It was a rare privilege to explore and repair this 20th Century-Fox Cine Simplex 35mm production camera. The engineering of this camera is extraordinary and it is disappointing that it never became as ubiquitous as the Mitchell BNC. The level of thought that went into all aspects of the design and function of this camera is simply remarkable, particularly how quiet and smooth it runs without a blimp. Every aspect of the Cine Simplex camera system was thoughtfully designed by the 20th Century-Fox team, from the custom ball bearing focusing mechanism on the lenses, to the unique parallax correcting prisms in the sidefinder, the automatic slater, and the one-of-a-kind hydraulically dampened pan tilt head, all of these elements came together to make one of the most unique and forward-thinking motion picture production tools to come out of Hollywood. I have enjoyed working on this camera, playing with it, and living with it in my shop, but the time has sadly come for it to find a new home with a museum or an avid collector. Take a look back at my journey restoring this fascinating camera: https://bit.ly/3G8kMba
