Subject: Re: First viewing of Zapruder film
Date: 22 Sep 1998 10:39:05 -0500
From: Jerry Organ <jojoan@ns.sympatico.ca>
Organization: Sympatico
Newsgroups: alt.assassination.jfk,alt.conspiracy.jfk

pjburke@my-dejanews.com wrote:

> All is not lost! Can you look into the front of the lens at the film
> gate and rotate the shutter to expose it? and/or do the same
> for the rear... Maybe slide a thin piece of translucent stock
> 16mm film wide into the film area, and look thru each direction?
> Really curious minds want to know!!!

Looking thru the lens (from the front) with the shutter opening and
closing at "Normal" one can see the outside (ie: the side of the film
cartridge against the access door) of the opening has a solid black edge
while the inside edge (ie: the side of the film cartridge that would have
been up against the camera body) does not have a solid black edge.

Looking inside, I can see the frame advance arm (that hooks into the
sprocket opening to advance and hold steady for a mirco-second the film)
going up and down, while behind it (ie: between the arm and the lens) and
the area where the film would have been exposed is a tiny flat window
whose shape is defined by a metal opening on the front of the cartridge
container. When a film cartridge is in place and the door closed, this is
the only way light can get into the camera.

To the outside of this opening is a rectangular opening that's presumably
the exact dimensions of a 8mm film frame. Now here's the kicker -- the
INSIDE edge of the rectangular opening EXTENDS further inward, upward and
downward in order to acommodate the frame advance arm.

That's why the areas between the sprocket holes ended up being exposured.
Of course when the film was turned around the unexposed half would then be
subjected to the same exposure area.

Sorry, I have no way to photograph this. A picture of it might have been
in the camera's manual but it was just the camera alone (not even in a
carrying bag) that I happened to come across that day.

____________________

Jerry Organ

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