VERTICAL CAMERAS 13 



and lack some of the delicate movements provided for 

 centring condensers, etc., in some of the better pro- 

 fessionally made outfits, and it is particularly in refine- 

 ments of this sort and in general perfection of detail 

 that the latter prove their superiority for difficult photo- 

 micrography. Fig. 3 shows a camera built by Messrs. 

 Watson on the same lines as the other two, but with 

 improvements in detail. The optical bench is of triangular 

 section, and on it the condenser, diaphragms, and c, 

 Kingsford trough are carried by means of saddle stands 

 with vertically extensible pillars and centring screws for 

 the condensers. The condenser is the Watson-Conrady 

 system, as described later. The camera can be moved 

 along its supporting rails made of steel tubing either 

 from the back or front. Almost any sort of illuminant 

 may be mounted on a suitable stand and used inside the 

 case, and it may be well to point out that some such 

 casing or lantern ought always to be used to enclose the 

 illuminant, as it is much easier to focus when all ex- 

 traneous light is shielded. The support next to the lamp 

 carries the condenser and iris, the next is the trough, and 

 the third an iris diaphragm, so mounted that a supple- 

 mentary condensing lens can be fitted into it when re- 

 quired. 



Vertical Cameras. Adaptation of Hand and Stand 

 Cameras. The stand, with blocks running in a groove, 

 may very readily be used in a vertical position, as 

 shown in Fig. 4, provided that the back of the camera 

 can be fixed rigidly at right angles to the baseboard. 

 The camera shown is the "Convertible Britisher," 

 arranged for reflex instantaneous photography. A slotted 

 angle-iron is screwed on to either side of the carrying 

 block, and two long screws are attached to the base- 

 board ; these pass through the slots in such a way as to 

 allow the camera a considerable range of vertical move- 

 ment. Two thumbscrews suffice to clamp the block 



