The component parts of a stand camera outfit may be enumerated shortly as follows:
1. Body of the Camera.—This should be of the best possible make, with metal-bound corners, and fitted with a metal turn-table. All the metal parts should be of aluminium, for the sake of lightness. It should have the usual rising front and swing-back, and an adjustable focussing glass for horizontal or vertical pictures. The body must, of course, fold up, and it is most important that all the adjustments should be as simple as possible, so as not to waste valuable time in a climbing day.
2. The Lens.—This, as I have already remarked, is the most vital feature of a camera. For stand camera work I would urge the adoption of a set of three or four interchangeable lenses, as this gives the photographer a wide range of focal angles to choose from, and practically enables him to include in his pictures just as much as he desires. For a half-plate camera, two 14-inch, one 11½-inch and one 9-inch lens make a good set, giving a series of focal lengths ranging from 5¾ inches to 14 inches. For a quarter-plate camera, two 11½-inch, one 9-inch and one 7¼-inch lens will give a range of focal lengths from 4⅛ inches to 11½ inches. The lens mount is fitted with an iris diaphragm and a detachable ring marked with the apertures suitable for each lens combination. A yellow screen, of such a shade as to increase the exposure by three times, is useful where there are trees or grass in the foreground, and serves also to soften the shadows. Its use ensures clouds not being lost in development through over-exposure, although it cannot be claimed that successful results may not be obtained without it. It is also of distinct advantage in a hazy atmosphere. A Thornton Pickard shutter will be found useful, but for time exposures the lens cap is really all that is necessary.
3. Three ordinary double-back slides are usually taken; but they may be replaced by a changing box—a more convenient and compact way of carrying the plates. Most of the changing boxes on the market are made with a folding leather bag at one end, and the changing of the plates from front to back is effected by hand; but the writer has always used a changing box in which an inner shell pulls out like a drawer, taking with it, by means of a clip, the exposed plate in its sheath. As soon as the inner shell is drawn out to its full length the sheath drops to the bottom of the shell. This is then pushed back again, and the used plate slides in at the back of the unexposed plates, which have meanwhile been pushed up by a spring. The metal sheaths are numbered on the back. The photographer can see which number has been taken by turning over the box when he has partly pushed back the inner shell after the exposed plate has dropped to the bottom. He will then see the number through a red glass-covered opening. As this appears to be the only box of the kind which is made, it may be advisable to state that it is known as the ‘Grundmann’ changing box. Some enterprising British firm should be induced to bring out something similar. The movements are so simple that it can hardly fail to work properly.
Six plates are generally sufficient for one day’s work, and a changing box made for that number will not weigh more than three dark slides with the same number of plates. If desired, the six plates can be replaced by twelve cut films in suitable thin sheaths.
4. The Tripod.—The ordinary camera legs on the market are, even when folded, inconveniently long for mountain work, and for rock climbing may prove a real source of danger. For comfort, legs when folded should not measure more than 12 inches at the utmost. It is best to have a set specially made, and I know of nothing better than a set made in the following manner. The bottom section of each leg is a solid square-sided aluminium bar with a very sharp point. This slides into a square wooden frame. Over the frame the two next sections are folded; the top one folds inside the second, so as to unfold in the same direction. Made in this way, the tops need only to be pressed together in order to fit them, with a slight spring, on to the pegs of the turn-table. A cross strut makes the fit tight and immovable. The total length of the legs opened out is about 42 inches, which is quite as long as is necessary for mountain work. A set of legs made in this way stands perfectly rigid; it will also go easily into the side pocket of the rucksack, or it can be carried on the top of the sack without the slightest inconvenience to the climber.
5. The outfit is completed by a focussing cloth, with a running tape along one side, which prevents the cloth from blowing about in the wind.
As regards the comparative merits of glass plates and films, the latter have the one great advantage of lightness, but they are notoriously uncertain and much more difficult to control in development. The most satisfactory results are obtained with slow plates, of which six are enough for any ordinary expedition.
It is not a bad plan to take in addition an adapter with a film-pack, for snapshots of climbing incidents.
The best size of camera to take is a debatable point. Half plate is the largest which can be carried with convenience; and for the best results there is no question whatever that the larger size is the better to work with. A half-plate camera, as described, can be carried on most ascents of average difficulty; with the possible exception, perhaps, of strenuous rock climbs, such as the Dru or the Grépon, where anything but a hand camera is liable to be a distinct incumbrance.