As I go through inventory, bringing things back to life one by one, I rediscovered this amazing Arriflex II C that is part of the Denny Clairmont legacy. This camera is out of Denny’s first foray into cinema equipment rentals, and shows Denny’s dedication to improving everything he made available to his clients. As I worked on the camera, I thought it would be interesting for those who have never seen the inner workings of an Arri II C, to give a brief overview of the ingenious engineering that makes this camera tick.
At the heart of the Arri 35 II series is a combination of an internal heart-shaped cam track and a more standard heart-shaped cam. These two parts work together to operate the pull-down cycle. The 4th and 5th images give a glimpse at how the cams are configured. The rest of the camera is a series of gear drives that keep the spinning mirror shutter in time with the pull-down cycle. Images 2 and 3 show all of the internal parts of the camera as I disassembled it for cleaning. The Clairmont touch can be seen in the bigger, brighter Mitchell-style viewfinder with critical focus. This camera is paired with a Cinema Products flatbase, but can also be used in its original pistol grip configuration.
