In 1920, Bell & Howell introduced the Cinemotor, a revolutionary electric motor drive for their model 2709 motion picture camera. Research suggests that Bell & Howell was the first to introduce an electric camera motor that incorporated a centrifugal governor and a rheostat in order to achieve constant speeds at variable frame rates. For its […]
Bell & Howell Cinemotor Read More »
Today I wanted to share a very interesting restoration project I completed shortly before we moved. This is a Technicolor camera, serial #7, and is from the 2-strip era of the Technicolor process. Briefly, the 2-strip process shoots 2 simultaneous images, 1 above the other, on a single strip of black and white film, through
Restoring Technicolor no. 7 Read More »
We had so many interesting comments on last week’s trip down memory lane, I thought I would show another interesting solution to a problem we ran into while shooting space ships. Budget always being a problem, I had to devise a way to get close enough to the miniatures to give the illusion of the
Mitchell Underslung Magazine Adapter Read More »
Taylor, Taylor, and Hobson, makers of the famed Cooke lenses, was founded in 1886 in Leicester, England by brothers William and Thomas Taylor. The company originally produced optical instruments and did not begin making photographic lenses until 1894. Dennis Taylor (no relation to the Taylor brothers), optical manager of the York-based astronomical telescope maker T.
Taylor, Taylor and Hobson Cooke Speed Panchro Lenses Read More »
Now that we are finally settled in our new home, we seem to have an extraordinary amount of time on our hands as a result of the current health crisis. We have been using this time to go through the many boxes of lenses that we have brought into inventory and not yet had time
Collection of Bausch & Lomb Baltar Lenses Read More »
About three years ago, I bought the contents of a storage unit, mostly to acquire a Stein two strip color camera and some vintage lenses. Included in this purchase were what I thought were three 1920’s vintage pan tilt heads. None of them had wooden legs on them at the time of purchase. Among those
Motion Picture Apparatus Co. Precision Ball Bearing Tripod Top Read More »
I have seen and used a number of Mitchell chronograph cameras over the years without really knowing much about them. A few months back I shared an interesting camera I had recently acquired that featured a shutter mounted on the main shaft of the camera movement. Not knowing exactly what this was used for, Erin
Mitchell Type A and Type B Chronograph Cameras Read More »
As we continue to find treasures that have been buried in our inventory for decades, we came across these two very interesting and unusual Zeiss Tessar lenses. The Zeiss Tessar was designed by Paul Randolph in 1902 for the Carl Zeiss company. The Tessar was innovative in its design that included four elements in three
Zeiss Tessar Lenses in Parvo mount Read More »
Over the years, I have collected numerous Unit I shuttle camera and projector movements. I used these movements to build animation cameras, optical printers, and rotoscope stands. The first camera I remember using that featured a Unit I shuttle was a Bell & Howell 2709. Developed by Albert S. Howell and patented in 1912, the
Unit “I” Shuttle Movements Read More »
One of the many vintage lenses that are currently in the process of being restored is this remarkable Goerz Hypar 3in f 3.5 lens in Bell & Howell 2709 mount. The lens was found to be in clean used condition, with no fungus, cleaning marks, or scratches on the elements. A general cleaning, lubrication, and
Goerz Hypar 3in f 3.5 lens in Bell & Howell 2709 mount Read More »
