Before we took some time off for the holidays, I was going through blue prints and photographs of some of the projects I have done in the past. What I was really hoping to share were some of the accessories that added functionality of the various cameras without modifying the cameras themselves. These records are …
A number of people were curious about threading a bipack magazine. Those of you that have done this will know that it is not as straightforward as one might think. I don’t know if this is the best or only way to thread a bipack magazine, but this is the way I have done it …
A couple of months back, we shared that we were building a new and improved version of the CinemaGear.com website. The final touches are being put on the site now and it should be ready for launch next week. Among the many wonderful treasures you will be able to find on our new site is …
This week I was servicing a Unit “I” Shuttle movement from a Bell & Howell 2709. It occurred to that most people have never seen the inner workings that make this wonderful camera so steady. I thought I would break down the parts that make up the drive and the Unit “I” Shuttle. The engineering …
Servicing a Bell & Howell Unit “I” Shuttle Movement Read More »
Recently I had a chance, through my dear friend Ted Rae, to represent 2 cameras that were part of Jim Danforth’s studio. For those who may not know of Jim and his work, Jim is a modern day renaissance man. He is an accomplished matte painter, fine art artist, illustrator, model maker, sculptor, puppet maker, …
Acme’s Model 6 camera was the mainstay in optical printing, animation, and matte painting composite photography work for decades. The Acme Tool and Manufacturing Company began as a contract machine shop in the late 1920’s and entered the motion picture camera manufacturing business in 1930 when they were approached by Walt Disney to modify a …
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 …
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 …
The all metal Bell & Howell model 2709 35mm motion picture camera was introduced in 1912 and was manufactured through the 1950s. This camera, serial # 586, was originally sold to Seminole Films, Inc. of Eustis, FL on April 2, 1923. Seminole Films was incorporated in Eustis by Dr. Edgar J. Banks in November of …
