Details of a Remarkable Motion-Picture Camera 



PULL AND 

 ROD LEAOI 

 TO OUTS 

 OF CAME 



The Film Cutter Ciirl 



Five features distinguish 

 Carl Akeley's camera 

 from all existing appa- 

 ratus. The film cutter 

 shown at the right is used 

 to cut a hole in the film 

 to indicate to the de- 

 veloper when a given series has 

 come to an end. The hole is 

 also used as an aperture 

 through which the operator can 

 stop the machine, puncture the 

 film, and then focus to a dead 

 accuracy on a groimd glass. 

 Consequently, when the film is 

 developed the perforation noti- 

 fies the operator exactly where 

 the stop was made. The cutter 

 is actuated by a pull and push 

 rod leading to the outside of the 

 camera. One push of the rod 

 cuts a hole in the film and brings 

 the ground glass into position. 

 An eye-piece attached to the 

 film cutter enables the operator 

 to locate the image on the 

 ground glass and regulate the 

 focussing and diaphragm dials 



Akeley's Woiulefl'iil 

 liivriiliuu 



BLACK VELVET 

 RIM TO FIT • 

 EYE 



^APEtnuRE 



EYE PIECE 



THE FILM CUTTER AND 

 GROUND GLASS PLATE 



Seeing the 

 Image 



The eye-piece, as 

 shown above, 

 enables the photog- 

 rapher to see the actual image 

 being recorded on the negative — 

 sometliing hitherto unheard of. 

 It consists of a square metal box 

 with a sliding end fitted with a 

 light-proof, black velvet rim for 

 the eye. A spring which serves to 

 lift the eye-piece up and which 

 closes the finding aperture by 

 a metal stop at the same time, 

 is pressed down when the eye 

 rests against the rim. This gives 

 the photographer an unobstruc- 

 ted view of the image falling on 

 the negative 



^ECONQWr' 

 •SHELL 



Eliminating Fric- 

 tion of the Film 



The film box, as shown 

 above, consists of two 

 telescoping shells which 

 are locked together by a 

 pin and slot device. The 

 inner shell has a spring 

 with a roller end over which the film 

 feeds out. This roller end serves to 

 eliminate friction and also prevents 

 scratching while taking pictures. The 

 spring stud of the main driving shaft 

 locks the film box with the driving 

 gears, which in turn rotate the film 

 at the speed set by the op>erator 



FINGER 

 MECHANISM 



perforations and with- 

 drawn from them one 

 by one so that the 

 film is literally picked 

 along. This gives a 

 uniform movement and 

 entirely eliminates all 

 "jerkiness" 



79 



How the Shutter 

 Works 



The shutter, illustrated 

 above, consists of the 

 main or outer shell of the 

 camera containing the lens 

 opening and a secondary 

 shell half cut away, this latter being 

 the shutter proper. As the secondary 

 shell revolves over the main shell the 

 lens opening is alternately closed and 

 shut by that portion of the second- 

 ary shutter which has not been cut 

 away. The exposure efficiency is in- 

 creased to eighty-five per cent 



