Cameras Employed 45 
hard knocks, falls &c., I expended three or four of these during 
that period. But besides being a very cheap article, about 30s., 
it was ill-suited to the work in hand, since its fixed focus of 9 ft. 
nominally, but 7 ft. in practice, made it unsuitable for using at very 
short distances when photographing nests, especially if in trees or 
on cliffs. 
My next advance was to a Kodak folding pocket-camera, No. 3, 
taking film cartridges and giving quarter-plate pictures 3} in. by 
41 in. This focused from infinity down to 6 ft., a slight improve- 
ment but not enough. 
I then procured another similar Kodak and, by removing the 
back and focusing on a piece of ground glass, I found by experiment 
that it could be used at 5, 4, and 3 ft. distance. Then by having 
two small magnifiers made, one for 2 ft. and one for 1 ft. 6 in. 
to fit over the lens, I was able to work down to these close ranges. 
The magnifiers I carried in the flap of the camera-case, fitted 
to small sockets. by bayonet-grips whence they could be easily 
extracted when required. On several occasions owing to the 
difficult situations in which I was placed I have only had one hand 
to work with, and it became necessary to hold the camera by the 
strap in my teeth whilst I fitted a magnifier. [I commend the 
consideration of this necessary but awkward evolution to those who 
are perturbed because I decline to carry complicated cameras. 
It was with this camera that I obtained the majority of the pictures 
which appear in this book. It weighs 1 Ib. 9 oz. and in its solid 
leather case with magnifiers 2 lb. 7 oz. 
The camera I now employ is a Kodak No. 3 fitted with a 
Goerz lens and a maximum aperture of / 6°8 with a shutter with 
1 
speeds from 1 second to ;', 
second (nominally) and which focuses 
down to 2 ft. 6 in. Of course it is useless for birds on the wing 
but I am content to forego this rather than carry a more delicate 
camera which might fail me at the supreme moment, after an 
