Sadly, a former client passed away some time ago and his family asked if I would review his collection and rescue his movie-related gear. This was a wonderful life’s collection of audio, video, and motion picture film equipment. As my focus is only on motion picture film equipment, I dug out a Mitchell tripod, some […]
Rescue of a Garage Full of Stuff Read More »
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 Few Projects from the Past Read More »
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
Our New Website is Almost Here! Read More »
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,
Camera from the Collection of Jim Danforth 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 »
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.
Leather Camera Belt Splicing Block Read More »
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
Unit “I” Shuttle Movements Read More »
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
Bell and Howell 2709 sn. 58 Read More »
