55 Years Ago - November 1961

[marc_bergman1]

<p>Welcome to November 1961. The main article this month is 35mm camera lens depth-of-field tables. These extend from 21mm to 1000mm. An IBM 7090 electronic computer was used to make the computations. I wonder how this computer's powers would compare to the average cell phone?<br>

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[marc_bergman1]

<p>Here is a chart showing which color filters to use with various color films.</p>

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[marc_bergman1]

<p>Here is an article showing how to make best use out of the AG-1 flashbulbs.</p>

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[marc_bergman1]

<p>Did you ever want to make your own Polaroid Land Camera? Here's how.</p>

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[marc_bergman1]

<p>Keppler takes us Behind the Scenes.</p>

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[marc_bergman1]

<p>Here is this month's Too Hot to Handle column.</p>

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[marc_bergman1]

<p>Here are this month's Modern Tests.</p>

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[marc_bergman1]

<p>Here are this month's camera equipment ads.</p>

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[marc_bergman1]

<p>Here are this month's dealer ads.</p>

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[JDMvW]

<p>Your hard work is appreciated, believe me.</p>

[john_shriver]

<p>An IBM 7090 had performance of 100 kilo-flops/second, says Wikipedia. That's easily 10,000 times slower than a smartphone. <br>

It was made of discrete germanium transistors. It replaced the IBM 709, which used vacuum tubes.<br>

A typical 7090 configuration could be rented for $63,500 a month, or you could buy it outright for $2,900,000. (Most customers rented.)</p>

[Lou_Meluso]

<p>Ah..the Strobonar Flash...so '60's.</p>

[User_1172872]

<p>Multiply 8x to adjust for inflation. </p>

[Dan Deary]

<p>I still have the huge 755 Balomatic slide projector somewhere in my basement. Used it maybe 5 times and it worked OK. Several writers had disdain for that machine however. I don't use slide projectors unless I get nostalgic and look at old slides. I must have 4 or 5 projectors now.</p>

[rick_drawbridge]

<p>It's amazing what one finds in the dealer ads; I came across a reference to a 58mm Taika Harigon f/1.2 lens, something I'd not encountered previously. My curiosity aroused, I went looking for information and now know quite a lot about the Harigon, a lens made for a very limited time and only in the Exakta mount. Now, of course, I <em>want</em> one...Thank you very much, <strong>Marc</strong>...</p>

[Julio Fernandez]

<p>DOF must have been important to devote such a portion of the issue. The formulae are the most useful part of the article, today. </p>

<p>1961 was a special year, with a lot of changes shaping up to come in force. Many old friends in the reviews and ads. Thanks for posting these!</p>