Akeley 35mm cine camera. Cine camera for 35mm film in internal 200 foot magazines. Fitted with a Taylor-Hobson Cooke cinema lens F: 47,, f/2.5-? No.159766. Gear coupled to viewfinder lens. Dallmeyer Dalmac F: 2 inches, f/3.5-16, No. 12012 both on sliding plate, interchangeable with plate carrying Dallmeyer tele-anastigmat lens No.2 servi F; 12 inches, f/5.6-45 No.112274 in helical focusing mount, with separate viewfinder lens. Focusing viewfinder with adjustment for direct or semi reflex viewing. Sliding mask with sound or silent aperture. Claw drive, single sprocket, integral with magazine. Hand turned. Large cylindrical shutter running around the outside of the mechanism. case circular to accommodate the locking geared. Damped tilting mechanism on side. Removable panning handle. Hand turned with small single frame handle. No. 84.
Invented by Carl Akeley (1864-1926), curator of the American Museum of Natural History, this camera was of unique design. The film was contained in a single magazine inside the camera. The shutter was cylindrical and ran round the inside of the body. This image shows the telescope viewfinder which could be adjusted to any angle allowing the cameraman to follow rapid action easily, regardless of the tilt of the camera. Akeley cameras were mainly used for documentary films, notably Robert Flaherty's 'Nanook of the North' (1922).
