One of my favorite cameras has been the Mitchell Standard or GC. These cameras populated almost every visual effects show that I worked on because of their quality engineering and rock steady registration. When my friend Doug Fries introduced his reflex conversions of the Standard and GC, it really revolutionized the way we worked. His conversions added true through-the-lens viewfinding, which streamlined the photography process by upgrading the now-outdated rackover system, modernizing the work flow, and simplifying life for the camera operator. In the world of visual effects, we thought we had come a long way when we added video taps to the viewfinding system on the Mitchell camera, but you still had to rackover between video and film to shoot. The Fries conversions allowed for a continuous video tap image and continuous through-the-lens viewfinding, a major breakthrough for VFX production, and why the Fries conversions became a standard of the trade for many years.
These three lovely examples of the Fries Mitchell 35R all feature the much-desired Nikon lens mount. Nikon lenses were very high quality, very reasonably priced, and offered in a large range of focal lengths and features. The 35R model maintains all of the highly sought after features of the original Mitchell GC/Standard, including dual pin registration with four pin pull-down claw for absolute steadiness, the original Mitchell 170 degree variable shutter and manual shutter control, and the original mechanical footage/frame counter. These cameras are the perfect choice for any motion picture film project that doesn’t require sound, such as registered plate photography, stop motion, high speed, motion control, animation, second unit, and MOS production. These full-featured cameras are available now and are an affordable entry point into 35mm motion picture production.
