Using a press camera

[Jac@stafford.net]

Say more about this. AuditorOne said something similar in post #11 (or at least that's what I understood by it).

(We are talking of flash bulbs in daylight.) Edison/Mazda base bulbs (same base as ordinary light bulbs) produce tens of times more light than an on-camera electronic flash. I can come back with various settings for several bulbs. The setting I was referring to was where the photographer was within 6 to 20 feet from the subject.

[...]Also, I'm wondering, and forgive my ignorance about this, is there such a thing as an "auto focusing" setting where you just leave it "there" (whatever that is) and just go about framing and shooting and not worry about focusing? Is this how they used it back in the day or did they still focused?

In a way. If you have enough light you can work with the lens stopped-down to an aperture so that a subject within a certain near-to-far range will be in acceptable focus, depending upon what is acceptable to you.

[LabRat]

(We are talking of flash bulbs in daylight.) Edison/Mazda base bulbs (same base as ordinary light bulbs) produce tens of times more light than an on-camera electronic flash. I can come back with various settings for several bulbs. The setting I was referring to was where the photographer was within 6 to 20 feet from the subject.



In a way. If you have enough light you can work with the lens stopped-down to an aperture so that a subject within a certain near-to-far range will be in acceptable focus, depending upon what is acceptable to you.

I'm trying to remember the details now, but I was taught back then that there was a default setting rule for a Press Graphic that I think was "10-16-100" that was assuming you had the "then" high speed press pan film (I think it was EI 50) and a fat #5 flashbulb in place, 10 was 10ft focus setting, 16 was f16, 100 was 1/100 sec, where the camera became a box camera with no settings, that would record a very wide range of subjects day or night... It was focused at the hyperfocal distance for things close and far but centered where most people pix were focused at, and the flash was bright enough even in daylight to make people pop out in the pix, and in the dark... (Some photogs spent their entire career at this setting...) Cub reporters that never held a camera before where sometimes sent out with enough training to basically open and load the camera, and set the settings to the rule above, and the lab took care of the rest...

It produced the typical news look in the pictures, but became too common, so that when the famous photo of Babe Ruth making his final farewell was shot available light (without daylight flash) in Yankee Stadium, it created quite a stir among photographers...

Steve K

[Jac@stafford.net]

Steve K, I believe you nailed it. Thanks for making it clear.
And poo-poo to those who dis 'hyperfocal' because it includes infinity.

It produced the typical news look in the pictures, but became too common, so that when the famous photo of Babe Ruth making his final farewell was shot available light (without daylight flash) in Yankee Stadium, it created quite a stir among photographers...

Earthshaking it was!
.