INTRODUCTION
The AK-540 is a mechanical camera kit that you put together. It uses standard 35mm film, requires no focusing,
and has a built-in lens cover. It is manually operated and requires no batteries. It does not have flash and so
is best for outdoor use, but can be used indoors with proper lighting. Nothing is needed for assembly as it even
comes with its own screwdriver.
Recommended for ages 10 and up.
WARNING:
This kit contains small parts and should be kept out of the reach of small children.
THEORY OF OPERATION
Lenses:
When light, whether from the sun or from a light bulb,
shines on an object (or a person) some of the light is
absorbed into the object and some is scattered in all
directions (see Fig. 1).
If any of the scattered light
reaches your eyes then you can “see” the object, the
colors you see are the colors that were scattered. The
amount of light which reaches your eyes (the
“brightness”) depends on how strong the original light
source was and how much of that light was absorbed or
scattered by the object. You see white when something
scatters all of the light reaching it and absorbs none,
you see bright colors (like orange, yellow, pink, light
green, and light tan) when most of the light is scattered,
you see dark colors (like blue, purple, brown, dark red,
and dark green) when most of the light is absorbed, and
black when all the light is absorbed. At night, objects
with bright colors are easier to see than objects with
dark colors because they scatter more of what little light
is present. Light which is absorbed is changed into
heat; notice how sunlight warms you and how actors
and singers can get very warm under studio lights. Also
notice how you feel much cooler wearing a white shirt
on a hot sunny day than wearing a black shirt (because
white scatters the light while black absorbs it).
Just as some of the scattered light reaches your eyes, some also reaches your AK-540 camera. When you
press the button to open the shutter light passes through the lens to the film. When a beam of light passes
through the lens its angle is changed (it is “bent”) since light travels differently through the lens than through air,
in the same way as it does between water and air. (For example, try looking through a clear glass of water to
something on the other side. You won’t be able to see it clearly). The lens is used to concentrate (“focus”) light
onto a single point so that an image may be produced (the same thing happens inside your eyes). The focus
point is where you want to place the film for the best image. Unfortunately, the focus point depends on how far
away from the camera your subject is, as shown in Figure 2. Take something small (your finger or your camera)
and hold it about 4 inches from your eyes. Then try to look at it and at something on the other side of the room
at the SAME time so that neither is blurred. You can’t do it; your eyes can only focus on one or the other. The
same is true for all cameras - you cannot get clear pictures of close and distant objects at the same time.
Fortunately, since the lens and film must fit in a small camera and so will usually be less than an inch apart (the
focal length), the best focus point for anything more than a few feet from the camera doesn’t change much (see
Fig. 2c). This allows cameras to be designed using a fixed focus setting (around 10 feet usually) while still
producing good pictures (at any distance above 4 feet). These popular cameras are generally referred to as
-3-
Figure 1
Scattered Light
Sunlight
Rock