I am a big fan of the ARRI 35 BL series of cameras. The movies I shot for Lucky Brown I shot with an ARRI 35 BL 4S as the first unit camera. At the time, it was very affordable, and it had all of the features I was looking for. When I took in the equipment from Lucky’s estate last year, this ARRI 35 BL 2 was one of my top priorities to clean up as I know it was one of his prized possessions. Because of the way it was stored, and the amount of time it sat unused, this camera needed a lot of help to bring it back to life. First order of business was to remove and clean off all the tape goo that had been left on the camera for who knows how long. Once I got everything clean, I did a quick service on the movement, cleaned the viewfinder and the magazines, and checked the flange focal depth. Once this preliminary work was completed, I powered up the camera, and it ran like a champ! It needs a little more tender loving care to get it ready for a new life, but it’s about 85% of the way there. The camera comes with one 400’ magazine, one 1000’ magazine, matte box, optical flat, and a balance plate. It has the port for a video tap, but I don’t have one to install right now. The camera is available currently and will be up on the website soon.
