One of the finest examples of Panavision’s legendary engineering, the PSR was introduced ca. 1967 and met with immediate success across the movie making world. Based on the Mitchell NC and BNC cameras, the Panavision PSR was smaller, lighter, quieter, and easier to use than the Mitchell BNC or BNCR. Under the guidance of Robert […]
Panavision SPSR Super R200 sn. 160 Read More »
While I had the movement out of a Mitchell GC, I thought I would demonstrate the lubrication points on the movement for those who have never worked with one of these cameras. 1. Movement removed from camera 2. Working from top to bottom, 1st is the cam that operates the registration pins. A drop of
Lubricating a Mitchell GC Camera Movement Read More »
As we were going over the 3 Blanke cameras we showed last week, we found that the 2 GCs were missing their flywheels, and all of the cameras desperately needed to be serviced after sitting unused for so long. These cameras were previously used to shoot time lapse sequences, and it was common to remove
Mitchell GC sn. 903 Read More »
New arrivals! After many twists and turns with Fedex, we finally took delivery of equipment from the collection of Gunnar Blanke, a filmmaker from the Denver, CO area. Lots of neat stuff in this collection, including a Mitchell NC that was purchased by Lookout Mountain in 1959, two Mitchell GCs, an Akeley Gyro Head, a
An Estate Purchase Out of Colorado 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 »
Last week we showed you the 2-perf Arriflex II C, and thought this week it would be fun to show you the II B. Both of these cameras were skillfully converted to the 2-perf Techniscope format by my friend Daniil Nevskij. The Arri II B has all of the same features are the II C,
Arriflex II B Techniscope Camera Read More »
Just in are an Arriflex IIB and IIC Techniscope camera. Shown here is the Arri IIC. For those who don’t know, Techniscope is a 2-Perf pull-down 35mm film format developed by Technicolor and introduced in the 1960s. This format is ideal for the budget-conscious filmmaker who wants to shoot widescreen without using anamorphic lenses. It
Arriflex II Techniscope Cameras Read More »
After much struggle, hammering, prying, wiggling, pushing, and pulling, I was finally able to completely disassemble this much abused unit. It is shown here in its current state, all the pieces cleaned for rust, petrified grease, and stripped of the old, crumbling paint. I still need to make a couple more parts before everything gets
An Update on the Mitchell FC Friction Head Read More »
Discussion on last week’s post made me think that this machine would be interesting to share. Back in the 80’s I built several single frame rear process projectors like the one pictured here. These projectors were used mainly to create composites of live action photography and matte paintings. Matte painting composites are an art form
Cinema Engineering Rear Process Projector 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 »
