My “new” camera - Historic Bell & Howell Filmo
Having worked in the video industry for my career I’ve personally witnessed the steady decline of motion picture film use, and as a vintage history lover that’s a pretty disappointing prospect as I always had a personal desire to work in film.
This year, I decided to do something about it. While doing so, I made a number of discoveries I didn’t know about before. Take the legendary company Bell & Howell for example. If you’re looking to start out in amateur vintage filmmaking look no further than the historic Bell & Howell Filmo 70.
Bell & Howell Filmo 70, the first personal movie camera c. 1924
The development of this personal movie camera is nearly as old as the development of the 1st motion picture cameras used in early Hollywood.
Bell & Howell originally started out servicing early wooden cameras, eventually developing one of their own in 1910. Around the following year, while on an exploration trip to Africa, husband and wife filmmakers Martin and Osa Johnson reported that their B&H wooden camera had been damaged by mildew and eaten by termites. When B&H learned of this they decided to address the problem by developing the 1st all-metal movie camera, the 2709, which not long after just so happened to launch an entire era of Hollywood filmmaking, adopted by the likes of Charlie Chaplin, Mary Pickford, and a host of other players who depended on the 2709’s precision and reliability.
Martin & Osa Johnson with their B&H 2709’s, on their 2nd trip to Africa c. 1930
Charlie Chaplin & Mary Pickford with their 2709’s
With Hollywood success under their belt B&H looked to compete with Kodak to develop a personal movie camera market, and in 1923 manufactured the 1st spring-wound 16mm camera series called the "Filmo 70", allowing access to moviemaking to the public for the 1st time (albeit at first only to the super-wealthy with a cost of $275 per camera or nearly $3,000 today, but still).
Early print ad for the Filmo 70
These first cameras were a sensation in the roaring 20’s and were further refined and developed into extremely reliable “cinemachinery”. How reliable?
As of this year in 2020, I decided to pick up one of these legendary cameras to try it for myself and create a video series documenting the experience. As this first video showcases, I for one was not disappointed. Vintage filmmaking, for me, connects me directly to history. It's something that someone of my generation, at the bridging of two centuries and growing up without film, still has a chance to recapture. Understanding these cameras and how to use them is something I want to continue for the rest of my life and keep the history of vintage filmmaking alive in my own small way.
