rated shutter speed
no longer corresponds with the
actual shutter speed.
Comment Of Reader
In this connection, here is a
competent statement from q
reader, Henry Stevens, sew
eral years ago.
II have frequently watched
my friends go through the pro-
cedure of taking light meter
readings. They measure the
light from the camera position,
then on the shadow side, on
the high-light side, read and
calculate and integrate. Say
the complicated derivation, di-
reefs an exposure of 1Il00th
second at a stop between f.8
and II, nearer the IL. The
shutter is set at the 1f100 mark
and the pointer is carefully
estimated to correspond with
the meter derivation for the
stop.
Invariably ! get a look Of
blank establishment when / ask
whether the shutter will give
an exposure of 1J100th of a
second. Since the photo-elec-
trio meter appeared on the
market, l have yet to find an
amateur who has the foggiest
notion about the relation be-
tween marked shutter speeds
and the actual shutter per-
Torrance.
"a survey Of the literature
on celebration of shutters con-
firms my own observations.
Reasonably close correspond
ence between the rated and
actual speed Of the general run
Of shutters seems to be 20 rare