We have just received this wonderful, but in need of much love, Mitchell spinning mirror reflex BNCR, serial #136. So far, we are unable to decipher who the original owner was, but we know that it was first purchased in 1954. Unfortunately, this camera was stored poorly and suffers from petrified grease, minor corrosion and […]
Mitchell BNCR sn. 136 Read More »
While hard at work on the new website, we have been assembling brief histories of camera manufacturers whose equipment we own. There are several major players in the movie equipment world whose histories are difficult to research. Among those, I was shocked to find that there was no information about Fries Engineering, a major innovator
An Interview with Doug Fries 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 »
As an update to BNCR #224’s restoration, here is where it currently stands: I was able to get the camera itself back into working order and reinstalled in the blimp. Since nothing here gets thrown away, I pulled parts from old stock and pieced together a front lens housing and matte box. The lens housing
An Update About BNCR sn. 224 Read More »
While I was servicing the movement of BNCR #224, I thought it would be interesting to show you the oiling procedure that I prefer to use. It is much easier to show the oil points with the movement out of the camera, though generally you would oil the movement while it is in the camera,
Servicing the movement from Mitchell BNCR sn. 224 Read More »
This week we began bringing Mitchell BNC 224 back to life. This camera got put on the shelf when we moved and is now being brought out of hiding. When we acquired it, the camera had not been well maintained and was missing many parts. Years of neglect took their toll on this camera, so
Mitchell BNCR sn. 224 Read More »
The Fox Film Corporation made just 4 feature films in the Grandeur process. Raoul Walsh’s “The Big Trail” was the final film, and the only one to use the Grandeur format to its full potential. Arthur Edeson’s masterful cinematography took full advantage of the 70mm film format to fill the frame with grand vistas and
Raoul Walsh’s “The Big Trail” Read More »
The motion picture industry was in a period of transition in the late 1920s. Sound films were set to remake the previously silent industry, changing everything about how movies were made and exhibited. As the popularity of movies rose, bigger theaters were built to accommodate the ever increasing audiences. The Roxy Theater in New York,
Mitchell FC 70mm Grandeur camera, sn. 8 Read More »
As the sound era became a reality, William Fox recognized the need for better quality images in his movies. His Fox Case Corp. team, led by engineer Earl Sponable, developed the 70mm Grandeur photographic process to solve this problem. The Mitchell Camera Corporation was contracted to build a 70mm version of their successful Mitchell Standard,
Mitchell FC Fox Grandeur Camera sn. 8 Read More »
From the sets of DeMille’s “The Ten Commandments” and Hitchcock’s “Vertigo”, we are delighted to present this complete Mitchell Vista Vision camera package. This “Elephant Ear” VistaVision camera, MVV-6, was masterfully restored by my friend Mark Mervis, who collected, restored, and documented this camera and all of these accessories to create this historical camera package.
Mitchell VistaVision Camera MVV6 Read More »
