Mitchell Camera

A full view of the collection of new camera equipment, including the rackover Mitchell BNC, the spinning mirror reflex Mitchell BNCR, the Mitchell 205, the Mitchell Standard, the Bausch & Lomb Baltar and Super Baltar lens sets, some tripods, Mitchell magazines, equipment cases, and various accessories.

A Mitchell Camera Haul!

This post comes a day later than our habit as we have spent much of the last week lifting, carrying, opening, and sorting a treasure trove of Mitchell camera equipment and lenses. (My back does not forgive me for this!) After several days of negotiation, I acquired a storage unit filled with absolutely wonderful movie …

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Advertisement from “American Cinematographer” Magazine, March 1931, advertising the benefits of the Mitchell Friction Tilthead and its telescoping and folding pan handle.

Trivia About the Mitchell Geared Head and Friction Head

As we continued our search to find the proper name for the Mitchell geared head, which we still have not found, we came across this charming advertisement that Mitchell placed in “American Cinematographer” magazine in March 1931. In the ad, there are two camera operators, one using a geared head and one a friction head. …

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Mitchell Geared Heads after restoration

Mitchell Geared Heads

An interesting question was posed recently to the committee I serve on at the Academy of Motion Picture Art and Sciences asking about the history of geared pan/tilt heads. The questioner was only aware of the Worrall geared head, so many of us contributed our experiences with other styles and manufacturers of geared heads that …

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Mitchell Standard 125

A Face-lift for Mitchell Standard 125

Recently, I was contacted by my friend and fellow vintage camera enthusiast Michael Geiger, who had recently acquired Mitchell Standard #125. This camera, like Mitchell 46, had been abused in its previous life. Mitchell 125 was hacked into an animation camera, and whoever did the conversion, removed and discarded most of the original shutter control …

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