- 19 
CAMERAS 
CAMERAS ARE ONLY IMPORTANT TO THIS ADDRESS IN THE CONTEXT OF 
THEIR SUITABILITY TO THE CREATION OF THE VARIOUS FORMATS 
EXPLAINED. THEY INCLUDE:- 
A Rotary or "flow" microfilm camera is either hand fed, one 
document at a time, or receives the documents continuously 
from an automated device. In both cases documents and film 
move in a synchronised manner and the end product is a roll 
film in either its traditional form or in a magazine housing. 
some rotary cameras offer the possibility for copying both 
sides of a document during the one sortie through the rotary 
system. 
A Planetary camera which demands that both the film and the 
copy remain stationary during the filming and in this manner 
the system is likened to the majority of traditional photographic 
processes. With ancillary equipment it allows the copying of 
pages directly from a book or folder. By this system it is 
possible to vary the reduction ratio of different documents to 
ensure a common or standard size of microfilm negative. 
A Step and Repeat camera can create the Microfiche type format 
by a predetermined manner and scale of filming. In this system 
the sheet film is moved automatically in the picture plane in a 
manner which allows each separate image to be registered in 
columns and rows. The copying of books can be accommodated with 
special equipment. 
Computer Output Microfilm (C.O0.M.) 
  
This will be the topic of a later paper at this Symposium and 
it will not be discussed here in depth. It may be described as 
microfilm containing data produced from computer generated 
electrical signals through a recorder. The 'recorder' responsible 
for this translation can be connected directly to a computer for 
on line translation or operated "off line". 
COM recording formats are produced in 105mm and for the most part 
are cut into microfiche size (105mm x 148mm) other formats may 
be 35mm and lémm. .A microfiche at 48 x reduction contains the 
information to be found in 270 computer printouts each 280mm x 
256mm (11" x l4"). 
A modern Microfilm Bureau will contain camera facilities suited 
to the needs of all microforms and most Bureaux, either by staff 
so employed, or by specialist consultant services, are able to 
design and inform about the most suitable group of microforms to 
service a particular need. 
Within the Western Australian Government some 265 micrographic 
Systems are being maintained. 
The design of all of these systems began with a careful 
examination of the existing methods, the likely advancement of 
the methods by other technology and finally a system involving:- 
FILMING - STORAGE -  RETRIEVAL -  VIEWING - COPYING 
Glendinning 5