Equipment/Film used by FSA/OWI Photographers

SodaAnt

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• Jul 4, 2023

• #1

I’ve been looking at photos made by Farm Security Administration and Office of War Information photographers in the 1930s and 1940s on the Library of Congress site and on Shorpy.com.

Anyone know what 35mm cameras and film these photographers used? The captions on most of these photos are sparse with technical information, and often just say something like “35mm nitrate negative”.

 

MarkS

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• Jul 4, 2023

• #2

There were few 35mm camera models in those days. Leica, Contax, and Kodak Retina were the pioneers of the format. And the FSA/OWI photographers, being professionals, would likely have chosen the best gear available. Of course they all used larger format cameras as well, up to 8x10.

 

Don_ih

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• Jul 4, 2023

• #3

It might be possible for you to find out what the individual photographers used if you look them up separately.

 

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SodaAnt

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• Jul 4, 2023

• #4

What brands of 35mm film still used a nitrate base in the 1940s?

 

Alex Benjamin

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• Jul 4, 2023

• #5

As others said, just about every camera available.

Dorothea Lange used 4x5, first the Graflex D, later the Graflex Press, Walker Evans used a 4x5 camera but also a Leica, Gordon Parks used both a Contax rangefinder as well as a 6x6 TLR, but not sure when he used which.

As for film, there weren't that many available back then. Kodak's Verichrome and Panatomic X both date from the early 30s, so it's a good guess.

You have a good list of discontinued films here:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_discontinued_photographic_films

 

Kino

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• Jul 4, 2023

• #6

SodaAnt said:

What brands of 35mm film still used a nitrate base in the 1940s?

Click to expand...

I would assume most major manufacturers did use nitrate, but am not sure.

 

MarkS

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• Jul 9, 2023

• #7

I think that after WWII safety (acetate) film became the standard type of still film, while cinema film remained nitrate base for a while. However I can't recall where I learned this, so don't use my statement as proof.
Certainly you could ask someone at the George Eastman Museum.