Taken directly from the widescreen wars of the 1950’s and 60’s, is this amazing, production used, three panel Cinerama Slate that comes straight from the set of the western epic drama “How the West Was Won” (1962). “How the West Was Won”, produced by MGM, was directed by John Ford, Henry Hathaway, and George Marshall […]
Screen Used Slate from”How the West Was Won” Read More »
It was a rare privilege to explore and repair this 20th Century-Fox Cine Simplex 35mm production camera. The engineering of this camera is extraordinary and it is disappointing that it never became as ubiquitous as the Mitchell BNC. The level of thought that went into all aspects of the design and function of this camera
An Extraordinary Camera In Need of a New Home Read More »
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 »
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 »
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 »
Every once in a while, some of the most unique things come across my desk. A few weeks ago, a friend of mine in Australia sent me pictures of Mitchell Standard #27 which he has been lovingly restoring. If this wasn’t unique enough, he also had something I had never seen outside of publicity photos:
Mitchell Standard no. 27 and Amazing Original MGM Bungalow Blimp Read More »
We are excited to offer this group of interesting BNCR mount lenses from the collection of Dan Kanes. Apropos of the Technovision Mitchell 205 that we have posted about recently, this collection includes an 85mm and a 50mm Technovision lens. Most unusual is the Todd AO 35mm spherical lens, an extremely rare offering. Equally interesting
New Additions to Our Lens Offerings Read More »
The original thought was to convert the Mitchell 205 to PL lens mount. When I discovered that this was impractical, the compromise was to fit the camera with an Angenieux 25-250 zoom lens. This is an older Angenieux zoom that has the unique 1960’s vintage Hollywood look that was found both in feature films and
Birth of a Lens Support for the Mitchell 205 Read More »
