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Lenses for Mitchell

Posted: Sun Aug 19, 2018 11:05 am
by ufopilot
I have a working Mitchell GC and am looking for 3 lenses to fill in the turret. They don't have to be functional, just look the part for display.
Any ideas about what lenses will fit our Mitchell Standard mount? I can't find any accurate lenses so I'm working my way down... Even considering Kodak Ektar Projection lenses if I can find on that fits the 45/46mm mount receptacle.
Also trying to do the same with my Bell & Howell 2709.
Thanks,
John
Boulder, CO

Re: Lenses for Mitchell

Posted: Sun Aug 19, 2018 12:24 pm
by mediaed
John,

Have you registered your Mitchell on our site? It is easy to do and will provide you with more information about your camera. The registration page is the 3rd selection on the top right tabs on the home page. Or- http://www.mitchellcamera.com/registration.html will get you there. You can find the year for your camera's serial number from the first tab.

Common lens assortment for a GC would be Baltars:25, 35(40), 50 and 100mm. They can be found on E-bay but are pricey. Your biggest problem will be the 4 screw mount. Beware the people selling 3screw mount lenses as 35mm lenses-they are for 16mm.

You can see a 360° stop motion animation of the classic Standard/GC in my videos on Blimped cameras under the "member's articles" tab.

Ken Stone or Richard Bennett or a few other shops like Visual Products could convert your turret to Nikon mounts if they have the time.

For your 2709, that is too classic to not spend the time and money to do it right. ED.

Re: Lenses for Mitchell

Posted: Sun Aug 19, 2018 1:21 pm
by ufopilot
Great info, thanks. Do Mitchell BNC lenses fit the Standard Mitchell mount?.

Re: Lenses for Mitchell

Posted: Sun Aug 19, 2018 4:29 pm
by mediaed
No. Completely different system. They ditched the turret and went with a quick change mount to counter front of the camera noise. That mount is what the PL mount came from. The Panavision mount is essentially the same with a rotation of the locator pin.

Afterall, the GC/Standard mount was a 1920 design that was out of date by the mid 30's and could stand an update wheras the Standard/GC's were government contract cameras by that time and essentially never changed for over 50 years.

Re: Lenses for Mitchell

Posted: Wed Dec 05, 2018 7:19 am
by Armenta
What the front of the camera noise that bad? I had no idea that was the reason for those changes.

Re: Lenses for Mitchell

Posted: Wed Dec 05, 2018 2:40 pm
by marop
As I understand it, the new mount was used when they made the BNC. The lens attached to the blimp but did not touch the actual camera. This was to reduce noise coming through to the camera via physical contact. Some studios even used a housing to cover the lens to reduce sound getting into the blimp. I think it's because the glass didn't reduce sound like the rest of the blimp housing. If that makes sense. It's a matter of isolating the camera from outside the blimp.

Mark