And so we come to the end of my project repairing the Fries Engineering Ultra 70 3×65 IMAX-format camera. This project was quite challenging. Coming up with retrofit parts that would preserve the function and integrity of the movement, but still be serviceable in the future, required a lot of careful thought and planning. Because […]
Fries Ultra 70 3×65 Camera – Back in Action! Read More »
Last week’s adventures ended in the machining of a successful replacement hub blank for the Fries Ultra 70 IMAX format camera. This week, I machined the required features onto the hub blank so the flywheel could be permanently mounted to the movement and timed correctly to the shutter drive. The process was straightforward, if a
Fries Engineering Ultra 70 – Hub Battle, Part Deux Read More »
This week I continued work on the Fries Ultra 70 IMAX format camera. It was mainly a week of head scratching, doodles, starting over, and eventually creating successful parts. As I mentioned last week, my plan is to machine a new flywheel hub that will attach to the movement using the remaining threads on the
Fries Engineering Ultra 70 – Honing in on a New Hub Read More »
Back in March 2021, I had a chance to evaluate the Fries Engineering version of the IMAX camera to diagnose why it had stopped working. The immediate problem was pretty straight forward: There is a flywheel that is part of the movement, but that also acts as a coupler between the movement and the shutter
Fries Engineering Ultra 70 Read More »
While I love all of the new stuff that has come in recently, I am quickly being overrun by boxes and loose equipment. It became necessary to re-do the showroom and make more shelf space. A good friend of mine built me this wonderful display rack, and I have spent the week mounting the shelving
A Little Redecorating Read More »
A few weeks ago, an up-and-coming cinematographer wrote to me and asked if I had any 16mm animation cameras. He was planning to shoot a table top animation short subject. As I don’t currently have any 16mm Acme or Oxberry cameras, the next camera that came to mind was this lovely 16mm Mitchell Pro. The
A New Life for a Mitchell 16 Pro Read More »
With all good intentions, today I was going to show you Mitchell BNC #357 running to demonstrate how nice and quiet it is. However, the motor that came with the camera is a TechniCraft synchronous motor, and it did not come with the power cable. The only thing I could find about this motor was
Motor Struggles: Mitchell BNC #357 Read More »
A friend and fellow collector called me and asked about the Mitchell BNC rackover camera that I just acquired (serial #357). So this is the first of the collection I decided to take a look at. Surprisingly, this camera is in remarkably good condition. The camera turns over smoothly, there is little or no rust
Restoring Mitchell BNC Rackover #357 Read More »
This post comes a day later than our habit as we have spent much of the last week lifting, carrying, opening, and sorting a treasure trove of Mitchell camera equipment and lenses. (My back does not forgive me for this!) After several days of negotiation, I acquired a storage unit filled with absolutely wonderful movie
A Mitchell Camera Haul! Read More »
Sadly, a former client passed away some time ago and his family asked if I would review his collection and rescue his movie-related gear. This was a wonderful life’s collection of audio, video, and motion picture film equipment. As my focus is only on motion picture film equipment, I dug out a Mitchell tripod, some
Rescue of a Garage Full of Stuff Read More »
