Nigel Balchin was a successful novelist during the later 1940s to 1960s. His most famous works include Kings of Infinite Space, Lord, I Was Afraid and The Small Back Room, which was filmed by Michael Powell. Several of his books were adapted for films including Mine Own Executioner (1947) and Balchin himself also wrote a number of screenplays and adaptations for Hollywood. This camera was used by him in Britain and when working in Hollywood.