A number of years ago, I acquired this Mitchell VistaVision Butterfly camera with the intention of using it to shoot plates for visual effects sequences. When it arrived, all but one of the magazines were frozen closed and every bit of equipment had case foam adhered to it. I was able to use the one […]
Introducing the VistaVision Butterfly Camera Read More »
I am delighted to share with you all today this fascinating, ca. 1921 Wilart Camera restored by my good friend Michael Madden. Our quick research indicates that this camera was manufactured by the Wilart Instrument Co., Inc. of New Rochelle, New York as their all-metal professional cinema camera. Contemporary advertising from “Motion Picture News” in
A Restored Treasure: The Extraordinary Wilart Camera Read More »
Those of you who have been following me for a while now know how much I love and admire Mitchell cameras. A few weeks ago, I was lucky enough to have Mitchell Standard no. 27 left in my care for some basic maintenance and tlc. This very early Mitchell camera was bought by MGM some
Restoring Mitchell Standard no. 27 Read More »
Much of this week was taken up with doing the final inspection of several cameras so they are ready to go to their new homes, and I didn’t have time to document this process in all the chaos. While taking a breather from that, I pulled out this group of fascinating old light bulbs that
Light Bulbs of Yore Read More »
I love 16mm cameras. I learned how to be a cinematographer with Bolex, Arriflex, and Beaulieu 16mm cameras, but my current business isn’t focused on this format. While I have not done a full service and restoration of either of these cameras, I have scrubbed and cleaned the outside of them, made sure everything was
An ARRI 16SR and 16M Read More »
There is always a risk in selling something right after it comes into inventory, and the Mitchell 205 was a painful reminder of this. We put the camera on display right as it came in because it’s so pretty, and coincidentally a client came to visit a few days later and fell in love with
A Fond Farewell to the Mitchell 205 Read More »
Winding down our look at the table full of 16mm cameras this week, I wanted to highlight a few more items that I thought were cool. The Arriflex 16 SR turns out to be a working camera under all of that dirt. A quick cleaning and careful examination made me comfortable enough to power the
A Last Look at the 16mm Camera Hoard Read More »
We promised in our last post that I would give a closer look at the 16mm camera collection I showed off last week. I had very limited time to look through them this week, so I was only able to evaluate a few of the pieces. Arriflex M To begin, I looked at the ARRI
A Closer Look at Some of the 16mm Camera Haul Read More »
At a certain point, everyone has to say, “I just can’t take on anymore stuff”. But this group of cameras was literally going to end up in the landfill, so it came here with the hope of having a new life. I don’t usually take in 16mm equipment, but this garage load of equipment belonged
A Last Haul for the Year Read More »
Before I had a chance to inspect the Mitchell 205, a client came to visit my shop, saw the 205, and had to have it. Getting any camera ready to ship to a client is an involved process, particularly for a camera whose condition has not previously been assessed. As you saw in our previous
Mitchell 205 – It’s a Process Read More »
