PHOTOGRAPHY- 29

 PHOTOGRAPHY- 29

Well, “Camera shake” has been as old as photography itself. With box cameras too light in weight, “camera shake’” has had an unshakable reputation for consistency. Also lenses of low quality on them delivered somewhat an unclear focus –easily fixed for hand shake of the operator. Yet, the eagerness to shoot pictures kept amplifying and continues to be so. Admittedly, even advanced workers can experience hand shake, because it is just a momentary infirmity caused by a tussle between ‘focussing’ and shutter release for exposure. Cashing in on this prospect , camera manufacturers planned sockets on camera bottom to mount the camera on a pedestal such as tripod to keep the equipment steady or to fix a long chain between the camera base and the floor. The chain is fairly long ending in large loops at the lower end. Up on determining right length .the worker puts his foot into the loop pressing it down and the chain is held stiff firmly stuck to the ground. This arrangement heps to keep the camera steady dispelling the scope of ‘camera shake’.

Cable releaser [Releaser cable].

Releasing the camera shutter for exposure is another potent source for introducing ‘shake’ while pressing the button. All cameras of later origin have a threaded socket atop to ‘accept’ releaser cable by a threaded nipple through which a metal rod emerges when the releaser knob is ‘plunged in’ much like a hypodermic syringe. There is a lock facility to keep the plunger depressed to keep the shutter open for the length of time desired.[ideal for “B” SETTING for long exposure]. The longer the cable the greater the freedom from shake while a releaser is used. Another occasion to use releaser cable is the option of ‘SELF TIMER’ crudely referred to as the ‘automatic setting’. At times the Self timer may have to work in consonance with the Flash light. So, the shutter is tuned for a setting called “V” – a tradition among German Cameras; the notation ‘V’ is the first letter of the word VERZOGERNANG- A GERMAN TERM for Delay Train that implies time gap between the pressing of the shutter release knob and the actual opening of the shutter after a time delay before the shutter is triggered to operate about 10-12 seconds later. On many cameras the Self timer is linked to a mechanical lever for delayed action and after setting the lever ‘open’, the shutter has to be activated.

A WORD ON SHUTTER –FLASH SYNCHRONY

Though an appropriate shutter speed can ensure synchrony, times were when different  flash lights like bulbs, flash guns –slow to peak in out put, of medium time lag and ultimately the instant peaking Electronic flash.When different flash categories were in use Camera manufacturers had to accommodate for every category and provide sockets for connecting flash chords ; these were S [SLOW PEAKING] ,M[ MEDIUM TIME LAG FOR PEAKING ] and X for instant peaking Electronic flash guns. Now all flash guns are of Electronic version with just X socket. Yet another innovation in SLR Cameras of 1980s was an inbuilt electrical contact called HOT SHOE, to which, a flash gun with external contact pins could be mounted without having to provide an electrical cable for completing the circuit.

Another major advancement was the introduction of “DEDICATED FLASH”. Obviously camera manufacturers brought out their own flash guns that were electronically compatibe with the camera settings so that the camera and its DF could mutually respond to settings like right aperture for light output  for the film [ASA] being used.

All these have now sunk into history as things of the past.

More to follow.

K.Raman