Amateur Photographer - UK (2020-03-28)

subscribe 0330 333 1113I http://www.amateurphotographer.co.ukI 28 March 2020 53

TonyKemplenontheÉ

TonyKemplen’sloveof photographybeganasa teenagerandeversincehehasbeencollectingcameraswitha viewto testingasmanyashecan.You
canfollowhisprogressonhis 52 Camerasblogat52cameras.blogspot.co.uk. MorephotosfromtheSecretSamcamera:www.flickr.com/tony_
kemplen/sets/72157712739978267A full report of my 2020 espionage mission can be found here: http://www.fl ickr.com/tony_kemplen/49459810798

‘Secret Sam’

Spy Camera

Tech Talk

The‘SecretSam’spycamera–
perfect for a trainee secret agent

‘Thecameracouldbe

triggeredwhilethe

casewasclosed’

H

avingspenta decade
workingmyway
throughmycamera
collectionat a steady
anduninterruptedrateof oneper
week,thisyearI’mrelaxingthe
pace,andrevisitingallthecameras
thatI usedfortakingphotographs,
asopposedto collectingand
displaying.I’mplanningto doit in
chronologicalorder,usinga
differentoneeachmonth.
ThefirstcamerathatI ever
ownedwaspartof the‘Secret
Sam’spyoutfit, madebyTopper
Toysin the1960s.Theoutfit
consistedof anattachécasewith
allthethingsa modernspy
needed,includinga machinegun,
a cameraanda periscope.Both
thegunandthecameracouldbe
firedwhilethecasewasclosed,
makingit idealforcovert
operations.Thecamerais an
ultra-simple 127 formatbox
camera,taking 16 exposuresona
roll;theonlythingthatmarksit out
fromsimilarrun-of-the-millplastic
camerasis thatit hasanextralong
shutterreleaselever,whichpasses
througha holein thecase,allowing
it to betriggereddiscreetly.The
restof theoutfit haslongsince
disappeared,butthecamera
survives, and still works.

I havelittlememoryof usingit,

butrememberbeingdisappointed

bythepoor-qualitypictures.I

knewnothingaboutexposure,and

clearlywithhindsightit wasfutile

tohaveattemptedtotakephotos

indoors– thissimplelittlecamera

needsgooddaylight.Asif this

wasn’tenough,I tookit ona cub

scoutcampingweekend,where

oneof theactivitieswas

developingourownfilmsand

makingcontactprints.

Theadultin chargemisreadthe

volumechartforthedeveloping

tank,andonlymadeupenough

developerfora 35mmfilm,

whereas 127 filmis 46mm

wide.Theresultwasthat

arounda quarterof the

widthof thefilmwent

unprocessed.Although

I canstillrememberthis

incident,it obviously

wasn’tenoughtoputmeoff

photographyasa hobby.

Asyouwouldexpectfrom

whatis essentiallya toy,the

camerais verysimple.Thereis a

single shutter speed, no focusing,

andjusta crudefoldupframe

viewfinder,whichis reallymoreof

a centringdevice,aswhatyousee

throughit is considerablynarrower

thattheactualfieldof view.Of

courseif youusedit whileit wasin

thecase,there’snoviewfinderat

all.Frombeingoneofthemost

popularformatsin theearlyto

mid20thcentury, 127 filmis now

verymucha nicheproduct,

thoughyoucanstillgetit from

specialistdealersataround

£12perroll.

Mindfulof mydisappointments

50 yearsearlier,I madesurethat

I usedthecamerain fullsunshine,

andevensetmyselfa little

espionagemission.There’sno

roomforthefullstoryhere,but

thephotoaboveshowsthe

mysteriouswreckageof anaircraft

nearWakefieldin WestYorkshire.I

couldsaymore,butthenI’dhave

to have you all silenced...

Tonyrevisitsallthecamerashe’sused,starting

with his fi rst – made by Topper Toys in the 1960s

A sleuth’s eye view. Tony took this aircraft wreckage shot with his spy camera

© TONY KEMPLEN

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