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 […]
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In the days of yore, back when I was shooting movies with Mitchell and Bell & Howell cameras, we often struggled with getting leather belts spliced together so they ran quietly and smoothly. Several of the assistant cameramen I worked with had a bag full of pieces that they would use to splice belts together.
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Over the years, I have collected numerous Unit I shuttle camera and projector movements. I used these movements to build animation cameras, optical printers, and rotoscope stands. The first camera I remember using that featured a Unit I shuttle was a Bell & Howell 2709. Developed by Albert S. Howell and patented in 1912, the
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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
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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
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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
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