UNIQUE CAMERA

Press, Volume CI, Issue 29983, 19 November 1962, Page 6

UNIQUE CAMERA

This camera’is the only one of its kind In the world. Its pictures have been featured in “Life,” “Camera.” “Photography.” and other leading illustrated magazines of the world in both colour and black and white. It is labelled the Simon-Wide-Rotgans camera, but it has no patent. The name is built up this way:

Simon: For Mr Simon Nathan (shown above), contributing editor of “US Camera,” author of many of the well know Fawcett books on photography, and one of the best known cameramen in the United States, who made it Wide: Because the camera makes four previously un-heard-of 2in by 7in negatives on conventional 120 roll film. The complete range of colour and black and white film emulsion speeds can thus be used. The very large horizontal negative preserves perfection in enlargement and saves any waste from cropping. Yet all pictures are ha nd-he Jd.

Rotgans: After Fritz Rotgans, of Holland, a pioneer of “wide” photography, whose disciple Mr Nathan says he

Camera: Because it is an outstanding camera in spite of the unlikely components described below. It started with an old-style Kodak Medallist focusing tube. This was attached to a lOin by 6in by 4in radio chassis (the box body) which cost Mr Nathan three dollars in the United States. In front he mounts either a 360-millimetre Schneider tele-Xener lens or a 180-mil-limetre lens. These each cost more than 200 dollars and are about the only conventional features of the machine.

The thing was getting a bit bulky as a hand camera so Mr Nathan bought a window handle for two guilders in Holland for a handle. Front view-finders were lacking so Mr Nathan twisted a couple of wire coat-hangers into shape and taped them on. The tape marks still show even though a more refined

view-finder is now affixed—it was made in a bicycle shop And to cap it all the expensive lenses are protected by screw-on lids from mayonnaise jars—Mr Nathan mentioned the brand, but it is not important

Mr Nathan thought he could give both lenses the same back-focal length and save a lot of bother. But it did not quite work out so he straps on—again with sticky tape—a box extension at the rear when needed. This sounds a Heath Robinson affair, but it has produced some of the finest pictures the photographic world knows. In only two days away from New York, Mr Nathan took the sweeping panoramas of “Life” magazine's notable “Guide to Paris.” He has photographed the world’s other great cities from the rooftops. In the last two weeks he has been in Antarctica at the invitation of the United States Air Force taking the widest views possible of all American operations there. Yet this is not a wideangle camera. Mr Nathan insists that all makes of this description fall down at certain limits. Without any distortion at all the Simon-Wide-Rotgans produces sparkling prints of a kind unknown before.