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Member LoginEymo Camera
The Bell and Howell Eyemo 35mm hand camera was a major part of the equipment used by newsreel companies all over the world in the 30’s, 40’s, 50’s & 60’s. A spring drive camera with a 100 foot load, the Eyemo is particularly rugged and practically indestructible.
A fully wound spring gives a run of 17 ft at 8fps, 38 ft at 12fps, 34 ft at 16fps, 38 ft at 24 fps, 34 ft at 32fps & 38 ft at 64fps which means that it is necessary for the cameraman to be extremely careful and conscious of every shot remembering that the rolls only last a little over one minute.
The Eyemo came in a number of models ranging from a simple single lens version through three different lens turret models. The Q had a spider turret with a facility for accurate focusing through a rear mounted prism and a mount to take a 400 ft magazine with an auxiliary 12 volt motor.
It is possible to use a hand crank to rewind the film to do double exposures or lap dissolves or fades. The hand crank can also be used to shoot a full 100 ft roll continuously.
During World War 2 the Eyemo was used by the US Army Signal Corps as a combat camera often mounted in aircraft. The Australian Army Military History Unit and the Department of Information found them ideal for use in the mud and rain in New Guinea and the Pacific. The simplicity of the camera meant that the cameramen could service them in the terrible conditions that existed.
Most assistants during the 30’s to the 50’s got their first chance to shoot when the cameraman told them to take the Eyemo and shoot crowd shots at the races or the football. One cameraman who started to build his reputation in this way was Ross Wood who, with Robert Feeney ACS describes the history of a camera so well built that it is still used alongside today’s most modern cameras only a turret Eyemo and his collection of filters would shoot whole stories which always had lots of unusual angles and movement.
The Hollywood D.O.P. James Wong Howe used the Eyemo and a pair of roller skates to shoot great pictures of a boxing match whilst in the ring with the contestants.
A Washington DC Movietone cameraman used the same technique to shoot President Truman doing walking press conferences.
Most of the cameras were fitted with filter holders which were mostly made in the camera workshop and took 2 inch square glass filters.
During World War 2 when film was in short supply assistants spent many hours in the loading room breaking down 1000 ft rolls of film to 100 ft lengths, and, as an extra film saving method joining 5 ft lengths of black spacing on the start and finish of each roll so that the full use of the 1 minute 6 seconds could be achieved.
Eyemos today are used in situations where there is danger from vehicles or explosions or as museum pieces usually in the offices or homes of aging cameramen lucky enough to be able to indulge in nostalgic reminiscences of their youth.
“The Eyemo was ideal for use in the mud and rain”
To find out more about classic cameras and the history of film making visit the national film and sound archive ScreenSound Australia in Canberra or their website ScreenSound Australia
from Australian Cinematographer Issue 13