The motion picture industry was in a period of transition in the late 1920s. Sound films were set to remake the previously silent industry, changing everything about how movies were made and exhibited. As the popularity of movies rose, bigger theaters were built to accommodate the ever increasing audiences. The Roxy Theater in New York, […]
Mitchell FC 70mm Grandeur camera, sn. 8 Read More »
As the sound era became a reality, William Fox recognized the need for better quality images in his movies. His Fox Case Corp. team, led by engineer Earl Sponable, developed the 70mm Grandeur photographic process to solve this problem. The Mitchell Camera Corporation was contracted to build a 70mm version of their successful Mitchell Standard,
Mitchell FC Fox Grandeur Camera sn. 8 Read More »
The Victor Cine Camera Model 3 is a 16mm spring-driven motion picture camera manufactured by the Victor Animatograph Corporation and introduced in 1927. The company was founded in Davenport, Iowa in 1910 by Swedish-born inventor and showman Alexander Victor. Victor’s career began in 1894 when he joined the show of traveling magician “The Great Stephanio”.
Victor Animatograph Co. Model 3 16mm Camera Read More »
From the sets of DeMille’s “The Ten Commandments” and Hitchcock’s “Vertigo”, we are delighted to present this complete Mitchell Vista Vision camera package. This “Elephant Ear” VistaVision camera, MVV-6, was masterfully restored by my friend Mark Mervis, who collected, restored, and documented this camera and all of these accessories to create this historical camera package.
Mitchell VistaVision Camera MVV6 Read More »
It’s alive! The FC friction head restoration is finally complete! Here, you can see the friction head supporting Mitchell FC camera sn.8. Mitchell friction heads have a surprising number of parts that all had to be reconditioned or remanufactured in order to make this unit complete again. The casting hides 10 steel friction plates, 14
The Mitchell FC Friction Head Is Complete! Read More »
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 »
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 »
Last week we shared with you a snippet of the sales card for Bell & Howell 2709 #58, a camera that we are currently researching. In further examining the sales cards from the same time period, we see the line item “Doz. Mag Spools” several times. The “D” at the beginning of “Doz.” strongly resembles
Continuing Our Research on Bell & Howell 2709 sn. 58 Read More »
The next Bell & Howell camera on our restoration schedule is this early model 2709, serial #58. In beginning our research into the camera’s history, we started with the sales card which shows us the purchaser and sales date. The handwriting on this particular card is a bit difficult to decipher, but we think that
Bell and Howell 2709 sn. 58 Read More »
