Ful-Vue Reference guide

BEFORE WE START

 A llttle while ago a friend of mine bought himself a
Ful-Vue box camera. He dldn't know anything about photo-
graphy and asked me how he should set about taklng
pictures.
   I tried to take the easy way out and put him on to a
book that would help him, but when I got down to it I found
that the book he wanted hadn't been written.
  There were plenty of books for beginners, but nothing
made-to-measure for my friend and his Ful-Vue.
   In the end I had to show him myself what to do and how
to do it, and for the sake of other Ful-Vue users I have set
It down here pretty much as I told lt to him.
   It all boils down to a few simple rules, but any beglnner
who takes the trouble to learn them will be able to turn
out good pictures. And that's more than he could hope to
do lf he started with a more expensive camera and a whole
library of books on the subject.
  Any experienced photographer will tell you that thls ls
the right way to start-with a box camera. In fact, if you
can't take a good picture with a box camera you will be
wastlng your time by trylng to do it wlth anything more
compllcated.

THE FUL-VUE CAIvIERA
  What Your Ful-Vue Will Do
    There are some things that your Ful-Vue box camera wlll
  do as well as the most expensive camera you could buy.
    "lf that is true," you are sure to ask, "why do people piy
  up to a hundred pounds for a camera when they could get
  the same results with a cheap one?" Well, the answei  ls
   that some things are not all things.
   A motor car and a bicycle are two ways of getting from
  one place to another.  lf you aren't pushed for time you
  can do the trip on two wheels just as well as you can on
  four. But if you want to get there in a hurry, ar you are
   taking a lot of luggage along, your bicycle won't do and you
   have to 8o b)t car, or train, or even by alr. And the faiter
   you go and the more you take with you, the more  it will cost.
     That's how it is with cameras. lf you are willlng to work
   only in tgod light, and if you aren't out to get close-ups or   shots of fast-moving subfects, there's nothing to beat a box
  camera. But if you want to take snapshots at a football
  game on a dull winter afternoon, or if you have to make a
   llving by photographing celebrities arriving by boat-traln at
  Waterloo Station, you'll have to do it with a camera that
   costs very much more.
   The two things you have to avoid when you use the
   Ful-Vue camera are: (l) snapping when there isn't enough
I  light, (2) trying to take subfecti that are movlng quickly.
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The first will gfve you gloomy-looklng, "underexposed"
snaps, and the seconii will-show your subfect as a smudge.
  But the world about you is full of delightful subiects
that you con take with your Ful-Vue, so there's no need to
shed'tears over the things that you can't. ln any case, it
isn't much of a handicap to have a camera that wants sun-
shine before it will take a good photograph. Almost eveD/
good outdoor picture you have seen has sunshine in it. And
ihere is a saying amo-ng experienced photographers, "No
sunshine-no picture"  !
  Well, let's find out how it is done. And for a start, we'll
take a look at the camera. There isn't much to learn about
 it but you can't afford to skip it if you want results.
About the Camera ltself
  The Ful-Vue is really a veD/ slmple camera.
    It consists of a lisht-tight box.
   ln front of the Eox tf,ere is a hole, over which the lcns
                  is fixed.    below)(see'  Behind              hol" is the shutter (see page 8).           thit
  There is a second lens in a seiond box above it.  This
produces a picture on the viewfinder (see page 6) on top
bf the cameia, so that you can see what you are taking.
   In the back of the box is another hole covered by a red
window. This helps you in winding the film on, which you do
by means of the winding knob at the side of the box near
the top.
  To put the film in, you have to oPen the box, of course.
When you have loaded the film (see page l3), the camera
is ready for use.
About the Lens
  The lens is fixed in the front oi the camera. lts fob ls to
throw a sharp picture of the scene in front of the camera
on to the film when the shutter is open.
   It isn't a blg tens, but it's a good oie, and it will g,ive you
sharp photogiaphs  if you use your-camera the right way.
Whdn'you hlar of lenses that iost forty or fifty pounds, lt

doesn't mean that they are an), better than yours for the
   sort of plctures you are going to take. They cost more
   because they are bigger and let more light through. That
   means they will take pictures in bad light or pictures of
   things moving so fast that the shutter can only be open for
   a very short time.
     In some cameras (the expensive ones) the lens can be
  moved backwards and forwards at wlll so as to give a sharp
   picture of obJects at any distance.
    But the lens in the Ful-Vue has only two settlngs.
   Normally  it is set to give a sharp plcture of everything more
  than ten feet (three metres) away from the camera. On
  the other hand, if you pull the lens front out, everythlng
  between three and ten feet (one and three metres) will
  be sharp. With the Ful-Vue that is all the lens movement
  you need. And remember that so long as you get a sharp
   picture by setting the lens right, you can have it enlarged,
   too.
    Don't touch the lens with your fingers, and if it gets
   dirty, wipe it very gently with a piece of clean, soft rag.
    And that's all there is to know about your lens.
  About the Viewfinder
    The viewfinder of the Fut-Vue is the bright window on
  top of the camera. With it you see exactly what you are
  going to take when you point the camera at your subject.
   But the viewfinder  is only accurate  if you look stralght down
  on it. Don't look at it from an angle; you won't see the
   Picture properly, an)rway.
    The Ful-Vue takes square pictures, so you don't have to
  worry which way up to hold the camera. There is only one
  way. And if you are going to have your pictures enlarged,
   )rou can always leave out part of it, so that you finlsh up with
  a horizontal or upright picture. But in many cases you wlll
   find it looks  f ust as well as a square.
    Your viewfinder will also warn you to keep )rour camera
   level.  lf the tree in front of you leans over sideways, or lf
6 the level seashore looks like a steep hillside in your finder,
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SHARP PICTURES AT ALL DISTANCES





                                   lOft





You don't have to worD/ much about distances with the Fut-vue. Normallv
everything more than l0 feet away from you will come out sharp in the picturl
(!o)).                                                                         iens, and'every-     -whe-n )ro.qwant to come closer, y6u merely pull'    out thething from 3 to l0 feet away will be shari (bottom).'





                                             [eft: To. pu.ll out the lens, grip the rlng
                                   round the lens mount with t*o finsers.
                                  and pull it as far as it will go. But d-on't
                                     forget to push it back agiin when you
                                want to take pictures of subjects oyer
                                           l0 feet away!

or  lf the skyline of a flat landscape seerns to slither downhlll,
     it will appear llke that on your finished picture too. So look
   again l.fol..making the-snap: ls the view reaily levet in   your viewfinder I
     There are exceptions, of course. To get a dramatic vlew
   of a high building, y.ou can make the cimera look up, just
   as you would yourself (see page 3l). Or  if you are snipfing
   )rour rnend ctimbing up a hill, you can make it look like
   a steep mounta.in by tilting your camera sideways. But re-
  member that these are ext6ptions. Do this sort of thing
   olly        you have a reason for iti  if it looks better tilted in you?               lf   viewfinder. lt's no good doing it accidentally, and ihen
   salng that you d_id itbn purposE. Nobody will'believe you  !
     Don't be satisfied.wheir ydu get your sJblect in the uiew-
   finder. see what else is therJas well. Tlie other objects
   may.spoil. ),oul picture.  lf they do, change your viewpoint   so..yfat they do nor show. Sometimes -th6 other ob;ucts
   will help to make it a better picture, and in that case try
  to fit them in.so that they lobk as though they belongeie
   there, not as though they had slipped in by acciient.
    These are the things thar you'ihould tliink about while
  you are looking. in the viewfinder.  tt's just as easy ro see
   faults in the finder as it is to pick them 6ut on the'finished
                                    has such a large finder.  Iap.  Particularly as the Ful-Vue  The only difference  is that  if you spot them in the finder you
  can ge.nerally do something.iboui them. when you notice
  them in the print, it's too late.
  About the Shutter
    The shutter is a flat plate that covers the lens. When
    it is closed no light can get through into the camera. When
  you open.it by pressing. the re-lease button, light passes
  through the lens and fa-ils on the sensitive surfice of the
   film, making the picture.
    There are two ways of opening the shutter. you can
   set it at "lnst." (lnst#taneods) or-you can set it at ,,Time".
   When you set at "lnst." and piess the release, it stays
8 open for about one-thirtieth of i second and then cros6s
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automatlcally. This is the way )rou use lt for taklng snap-
     shots.
    When you. set at "Tlme", pressing the release opens the         .    shutter and leaves it open as long as you want. As soon as
   you let.go, it closes. You have to 5e very careful not to
   move the camera when you press the relbase and during
     all the time that the shuttei is open, or you will get i
    blurred picture. The best way to do this is to'put the cainera
   down on a solid table, or a wall, and hold it iown tight.
     But while yo_ur Ful-Vue will take time exposuies, lt
      ls much more it home with snapshots in the ooen'air. That's
   the j9b it was designed for add naturally thlt's the fob tt   does best.
     With its instantaneous speed, the Ful-Vue will take sharp
    pictures of things that are moving so long as they are not
   moving quickly. You can snap a group of peopl6 walklng
   around and talking from ten to fifteen feet away and they
    will come out sharp. There is no need to ask thim to pos'e
    for you, and you can get a much more natural-looklng
     result.
     But look for the right sort of subJect. When you are
    by the river, don't expect to take sharp plctures of people
    diving into the water, or of fast motor boats. Look drorind
   and.you are sure to find an angler fishlng quietly from the
    b.ank, or-a group-of swans, or a picturesque old-barge. All
    these will make sharp pictures.
          lf you want sharp snaps of people runnlng and  f umplng,
                                                               a   or cycling, /ou need a shutter speed of at least l/l00th of
    second, and if you want pictures of things like motor races,
    skl-lng, and diving, you need something very much faster
    still-l/500th or even l/l000th second.
     But as you have only l/30th second to play with, avold
    things that are moving quickly, and above all, don't get
   too close to your subject. The closer you are, the more
   the movement shows up. Also, tD/ t6 get your subfect
   coming towards /oU, instead of just moving past. The   movement will show up less that way.
10  What it amounts to, is that with-moving subfects you
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The right...                                 ...and wrong
posture for snapshots.
must keep your dlstance. The faster they move, the further
away you must be. And if you snap a sprinter from a couple
of hundred yards away, he will really be too small to be
recognisable. That's not much use, is it?
Another Tip for Sharp Pictures
  You must have seen blurred snapshots that people have
taken of things like buildings and views that could not
possibly have been moving when the shutter clicked. Where
does the blur come from ? The answer is that the camera
itself moved.
   It ls very lmportant to hold the camera steady as you
press the shutter release. Although the shutter may be
bpen for only l/30th of a second, that is quite long enough
t6 give you a blurred picture if you let the camera tremble
in your hands.
  Thls is how to make sure that the camera does not move:
   l. Hold the camera against the front of your body. lf
                             camera strap ro_und yourpossible, steady it by puttinge the                                 '  '                                      'heck.                              Frdt ..:.yt
For time exposures You do it
not like this . .  .                                                             . . . but like this.

HOLDING THE FUL-VUE





The normal way to hold the Ful-Vue stead_y for snapshots is to support it round
your neck with the carrying strap (top lefi). The iosition of yorii hands is im-portant (bo-ttom left). In crowds, you can tike picrures above the heads of the
people in front of you. Steady the camera agiinst the neck strap (toD centre).
You can take,pictures almost unnoticed sideways (top right). you'will'then get
snaps of people free,from self-conscioqs grins. For'time exposures you must put
the camera on a wall or solid support (bottom right).
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2. Breathe In normally and then hold lt for a second
whlle you-
  3. Press gently on the shutter release, letting it click
fust when it wants to.  Don't hurry. Do the job lazily as though you had all
the time in the world, and you will get sharp pictures that
will enlarge without going fuzzy.
   Practise  it for an hour or two without a film in the camera.
See how steadily you can do it. You'll see in the viewfinder
whether the camera is shaking at all.
    lf you want to make a time exposure, don't try to hold
the camera in your hand. You must hold it down very firmly
on the top of a wall, a table or a chair.

AboutLoad,ingi  ...
  You have thoroughly examined your Ful-Vue by now,
twiddled the knobs, clicked the shutter, and looked at
everything through the viewfinder. You can already hold the
camera quite steady while you click the shutter ? Good.
  What next? Well, before you can take pictures, you must
load the camera with film.
  The Ful-Vue takes size "120" (also known as "70",
"BS. No. 2") spools of film. With most types of film thls
will give you twelve exposures 2| x 2+ inches (6 x 6 cm.).
Do not buy ftlms of the "620" (or "62", or "2.20", or "85.
No. 3") size. Though this takes the same size pictures, the
spools will not fit into the Ful-Vue. There is already an
empty spool in your camera. See that the film you buy is on
the same type of spool.
  Now you are going to load the camera. Do it in the shode,
neyer in direct sunlight.
   l. On the right-hand slde of the camera (when you look
at the lens) there is a knob. lt has two arrows engraved on
It. One is marked "Lock", the other "Unlock". Turn this
knob in the direction of the arrow "Unlock".
  2. Hold the camera in your left hand with the locklng knob
In your palm. With twofingers of your other hand pull out 13

the slde of the camera with the windlng knob, together wlth
    the cone and spool holders.
      3. Make sure that the empty spool in the camera ls on
    the side of the winding knob. When you rurn the winding
    knob, the spool shoulil turn with it. if the spool ls on thE
    other side of the cone, remove ir by pulling bick the spring
    which holds it in.place. Then pull back th6 spring oppositE
    the winding knoli, and let thb spool drop in sj thit the
    slotted end engage.in.the winder key. R6lease the spring
    so that the spool is held in position.
      4. Insert the full spool df film on the other side of the
    cone, by pulling back the spring, letting the spool drop into
    place, and releasing the spring. The end of the backing
    paper must face outwards. When it is unwound, the btac[
    side must face the metal cone, with the red or green slde
   on toP.
      5. Break the seal on the film spool, and unwind about
    four inches of the pape!. Keep one finger on the spool to
    prevent it from unwinding any more; otherwise it witt be
    spoilt. Don't let any part of the paper seal get into the
    camera; remove it all.
      6. Draw the paper leader over the rollers at the wlde
   end of the cone, and insert the end in the wide slit of the
   empty film spool on the other side. You may have to turn
    the winding knob a little so as to bring the wide slit upper-
    most.
      7. Give the winding knob one or two turns to make sure
    that the end of the bicking paper is firmty anchored. See
    that the paper is accuratel-y-cintred between the flanges
    of the take-up spool. You inay have to push lt sidewayi a
     little.
      8. Carefully put the cone back into the camera and push        .   the side on to the rim of the body.
      9. When it is well pushed home, turn the locklng knob
    In the direction of the arrow marked "Lock".
      l0.Watch the red window at the back of the camera, and
   wlnd the winding knob. The first thing you will see ls a
t4 hand, then three or four dots in a row (Iometlmes you see
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pairs of dots), and immediately after the dots a figure l.
Stop winding when you reach the figure l.  This means
that the film is in position for your first picture.
  When you have taken the first picture, lmmediately wind
the winding knob until a figure 2 (preceded again by dots)
appears in the red window. After your second picture wlnd
on to No. 3, and so on.

And Unloading
  When you have finished off all twelve pictures, you will
have to take the film out of the camera. Again: do it in the
shade  !
    l. Wind the winding knob, watching the red window,
until the end of the backing paper has passed the wlndow.
Give the winding knob about four more turns.
  2. Unlock the camera as described on page 13, and pull
out the cone.
  3. Grip the full film spool to stop it from unrolling, and
pull back the spring which holds it in place.
  4. Lift out the spool. You will find a gummed paper label
with "Exposed" printed on it near the end of the backing
paper. Stick down the end of the backing paper. Wrap up
the spool lmmediately. lt is ready for developing.
  5. Transfer the now empty spool to the take-up end
(from where you removed the full spool). Close the camera,
or reload with a fresh spool.





                                                       lz
FUL-B

l-





             I,ET,S GET ON WITH IT
            . You probably feel you've listened to enough talk by
        thls time and you want to go out and use your camera. Weli,
      there's no reason why you shouldn't; it's a nice day-the
      sun is shining, the sk)r is blue and it's just the right weather
       for the Ful-Vue.
         Let's choose something easy for a start. Here's a little
     chunch right in the open country. lt's an ldeal subject. lt
     won't run ?wa-y while we're looking at it so there'i plenty
       of time to do the fob properly.
              light is pretty strong, there ls enough of it (see page      -Ih"       l9)           you to give the "lnstantaneous" exposure. Thlt           -for       settled: yoy make a final check in the viewfinder and gently
      press the sh utter.
     Now let's have a look at the result. Hmm! lt's dls-
                 after all the trouble you've taken, isn't  lt ?     lppointing     Someth Ing ls wrong. The little ch u rch is there all rlght,
     and there ryas plenty of light when you took its photo, but
    somehow the plctu re  f ust looks dead and u n interestlng.
     What's the trouble  ?

    Snapping Into the Sun
       Well, it is true that there was plenty of light when you
     !g9k your snapshot, the trouble was that the light wain't       falling on the subject. You were standing looking towards
      the sun, and of course it seemed very bright to you-. But the
      side of the church that your cameri pointed ad had no sun- 19

shine at all.  That's
                          why it came out as a
                                  big black patch with
                                          noth ing but its shape
                                 to show that lt was a
                                               ch u rch.
                          Now you can make
                               a very striking picture
                                 by snapping with your
                            camera pointing to-
                                    wards the sur, but you
                                  have to make su re of
                            one th ing. You must
             not let the sun sh ine  directly into the lens. lf
           you do, you r print  is bound to look foggy and
                                                  I ifeless.
     You can easily keep out of this sort of trouble by standing
   so that a shadow from a tree or building falls on the front
    of the camera. Or you can ask a friend to shield the lens
   from the sun with his hat. In this way you can turn out some
    really d ramatic pictu res, but it wou ld be better to leave
    ''agalnst the light " snaps alone u ntil you have had more
    experience.
     Even so, you still have to notlce whlch way the llght  ls
    hlllng.
  When the lright is Behind You
          lf there are snags about snapping wlth the light in front
    of the camera, there are just as many when it is dlrectly
   behind. Let's go back to our little church again and thls
    time we'll be mbre careful. We'll remember to think about
     lighting as well as the other things.      -This-titn€,               suppose you walk around to the other slde
    of the church aid look at it from there. "Well," you Si/,
    "this side is certainly getting all the light that lt can, so
    that it ought to be all right to take a snap from here."
       Fair enough, but befofe you click the shutter, take another
20 look at whit you are goirig to snap. The sunlight ls falling
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Your viewfinder helps you to arrange the picture. Try several view
     points to the left and right u ntil you get the best balance.-MARCEL
22  NATKIN.
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Keep your eyes open for new angles on a familiar subject. The direction  ,r.rof the light makes this picture.-HUGO van WADENOYEN. "      dJ

Be careful with moving figures. Catch them before they begin to move
24 too fasr,-HUGO Yan"WiDENOYEN.
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Watch out for.tlre right moment, then press the button.-HUGO vanWADENOYEN.
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9-r^o_rpl are easy enough.  The sky makes an excellent background._
MARCEL NATKIN                                       Zz

Your Ful-Vue can become a candid camera too. You can use it quite
     inconspicuously, and often get results as g_o9d as those obtained with
28 much more c6mplicated afparatus.-HucO van WADENOYEN.
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