56 



RECREATION 



A further advantage of films over plates 

 is the great liability of plates to accumu- 

 late dust, which will sift into the camera or 

 through the plate-holder. Carried on a bi- 

 cycle or on an automobile traveling over 

 rough roads the plates in the holders, will 

 frequently be so shaken about that tiny 

 chips of glass will break off, and getting on 

 the surface of the plate, will cause spots and 

 pin-holes that are annoying to say the least. 

 A roll of film is subject to none of these 

 disagreeable features, nor are cut films. 



So far, the advantages of films have been 

 referred to. Let us now glance at the other 

 side of the question. Perhaps the most seri- 

 ous disadvantage possessed by films at the 

 present time is their high price as compared 

 with plates, and unfortunately there seems 

 to be no immediate prospect of this objec- 

 tion being removed. Roll films cost nearly 

 twice as much as glass plates of the same 

 size and speed. 



It is said that films are less reliable than 

 plates, and that, therefore it is not so easy 

 to produce good negatives upon them. This 

 is, perhaps, the most important considera- 

 tion of all from the point of view of a be- 

 ginner seeking advice. According to Mr. 

 Hodges, writing on this subject in Focus: 

 "To give fair advice it is first necessary to 

 consider the nature of the two articles, 

 films and plates. In the first place, the 

 emulsion, or sensitive compound on which 

 the image is formed, is precisely the same in 

 both cases, the difference being that in the 

 one case the support is a piece of glass, and 

 in the other celluloid. Glass has no me- 

 chanical or chemical influence either for 

 good or evil on the sensitive emulsion ; the 

 celluloid support, on the other hand, under 

 certain conditions, does sometimes exert a 

 harmful influence. 



"The reader will ask, 'What are those con- 

 ditions, and are they avoidable?' Let w, 

 start with the assumption, which is a sour r J 

 one and may be relied upon, that if the 

 film is fresh and procured from a maker of 

 repute, it will be suitable for the production 

 of negatives of the highest technical quality. 

 Now, all sensitive emulsions, whether on 

 glass or celluloid, deteriorate with age, but 

 expert opinion goes to prove that the period 

 at which the signs of deterioration begin to 

 manifest themselves is shorter in the case 

 of films than it is in the case of plates. 

 Damp, particularly in conjunction with high 

 temperature, and exposure to gas fumes both 

 have a harmful action on films. It is obvi- 

 ous from these remarks, that if the film is 

 procured from a reliable source, is fresh 

 (and the makers now stamp the date of ex- 

 piration of guarantee on each spool), is 

 properly stored, there will be no more need 

 for anxiety with regard to the quality of the 

 negatives produced with its aid than if made 

 on glass plates, 



Mr. Snapshots: Job, eh? Clean out the studio 

 and I'll make it a quarter apiece. 



Chorus: Somethin' wrong wid de wood-alcohol. 



.Back to de freaks for our§, 



