Sears TOWER 35 mm Type III Installation and operation manual

HOW TO USE AND TAKE
CARE OF YOUR NEW • •• • •••
TOWER CAMERAS ARE SOLD ONLY BY SEARS , ROEBUCK AND CO .

INTRODUCTION
Your TOWER 35 mm Type III Camera is a precision
instrument. Sears laboratory technicians and buyers have
worked with the manufacturers on this camera for more
than a year and a
half before offering it to you. It is a
camera that'will last a lifetime,
if treated properly
This booklet gives detailed,
but simple instructions on its
use and proper care. READ BOOKLET CAREFULLY,
and keep it handy for reference.
2

We have written this manual in more detail and more technically than
is necessary for the ordinary amateur photographe;-. How ever, after th e
amateur h
as progressed a little in photography, his curiosity will lead
him into more advanced stag es and the following detailed information
is an attempt on our part to anticipate a few of his questions. On the
page to the rig
ht , we ha ve canden ed the steps to be taken when ad-
justing
ca mera for picture taking. Thi s is all the beginner nee ds to know
Even
th e advanced amateur m ay fi nd it well to memorize these steps
, 1l1d review them occasionally
NOTE . The keyed illustration (A) above is frequently referred to throughout
the following pages. For that reason, the manual
is bound so that you may
leave this page open for handy reference.
3

1 Remove lens cap from lens a
simple step which is often overlooked .
3. Set lens diaphragm to aperture in-
dicated by exposure ' meter or tab!e .
S. Compose
the subject in viewfinder
Do it carefully. Good composition is
important.
7 Set shutter s pe ed dial according to
exposu re meter readings or exposure
table recommendation s.
2. If lens is collapsible type, pull out
and lock it in position. Make sure it is
firmly locked.
4 . Focus lens with rangefinder . Bot
images should be superimposed so tho
a single
image is seen .
6. Turn winding knob in dire ction of
arrow
as far as it will go .
8. Press shutter relea se button to ex-
pose film . Press button with finger onl
not the entire ll rm .
4

TABLE OF CONTENTS
7 Changing
lens
8. Viewfinder
9. Explanation of Aperture Adjustment
10.
Explanation of Aperture Scale
11
Aperture Diaphragm Adjustment
12.
Distance Scale on Focusing Ring
13 . Depth of Field Scale
14 .
loading the Camera
15.
Unloading the Camera
16. Release Button for Shutter
TOWER Camera Carrying Case
TOWER lens Shade and Filter Holder
Additional Accessories
Repair Service
Owner's
Guarantee
5
page
page
page
page
page
page
page
page
page
page
page 35
page 36
page 36
page 36
page 37

WI NDING KN OB
SPECIAL NOTE
This 35 mm. camera is the
first camera in the TOWER
line to have shutter speeds
that must
be set AFTER
the shutter has been
com-
pletely wound. As you
wind the shutter, the film
is automatically advanced
(Illust.
B) There is a top,
or main shutter speed dial,
that shows shutter speeds or exposure figures from 1/
20 to 1/ 500 of
a second. The lower speed dial (Illust. C) has speeds from 1/ 20 to
Time.
1. USE OF UPPER AND LOW£R SPEED DIALS
When using lower speed dial on front of camera, the upper speed dial
must
be placed on "RED 20-1" which is neutral position, AFTER
SHUTTER HAS BEEN COMPLETELY WOUND. When upper speed
dial
is on neutral position (Red 20-1) opposite arrow, then you c an
bring the lower speed dial into play Numbers on speed dials indicate
fractions
of a second. For example, 4 means Y4 of a second, 2 means
Yz second, etc. INTERMEDIATE SPEEDS CANNOT BE USED.
When setting the speed on Bulb (B) on upper dial (Illust. C) the
shutter remains open while the release button
is pressed down. When
the release button is released, the shutter springs shut.
When camera is operated with slow speed
dial set on Time
(T) , the shutter opens
when the release button
is pressed and re-
mains open. To close shutter, turn slow
speed dial back to position 1, and the
shutter will close immediately There's no
need to press the release button again
to
close shutter.
6

IMPORTANT:
To operate shutter on 1/20
of a second, it is necessary
to set both dials on
RE D 20
after you have wound shutter.
The upper main dial
is moved
to various positions after
shutter has been completely
wound
by merely lifting the
dial (Illust.
D) and turning
it
so number indicating the
desired speed
is opposite ar-
row on accessory shoe. (Illust. B.)
Be sure upper dial is lowered or
seated into proper position when operating on any shutter speed.
LOWER SPEED DIAL CAN BE TURNED AFTER SHUTTER HAS BEEN
COMP L ETELY WOU ND AN D UPPER SPEED DIAL HAS BEEN SET ON
RED 20 -1 (llLU ST E).
2. WINDING SHUTTER AND FILM-
To wind shutter and wind film, turn winding knob in direction indi-
cated
by arrow until it stops. By turning this knob until it reaches a
stop position, the film
is advanced for the next exposure, thus preventing
any possibility
of a double exposure. Knob serves dual purpose, as it
also winds shutter spring.
CAUTION:
Always wind shutter just
prior to taking picture.
Never leave camera in a
wound position, this may
weaken shutter spring, or
you might accidentally
press release button and
ex-
pose film.

3. EXPOSURE
COUNTER
MECHANISM-
The numbered disc just
beneath the winding knob
(Illust.
F) is the exposure
counter which automati-
ca lly records number of
exposures.
Th e co unter
should be set at
"0" after
ca mera h as b ee n loaded
with new
fi lm and the
shutter fully wound. This
disc
is turned in a clockwise direction by two raised lugs. If di sc is
accidentally pushed beyond '0", continue to push it on around a
second time until "
0" lin es up with small arrow Do not attempt to
turn this di
sc in a co unter-clo ck wis e dir ec tion.
EXAMPLE
After film has b ee n loaded into ca mera (See pages 18- 20), the winding
knob should be turned once around in dir
ec tion of arrow until it stop s.
Shutter release button should then be pressed to release s hutt e r. On ce
more, gi ve the winding knob one full turn to the stopped position. This
winds sufficient film off the full cartridge and on to the take-up spool
so that the portion
of film accidentally expo se d to li g ht during the
loading process will not be re-exposed
as an attempted picture. Thus , it
will prevent fogged pictures at the beginning
of fi lm. Th e numbered
disc should then be set so the
"0" on disc is opposite small arrow
(Illust.
F) Shutter release button should again be pressed, and the next
time the winding knob is turned into position it will automatically
advance film and bring disc
to a stop on number one on co unting disc.
This indicates you are ready
to take your fi rst picture.
8

4. COUPLED RANGEFINDER
Your TOWER 35 mm camera has a coupled
rangefinder
It is coupled with a helical type
focusing mount on the lens barrel.
When the
lens barrel
is turned by depressing knob on
focusing lever (Illust.
A) and shifting lever in
either direction, barrel automatica
ll y turns on a
threaded track and moves forward
or backward.
Accordingl
y, the rangefinder is automatically put
into operation.
The rangefinder on the TOWER 35 mm camera is
the superimposed image type and absolute focus is obtained when 2
images are superimposed upon each other and become fused into a
single image (Illust.
G-b) The double image effect is produced by
means of micrometer movement of the fine mechanism indicated in
Illust. GG.
The small arm in th is instance is set against the inner base
of the lens barrel. As the lens barrel is rotated and thereby moved
backward or forward, the leveling devices adjust the mirror
to such a
precision degree that when the 2 images are fused, the lens
is in per-
fect focus.
Note especially that all longer focal length lenses are inter-
changeable with
TOWER, Nicca, and most Leica cameras which have
coupled built-in rangefinders.
The rangefinder eye-piece is constructed with a miniature telescope hav-
ing a magnification of approximately 1 Yz times. This increases the accu-
racy and ease
of focusing your TOWER 35 111m camera. The viewing
9
Lens
out
of focus
a
Correct
focus
b

aperture of the eye-piece on the
rangefinder i adjusted
by turning
the small rotating "eyebrow rest"
(Illust. J) on eye -piece. This com-
pensates for s li ght difference in the
human
eye and facilitate the foru -
ing on near or di tant object to pro-
du ce the greatest possible harpness.
RANGEFINDER
5. PRACTICE IN USE OF RANGEFINDER-
VIEWFINDER
Place camera in position for picture taking (Illust. K) and sig ht through
the rangefinder
(left) eye-piece and, at the same time, cover the left
rangefinder window (Illust.
A) with the middle finger. In this case,
you will observe only a small circular field
of a pinkish cast in which
only what you are focusing on will be visible. Be sure that your
eye is
actually centered behind rangefinder eye-pi ece so that you can get a
complete circular field
of the image. This position being assumed, you
may now adjust the lens focusing lever to obtain the greatest possible
sharpness. Keep object in
ce nter of fi eld, then remove your finger from
left window
of rangefinder. You will then see a double image of the
object in a much larger circular field (Illust. G-a)
Now turn focusing
lever until the two images are fused
into one (Illust. G-b) At this point
your le
ns is in correct focus. Practi ce
this exercise until it becomes auto-
matic and there is no need of placing
finger over the left rangefinder win-
dow CAUTION! Do not conftlse
rangefmder
window ( left) with reg-
IdaI' viewfinder window (right) (I!-
ltlst. 1)
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