My family and I went on a much-needed weekend road trip to two of the most spectacular places in California this week, Yosemite and King’s Canyon, just to take a little break. One of the projects I started before we left was the restoration of a Camera Equipment Company Gyro Head. I had never seen […]
A Road Trip and a Gyro Head Read More »
It is rare in the used equipment business to find cinema gear like this that is virtually unused. A few years ago we acquired a moving truck full of cameras and other amazing production tools. In amongst these treasures was this Mitchell Camera Company accessory case filled with Mitchell Standard accessories, including a complete matte
A Mitchell Accessory Case Read More »
Continuing on with last week’s project of seeing what motors I have, and which of them actually work, I took every motor in inventory out of its case, connected it to the appropriate power, and made sure it ran. This process ended up taking much longer than anticipated, as these things generally do, but I
Sorting Motors: Choosing Who Will Go and Who Can Stay Read More »
I’ve had a couple of questions recently about vintage motors for various cameras, and before I could answer them, I had to go through the giant pile of motors I’ve collected over the years. I had to see which ones actually work, which ones are repairable, and which ones are so damaged they just need
Reviewing Our Motor Inventory Read More »
I have been hard at work this week on restoring the Motion Picture Apparatus Company tripod, but in the meantime I wanted to share with you this quick project I completed while waiting for paint and parts to arrive. This Manfrotto 3066 tripod has been sitting in the shop for several years missing its quick
A New Quick Release for a Manfrotto Tripod Read More »
Now that the work on the Pathé camera is finished, I wanted to pair it with a period appropriate tripod and pan tilt head. I don’t remember where I rescued this tripod from, but I have been holding onto this antique Motion Picture Apparatus Company tripod and pan tilt head for a while, and this
Motion Picture Apparatus Company Tripod Read More »
While I am closed in this odd limbo time between holiday and new year, I wanted to share this final project that I finished in 2024. I have a client who is building himself a film scanner from various bits and pieces that I have sold him and that he has been making himself. A
Servicing a 16mm Acme Movement Read More »
I am taking a couple of days off this week, but before I do, I wanted to go through the accessories that come with the ARRI BL 4S camera I began repairing last week. The first thing I looked at was the follow focus unit, which would not … follow focus? What I discovered was
Repairing the ARRI BL 4S Follow Focus Read More »
As I promised last week, this week I wanted to share the other two Nagra tape recorders that are now available on our website. I have one classic Nagra III that is mostly in good, working condition. While I was inspecting this Nagra III, I discovered that the amplifier for the internal speaker is not
Nagra III and Nagra 4.2 Read More »
People have been asking me about the collection of Nagra portable analog audio tape recorders that I showed off in previous posts, and I have finally gotten time to look through them. In the collection are two Nagra IV-L, one Nagra III, and one Nagra 4.2. This week, I focused on the two IV-L units.
Nagra IV-L Analog Portable Reel to Reel Audio Tape Recorder Read More »
