2024

Three polaroids showing a Mitchell VistaVision Butterfly camera, an ARRI BL2 camera, and an ARRI BL 4S camera that are now available for sale at cinemagear.com

Camera Housekeeping

I played a lot of catch-up this week, getting several cameras finalized and ready to be listed on our website. Work is now complete on the VistaVision Butterfly camera, as well as the ARRI BL2, and the ARRI BL 4S is currently on the workbench undergoing a final inspection. All 3 cameras are now available

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VistaVision Butterfly camera with 400’ magazine, Cinema Products swing away matte box, and video tap.

VistaVision Butterfly

After countless interruptions, numerous wrinkle paint failures, much choking on magnesium dust, and stripping and re-foaming all of the original cases, the VistaVision Butterfly camera and all of its accessories is finally ready to find a new home! This updated Mitchell VistaVision “light-weight hand-held” production camera features a Nikon lens mount; a crystal motor with

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A four-panel grid showing the PL lens mount disassembled (top left); machining the lens locking ring (top right); testing the fit of the machined lens mount (bottom left); modifications to the Fries Mitchell PL lens mount complete (bottom right)

Even More Too Many Projects

Last week we had a sneak peak at the Moviecam SuperAmerica and the two Showscan CP65 cameras as a couple of the many ongoing projects on my plate right now. On my list of tasks this week were: sourcing and ordering new batteries for the SuperAmerica camera and magazine digital counters; begin planning the baseplates

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Arriflex 35 BL 4S 35mm motion picture film camera with 1000' magazine, video tap two-stage swing away matte box, extension eyepiece, drop-in follow focus, pistol grip, and variable speed control

Arriflex 35 BL 4S

I am glad that so many of you feel as warm and fuzzy toward the Arri 35 BL series of cameras as I do. As I dug deeper into the many, many cases that came from Lucky Brown’s collection, I discovered that the BL2 also has the extension viewfinder, three Cooke Speed Panchro lenses, lens

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