COLOUR PHOTO CAMERA.

Otago Daily Times, Issue 20330, 11 February 1928, Page 22

COLOUR PHOTO CAMERA.

Despite' the advances made in colour photography during the last few decades, it has hitherto been impossible to produce photographs in natural colours without great patience. The difficulty of arranging exposures of differing lengths of time for the different colours has taxed the. ingenuity of some of the most expert photographers; but it is now claimed that it has been overcome in the latest invention of a young Viennese photographic expert, Joseph Mroz. As the result of 13 years' research in this branch of photography, Mr /Mroz has just patented an “ instantaneous colour photo, camera,” which he claims call take a colour photograph in less than one-tenth of a second. By a special contrivance fitted into the camera, the three exposures which are necessary take place automatically, and are regulated mechanically in such a way that the right amount of light is allowed to enter for the three ‘‘ partial pictures ” which are taken. The camera has only one lens, no reflector or prisms, and is the same size as the usual reflector camera. Instead of glass plates, Mr Mroz uses nonperforated films, about twice the width of those used in the kinema. The same arrangement as in the kinema camera is used for fixing the films, which runs on rubber rollers, working absolutely automatically by simply pressing a button. This last act brings the colour filter and the indicator into action. The manipulator is then quite simple. Having first fixed th e distance in the ordinary way, the handle is turned so as to regulate the necessary tension on the rollers within the camera, according to the speed required, and then the exposure, which can range from one-twentieth to one-tenth of a second, takes place. A short turn, and the camera is ready for the next exposure. The unrolling of the films takes place automatically, and the camera can be loaded or unloaded in daylight, as special little compartments have been made for th e chromatic fillings, one of which is enough for 50 complete exposures. The development of the negatives can be done in the ordinary wa_y, and these can be used for the production of films in natural colours according to the usual methods without delay. The photos, shown to the Vienna correspondent of the Christian Science Monitor were well defined and of a rich tone. Many of them had been taken by amateurs, who knew little of the technique of photography. Mr Mroz declares that his new camera will soon be on the market. There will be a model for the expert and another for the amateur, the cheapest form of the latter to cost only about £5 retail.