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Camera Museum - Movie and Video Cameras

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Argus/Cosina

Argus Cosina 735 (1973-1974) (Large, With Handle) Compact, Super 8 cartridge, silent movie camera. Argus was an American camera manufacturer that started in 1936 as a subsidiary of International Radio Corporation. It made several decent cameras, including the Argus C3, one of the best selling cameras of all time with a production run of nearly 30 years. Argus cameras were made in Ann Arbor, Michigan. Argus was acquired in 1959 by Sylvania and sold off in 1969 by which time it no longer produced cameras. (Wikipedia - Argus Camera Company. Some cameras, made by other manufacturers, continued to be sold under the Argus name, however. This camera is an example. It was made in Japan by Cosina. Cosina is a Japanese company that started in 1959 making lenses and later cameras. It started under the name Nikoh and then in 1973 changed its name to Cosina. Cosina has made some cameras under its own name. It is well known, however, for selling its cameras under other brand names. For example, in the 1970s it made several Vivitar single lens reflex cameras such as the Vivitar XC-3. It also has made some camera models for well known companies like Canon, Nikon, Yashica, Olympus, and Konica. (Wikipedia - Cosina.) According to the Super 8 Database this camera was made in 1973-1974 just when the Cosina name was beginning to be used. Schneider, "Pocket Super-8s: Pocket Movie Cameras You Won't Leave At Home," Popular Electronics, pages 130-133 (December 1973) discusses the Argus Cosina 735 and several other "pocket" sized movie cameras. The price is listed as $239.95. Pretty reasonable, until you consider that $239.95 in 1973 has the same buying power as $1,169.11 in 2009. The Argus Cosina 735 with an Argus DualMaster projector were part of a "Price is Right" game aired on November 21, 1972 with a total price of $409.60 according to The Price Is Right, Episode 0122D. By the way, a Chevy Vega car on the same episode was $2,438. Pretty amazing the trivia you can find on the Internet, isn't it? The Argus Cosina 735 is quite compact with dimensions of 2" x 3-3/4" x 5" 1/4 and a weight of 2 lbs 2 oz according to the Super 8 Database. It has a non-interchangeable f8-40mm, f1.8 lens. It has single lens reflex viewing and focusing. Focusing is manual. You can zoom manually or electronically. It has speeds of 18 fps (normal), 32 fps (slow motion) and single frame. Exposure metering is through the lens and is automatic or manual. It takes four 1.5 volt AA batteries. Mine appears to be in excellent cosmetic and working condition. I purchased it for about $5 at a garage/estate sale in Spring Valley, CA (near Casa de Oro) on December 26, 2009.

Auricon

Auricon Model CM-72A (1949) Auricon Cine-Voice 16mm Sound-On-Film Camera, Serial No. E6-83,444, 15 Watts, 100 feet film capacity, made in USA by Bach Auricon, Inc., Hollywood 38, California. Auricon made early 16mm sound movie cameras that were used frequently in documentaries and in early television. Auricon is described at the foreign language site cinepresa da collezione (Rough Translation from Yahoo). Date is from the above site and CINEMATOGRAPHICA. A photo is at the following Asian language site, cine vis 8-16. The October 2003 Popular Photography online magazine has a great advertisement for the Model CM-72A. It lists the price in 1953 as $695 with a single lens mount, lens and portable power pack not included. Adjusted for inflation this equals over $5,000 in today's dollars! It's big weighing in at over 10 pounds and about 10" high, 5.5" wide, and 9" deep, without any lens. My Auricon was purchased at a La Mesa, CA garage sale for about $13 on 8-5-06. It looks to be in good condition but is untested. It did not come with a lens. Images: Large, Interior, Label.

Bauer

Bauer C2-A Super, (Large Image) Super 8 purchased around March 2007 for about $1 at a Fletcher Hills (El Cajon, CA) garage sale. In good operating and cosmetic condition. I don't know how to check the meter. The cross-hairs in the viewfinder are not straight. Battery compartment door tends to fall out. Motor runs. Takes 4AA batteries. 8X power zoom, 7.5 to 60mm, f1.8 lens. Made in Germany. Similar Bauer C-2 with 8-40mm Schneider Variogon zoom lens was $259.95 in 1967 Leedar Photographic Catalog. That equals about $1,580 adjusted for inflation to 2007! One sold on eBay on 4-8-07, the day I am writing this, for $26 with $10 shipping. It came with a case and looked to be in somewhat better condition.

Bell & Howell

Bell & Howell 8mm Magazine Camera 172, (circa 1947) (Large Image) 8mm magazine silent movie camera. Has two lens turret. You lift up the post between the two lenses and rotate it to change lenses. There are two viewing lenses which also rotate and match their respective taking lenses. There is a tripod socket in the bottom. The strap screws into this. Speeds of 16, 24, 32, 48 and 64. Lenses are removable from their screw mounts. The two lenses on the camera as pictured are a Bell & Howell Super Comet .5 inch f1.9 and an Elgeet 38mm f3.3 Cine Tel with a dent on the rim. It also came with an Elgeet 6.5mm f2.5 wide angle lens. That lens appears to be a fixed focus. Mechanical wind. Several filters and holders are included along with a nice Perrin (California) leather case and a very well made Norwood Director Selenium incident meter that seems to work. Everything is made in the USA. The camera winds and runs wells. The lenses are clear. The cosmetic condition of everything is good except for the rim dent on the one lens and a dent in the semi-sphere of meter. Purchased at a La Jolla garage sale on 3-15-08 for $20. A discussion at historiccamera.com indicates the Model 172 was made in about 1947 and is fairly common with a value of $10 or less. It is also described at http://www.movie-camera.it/belle.html with the same 1947 date. There is an ad on eBay for the successor Model 172A dated 1954. The Model 172-A with one lens in the turret cost $199.95 in the 1956 Sears Camera Catalog, equal to an astonishing $1,556 in 2008 dollars!

[Bell & Howell Sportster Double Run 8 Movie Camera]

Bell & Howell Sportster, (circa 1947-1950) (Other Side) 8mm Double Run. Made in England. Lens: Mytal Ansstigmat, 0.5 inch focal length, f2.5 to f16, made by Taylor, Taylor & Hobson Ltd. England, Patents Brittan 422248, 438149, U.S. 2017823. Lens is removed by pressing together the two knobs to the left of the lens. The shutter release button is just below these knobs. The viewfinder in front has two little frames which can be placed in front of the viewfinder to frame the scene for more telephoto lenses. Speeds of 16, 32, 48, and 64. Spring loaded motor. On the right side (while holding it to photograph a scene) of the camera are the winding knob, film speed setting and feet of film used. On the left side is the button to open the film compartment and a dial to set the exposure with the "Weston Film Speed", the frames per second, and apertures based how sunny or cloudy it is, and the amount of shading. Has a removable strap, not shown, which screws into the tripod socket. With strap removed there is a base so that the camera can sit on a flat surface. The camera is relatively small with dimensions of only about 5" high, 2" wide and 3" deep without lens. The lens adds about .875" more. The camera is quite hefty for its size with solid metal construction. The best date seems to be about 1947 to 1950 based on ads from the time. A charming blog entitled One Foot in Front of the Other describes the author's father purchasing a Sportster in 1947 to take pictures of a new baby. The camera was used up until about 1964 when the author, apparently the last of four children, was two years old. My guess is the majority of movie cameras and video cameras were purchased for the same reason - to take moving pictures of kids growing up. That's why I got my first video camera and why my dad got the Kodak Cine Zoom camera below. The price in a 1950 magazine ad shown at AdClassix was $99.75. Sounds like a pretty good price until you adjust it for inflation - that's about $870 in 2007 dollars. While mine looks similar to those in the 1947 and 1950 ads, the Sportster name appears to have been used from the 1930s to 1950s. Also, the ads refer to the Filmo Sportster. Mine does not refer to Filmo. A Bell & Howell "Filmo" Sportster on eBay similar to mine was made in the United States. The "Filmo" cameras may therefore be limited to those made in the United States. If you have any additional information, please e-mail me. Mine is serial no. 17921. Mine was a 2007 Christmas present from my sister who acquired it an estate/garage sale in the Bay Park area of San Diego. It is in very good cosmetic and working condition. It winds and runs well.

[Bell & Howell Filmo Picture Master Design 151 Model A]

(Large Image)

Bell & Howell Filmo 8mm "Picture Master," Design 151, Model A, Projector (circa 1943) (also known as Bell & Howell 151A projector) 8mm film projector. Date from List of Vintage Movie Cameras, Projectors, etc. (under Bell & Howell cameras (not projectors) - Model 151A 1943 8mm, about half way down page). (Photo from List of Vintage Movie Cameras, etc..) Paul's 16mm Collecting Pages has a list of 16mm Bell & Howell projectors. The design or model numbers appear to be in chronological order. If that holds true for the 8mm projectors also, 151 would fall between the 16mm model 142 produced from 1939 to 1941 and the 16mm model 156 produced from 1942 to 1945. This supports the 1943 date. Takes a DES/120V/750W ANSI bulb available from donsbulbs.com. Controls include projector on-off, lamp on-off, pilot on-off, speed slow-fast. 115 volts, 8 amps, either AC or DC. There is an AC-DC switch on the bottom. Made in U.S.A. by Bell & Howell Company Chicago with additional locations listed as Hollywood, New York, Washington D.C. and London. Lens: focal length 1 inch, f 1.6, "ELC," Made in U.S.A. Lens is clear with no scratches or mold. (Detail of lens and threading area.) Purchased at a garage sale in the Rolando area (south of University) of San Diego on 8-4-07 during the annual neighborhood garage sales for about $12.50 (purchased with some other items). In good cosmetic condition and working condition to the extent light comes on and motor runs. I have not tried it with film. Comes with wooden case with leather like covering. Includes oil bottle and oil can.

(Large Image)

Bell & Howell Filmosound 185 Projector produced 1949 to 1951 according to Paul's 16mm Film Collecting Pages. It is priced at $449 in the 1949 Montgomery Ward Photographic Catalog, or $4,128 in 2008 dollars. The similar later model 202C cost $699 in the 1953 Sears Camera Catalog, about $5,300 adjusted for inflation! A photo from that site shows a large separate speaker. I only have a smaller speaker that fits into the case. Film-Tech has a Bell & Howell repair manual for Filmosound amplifiers, including the 185 (under 16mm Projectors, B&H Amplifiers models 120, etc.). It refers to a monitor speaker and a stage speaker. I must have the monitor speaker but not the stage speaker. Purchased at a garage sale on 2-3-07 for $2.50. It is in good cosmetic condition and seems to work in that the bulb lights and a lot of things run! I have just tried it for a few seconds. It even comes with its own little oil can. Paul's 16mm Film Collecting Pages indicates that 16mm film was introduced in 1923 for amateurs and was used mainly for educational, training and industrial films, and in television for distributing programs for broadcast. The advent of video tape put an end to most of these uses. Motion picture films in theaters are generally 35mm films while most amateurs by the 1950s used 8mm film. I remember fondly watching excellent 16mm films in science and social studies in school in the 1960s and 1970s. 16mm film provided good resolution projected onto a screen. Indeed, until the recent advent of video projectors, students in the 1980s and 1990s had to watch movies on small television screens instead of movie screens. My only recollection of television in school was watching either the lift off or return of a Gemini rocket in the 1960s. VCRs were yet to arrive.

(Large Image, Other Side, Profile with Exposure Guide)

Bell & Howell 8mm 134 TA Camera (circa 1956) Date is from The 1956 Montgomery Ward Photographic Book. It dates back further, however. Www.movie-camera.it has a similar 1939 camera and List of 3500 Vintage Cameras lists the Filmo 134 TA as being from 1951. (Mine does not use the Filmo name.) The two light meter manuals which came with my camera have date codes of 1950 and 1951. There were several 134 camera models depending on whether they came with one or multiple lenses. The manual refers to a 134-W and and a 134-V. The Bell & Howell 134-TA comes with a three-lens turret. The lenses on mine are a Wollensak 6.5mm f1.9 Wide Angle Cine Raptar, a Bell & Howell Co. Super Comat .5 inch f1.9, and a Wollensak Raptar 1.5 inch Cine Telephoto. All of them have UV filters and caps. Viewing with the 134-TA is through a non-reflex viewfinder. It is correct for all three lenses. As you rotate the turret to the lens you are using, the correct objective for the viewfinder also goes into position. In addition, the 134-TA has a reflex through the lens viewer for critical focusing. This "critical focuser" gives a magnified, upside down image. The view through mine, even after cleaning, is quite dim. The Bell & Howell 8mm 134TA was the most expensive 8mm movie camera among 22 movie cameras offered in The 1956 Montgomery Ward Photographic Book with a price tag of $309.75 with the three lenses. That equals $2,456.28 in 2009 dollars. Mine comes with the leather "Combination Case," General Electric DW-68 light meter, manuals, and assorted filters and caps. All items appear to be in good cosmetic and working condition. I purchased it for $25 on August 10, 2009 in Carlsbad, CA from an ad on Craigslist. Two days earlier I had purchased a Ciroflex twin lens reflex camera for $20 from the seller. He was selling the movie camera and a projector together for $100. I told the seller I would take the movie camera for $25 if someone just wanted the projector. The projector sold, so I got the movie camera. $25 is generally expensive for 1950s 8mm movie cameras, but this one was in good shape, came with numerous accessories, and was a higher end model, making it an excellent addition to the Movie Camera Museum.

Bell & Howell Model 414 Director Series,
(Large Image)

[Bell & Howell Model 414P Director Series]

Bell & Howell Model 414PD Director Series,
(Large Image)

Bell & Howell Model 414P Director Series
(Large Image)

Bell & Howell Model 414 Director Series Zoomatic Movie Cameras (early 1960s) (Other Images: Case, 414 Open) There were similar models with subtle differences. The model 414 did not have power zoom or a dual electric eye. The model 414P had power as well as manual zoom. The model 414PD had both the power zoom and the dual electric eye. They also came in either roll film models or magazine load models. They do not have the model numbers on the camera. My serial numbers: Model 414- AF2131, Model 414P- AP15678, Model 414PD- AS22773. The Models 414P and 414PD look identical except he 414PD says near the viewfinder "Dual Electric Eye" and has an additional small meter sensor at the bottom - center of the large meter. The power zoom controls on the 414P and 414PD are the two buttons on the top. The single electric eye model had one Selenium cell which measured overall scene illumination. The dual electric eye model had an additional selenium cell which sensed "paraxial luminance for backlight compensation." Roland J. Zavada, Dissecting the Zapruder Bell & Howell 8mm Movie Camera. If a model has magazine load, it says so directly under the Zoomatic label. The film in all models is advanced by a spring motor. The large lever on the side is used to wind the spring motor. The spring motor also apparently powers the power zoom. There are no batteries. All three cameras have a Bell & Howell Varomat Zoom Lens, f1.8. It zooms from a 9mm focal length to a 27mm focal length. The cameras have a built in Type A filter that allows use of indoor color film outdoors. The viewing was not through the lens reflex. The viewing window was coupled with the zoom lens however. In other words, you would see the zooming in or zooming out. This was more sophisticated that some other cameras of the era, such as the Kodak Cine Zoom Camera below, which simply had wide, normal and telephoto frames on the viewing window. Film speed was from ASA (ISO) 10 to 40, very slow by today's standards. The cameras used 8mm film. This was apparently 16mm film folded in two. One side would be used. The spool was then flipped over. You would then film with the other side. The film would be cut and joined when processed.

They were relatively expensive cameras geared towards advanced amateur movie makers. For example, the model 414 in the 1961 Sears Camera Catalog was $167.70, or about $1,200 in 2009 dollars. The model 414P was $189.90, or about $1,350 in 2009 dollars. The 414P camera that took magazine load film was $207.70, or almost $1,500 in 2009 dollars. Page 32 of the 1961 Sears Camera Catalog featured the Model 414 (although they do not mention the model number) and page 33 of the 1961 Sears Camera Catalog featured the Model 414P (although they again do not mention the model number).

The model 414 Director Series camera would be an interesting, although not exceptional, camera from the early 1960s. What makes it perhaps the most examined movie camera model ever, however, is that the most revealing film of the John F. Kennedy assassination on November 22, 1963 was taken with a Bell & Howell Model 414PD (roll film) Director Series camera by a Dallas dress manufacturer Abraham Zapruder. The 28 seconds of film includes the precise moment when the fatal bullet struck the president. Several sites discuss the camera including Abraham Zapruder 8MM JFK Assassination Camera, 1963, Abraham Zapruder Camera (includes owners manual), Roland J. Zavada, Dissecting the Zapruder Bell & Howell 8mm Movie Camera, The Bell & Howell Model 414PD 8mm Movie Camera Image Capture Characteristics.

My model 414 was purchased on eBay on 5-25-09 for $9.99 plus $12.95 shipping. It is in good cosmetic and operating condition as far as I can tell. It winds and runs fine. The description noted that it was similar to the model on page 309 of the 1964 Spiegel Spring and Summer Catalog selling for $199.88. My model 414P was purchased on eBay on 5-26-09 for $19.49 plus $12.84 shipping. It is also in good mechanical and cosmetic condition with a slight scruff near the Bell & Howell Zoomatic label on front. It had partially exposed film still in it. My model 414 PD magazine load was purchased on 6-2-09 for $14.99 on eBay with rather high shipping of $23.80. It is in good mechanical and cosmetic condition, although the winding lever was off when it arrived. This looks to be the same model as the Zapruder camera except mine is magazine load and his is not. Both serial numbers start with AS although my number (AS 22773) is later than his number (AS 13486). (Zapruder serial number from Practical Camera Testing with the B&H 414PD Camera The Quest for Cameras, Film and Process.)