Patents and Prowess - Text 3
Three parts of the camera were notably different from its contemporaries and deserve special attention: the shutter, the viewfinder and the tripod.
The shutter inside the camera turned with an opening of 230°, 50° more than the standard 180°, making it possible to admit 30 % more light into the chamber.[5] This feature enabled Akeley to film adequately exposed images in the wild, but it also facilitated the work of Hollywood camera operators shooting on cloudy days, and saved money in the case of studio productions, in which lighting was a principal expense.[6] The shutter system gave the camera its unique round shape and made it easily recognisable, with a cylinder measuring 7 in deep and 15 in in diameter, weighing about 22 lb – or 41 with the tripod head.[7] This relatively small format improved the camera’s portability in difficult conditions, but also facilitated camera movements. The camera was driven by a hand crank.
The viewfinder was another one of Akeley’s innovations, dating from 1919. According to its inventor, this viewfinder was more stable than others, especially when the camera was being moved vertically. This facilitated the work of the camera operator, whose eye was placed on the viewfinder. The viewfinder’s main feature, however, was its image, which appeared directly before the camera operator, unlike most moving picture cameras of the day, whose viewfinder gave a reverse image.[8] This made it possible to better follow a rapidly moving subject. Nevertheless, the invention also had a defect: it delayed the possibility of adding auxiliary viewfinders, which were all designed in the traditional manner, with a reverse image.[9]
