The Vinten viewfinder system is a fascinating mix of old and new. It makes use of 2 prisms, one at the movement and one in the door. The prism in the door rotates in and out of the viewfinding position to send the light bundle to the eyepiece. There is a relay optic between the […]
Vinten Model H Viewfinding System Read More »
Last week we had some interesting questions about how the rackover viewing system worked on the Vinten Model H camera. We weren’t sure our explanation was clear enough, so we thought we would show a few pictures that better demonstrate how this fascinating internal rackover system works. The 1st image illustrates the basic layout of
Vinten Model H Rackover System Read More »
Just after moving to our new location, we acquired this Vinten Model H camera, sn. 14. I have been waiting to work on this for many months, and I finally had the chance to start on it this week. Space limitations necessitate breaking this restoration adventure into several parts and limit the number of pictures
Vinten Model H 35mm motion picture camera Read More »
While hard at work on the new website, we have been assembling brief histories of camera manufacturers whose equipment we own. There are several major players in the movie equipment world whose histories are difficult to research. Among those, I was shocked to find that there was no information about Fries Engineering, a major innovator
An Interview with Doug Fries Read More »
Recently I had a chance, through my dear friend Ted Rae, to represent 2 cameras that were part of Jim Danforth’s studio. For those who may not know of Jim and his work, Jim is a modern day renaissance man. He is an accomplished matte painter, fine art artist, illustrator, model maker, sculptor, puppet maker,
Camera from the Collection of Jim Danforth Read More »
While I don’t usually work on outside projects or projectors, I met a very charming man named Harvey Dunn who brought me a Pathe 28mm hand-cranked projector that he wanted restored. This projector is a part of Harvey’s wonderful collection of hand-cranked cameras and projectors. When he brought it to me, the projector was missing
Pathe 28mm Projector Read More »
As an update to BNCR #224’s restoration, here is where it currently stands: I was able to get the camera itself back into working order and reinstalled in the blimp. Since nothing here gets thrown away, I pulled parts from old stock and pieced together a front lens housing and matte box. The lens housing
An Update About BNCR sn. 224 Read More »
While I was servicing the movement of BNCR #224, I thought it would be interesting to show you the oiling procedure that I prefer to use. It is much easier to show the oil points with the movement out of the camera, though generally you would oil the movement while it is in the camera,
Servicing the movement from Mitchell BNCR sn. 224 Read More »
This week we began bringing Mitchell BNC 224 back to life. This camera got put on the shelf when we moved and is now being brought out of hiding. When we acquired it, the camera had not been well maintained and was missing many parts. Years of neglect took their toll on this camera, so
Mitchell BNCR sn. 224 Read More »
The Fox Film Corporation made just 4 feature films in the Grandeur process. Raoul Walsh’s “The Big Trail” was the final film, and the only one to use the Grandeur format to its full potential. Arthur Edeson’s masterful cinematography took full advantage of the 70mm film format to fill the frame with grand vistas and
Raoul Walsh’s “The Big Trail” Read More »
