Material Type

Artifact

Other Name

PAILLARD BOLEX H16 REFLEX

Date Range From

1955

Date Range To

1977

Materials

METAL, LEATHER, GLASS

No. Pieces

1

Height

23.2

Length

11

Width

41.2

Description

BLACK AND SILVER METAL WIND UP CAMERA COVERED WITH BLACK MOROCCAN LEATHER. EDGES OF CAMERA ARE WORN, SILVER METAL VISIBLE UNDERNEATH BLACK COATING. RECTANGULAR BODY OF CAMERA WITH LARGE LENS ATTACHED TO FRONT. BASE HAS THREE THREADED HOLES TO ATTACH CAMERA TO A TRIPOD, “241679” STAMPED INTO BASE. THE LEATHER COVERING ON THE FRONT OF BASE IS PARTIALLY DETACHED AND IS PEELING UP. BACK OF CAMERA HAS A CREAM-COLOURED RECTANGULAR PLATE ATTACHED WITH TWO SCREWS IN THE MIDDLE OF THE FLAT AREA. THE TOP OF THE BACK VIEW HAS A VIEWFINDER/EYEPIECE THAT APPEARS WORN, THE RUBBER EDGE OF THE EYEPIECE IS WORN AROUND THE CIRCUMFERENCE. THE LEFT PROPER SIDE OF THE CAMERA HAS SEVERAL SMALL DIALS AND A CRANK FOR WINDING FILM. THERE IS A METAL PLATE INSCRIBED WITH “BOLEX H16 REFLEX MADE IN SWITZERLAND.” THE TOP OF THE CAMERA HAS A FLAT SPACE FOR THE FILM REELS TO BE ATTACHED, MARKED “BOLEX PAILLARD.” THE METAL ON THE TOP IS PARTICULARLY WORN AND MUCH OF THE BLACK COATING IS GONE, LIKELY FROM INTERACTING WITH THE FILM REEL IN USE. THE RIGHT PROPER SIDE HAS TWO METAL CLIPS NEAR THE FRONT AND BACK SIDE AND A FOLDABLE METAL DIAL IN THE MIDDLE. THE FRONT OF THE CAMERA HAS A LENS (22.5 CM IN LENGTH AND 8 CM IN DIAMETER AT THE LARGES POINT) ATTACHED. THE LENS HAS SEVERAL DIALS ATTACHED TO IT. THERE IS A YELLOWED LABEL ON THE LENS THAT SAYS “FILTERS INDOOR BLANK I25 ASA OUTDOOR 85B 80?GA 85 N3 40 85N6.” THE TAPE AROUND THE LABEL HAS YELLOWED AND CRACKED. IN SOME PARTS IT IS NO LONG ATTACHED TO THE LENS OR LABEL. THE END OF THE LENS IS ENGRAVED: “VARIO-SWITAR 1:2,5 F=18÷86 MM OE H16 RX NO. 1099839 KERN MADE IN SWITZERLAND.”

Subjects

PHOTOGRAPHIC T&E

Historical Association

PROFESSIONS

History

ON MARCH 25, 2021, GALT MUSEUM AND ARCHIVES COLLECTIONS TECHNICIAN KEVIN MACLEAN INTERVIEWED FORMER CTV LETHBRIDGE CAMERA OPERATOR TED LANGENBERG ON HIS DONATION OF SEVERAL 16 MM MOTION-PICTURE CAMERAS. FOR THE FULL HISTORY ON LANGENBERG’S WORK AT CTV AND BACKGROUND ON HIS CAMERA DONATION, SEE P20210002001-GA. SPEAKING SPECIFICALLY ABOUT THE BOLEX H16 CAMERA IN THE INTERVIEW WITH MACLEAN, LANGENBERG EXPLAINED THE USE OF THE CAMERA: “IF WE NEEDED FILM SHOT OF A NEWS STORY WE WOULD USE THAT BOLEX, WHICH IS A SILENT CAMERA THAT YOU WOUND UP. [IT] WAS A WIND-UP, SPRING LOADED – SPRING OPERATED CAMERA, WHICH, OF COURSE, JUST SHOT 16 MILLIMETRE FILM LIKE THE REST OF THEM;... WE WOULD SHOOT JUST B-ROLL, RIGHT BECAUSE ALL YOU COULD SHOOT WAS B-ROLL WITH THE SILENT CAMERA.” THE CAMERA WAS USED FOR BOTH NEWS REPORTING AND SHOOTING COMMERCIALS, LANGENBERG DESCRIBED: “THAT [THE BOLEX] WAS ALSO MORE FOR COMMERCIAL STUFF AS WELL, AS OPPOSED TO NEWS. I MEAN, THAT’S NOT SAYING IT WASN’T USED FOR NEWS – EVERYTHING WAS USED FOR NEWS AND WAS SHARED EQUIPMENT, PUT IT THAT WAY.” WHEN USED FOR NEWS, LANGENBERG FURTHER STATED THAT THE CAMERA WAS USED TO PRODUCE B-ROLL VIDEO FOR THE BACKGROUND, SINCE IT WAS A SILENT CAMERA: “THE B-ROLL WOULD RUN LIVE TO AIR, AND THEN THE REPORTER – OR NOT THE REPORTER – THE NEWS ANCHOR WOULD JUST READ THEIR SCRIPT WHILE THE VIDEO – OR THE FILM WAS RUNNING IN THE BACKGROUND.” IN AN ADDITIONAL SUPPLEMENTARY DOCUMENT WRITTEN BY LANGENBERG, HE FURTHER DESCRIBED THAT THE “BOLEX WIND UP CAMERA [WAS] ANOTHER ‘HAND ME DOWN’ FROM CTV CALGARY.” CHRONOLOGICALLY IN THE SET OF CAMERAS HE DONATED, LANGENBERG STATED THAT THE BOLEX WAS “USED BY BOTH THE PHOTO AND NEWS DEPARTMENTS DURING THE SAME PERIOD AS THE AURICON,” THE EARLY TO LATE 1970S. “ “THIS WAS A SILENT ONLY CAMERA AND WAS USED FOR ‘B-ROLL.’ I USED THIS CAMERA QUITE A BIT MORE BECAUSE ANOTHER ADDED RESPONSIBILITY OF MINE WAS ‘ON CALL NEWS PHOTOGRAPHER’ FOR EVENTS OCCURRING AFTER THE 6:00 PM NEWSCAST. IT WAS ALSO [LIKE THE AURICON] RETIRED BY THE LATE 70’S. MY NORMAL SHIFT WAS MONDAY TO FRIDAY, 9:00-6:30, ON CALL FOR NEWS FROM 6:30 ‘TILL 11:00PM, AND THEN OPERATE A STUDIO CAMERA FOR THE 11:20 TO 11:30 LATE NIGHT NEWSCAST. BACK IN THOSE DAYS THERE WAS NOT NEWS EVERY NIGHT OF THE WEEK, SO I WAS SCHEDULED FOR A NEWS SHOOT TO OR THREE NIGHTS A WEEK.” FOR MORE INFORMATION SEE THE FULL INTERVIEW TRANSCRIPT, ADDITIONAL DOCUMENTATION, AND EMAIL CORRESPONDENCE IN THE PERMANENT RECORD OF P20210002001-GA.

Catalogue Number

P20210002002

Acquisition Date

2021-03

Collection

Museum

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