General Information

Serial #

6272282

Part Number

1

Total Parts

2

AKA

N/A

Patents

N/A

General Description

Heavy silver metal camera body has dark grey finish overall, with selected black synthetic fittings; black imitation leather and bright chrome trims; selected areas [ie. face plates, setting charts, etc.] have flat black finish; brown leather handle; clear glass optics. Off-white adhesive-backed tape labels applied to casing.

Dimensions

Note: These reflect the general size for storage and are not necessarily representative of the object's true dimensions.

Length

21.2 cm

Width

10.5 cm

Height

22.0 cm

Thickness

N/A

Weight

N/A

Diameter

N/A

Volume

N/A

Lexicon

Group

Photography

Category

Cine cameras

Sub-Category

N/A

Manufacturer

AKA

Beaulieu

Country

France

State/Province

Unknown

City

Unknown

Context

Country

Canada

State/Province

Quebec

Period

Unknown

Canada

Owned and used by Canadian film maker Bill Mason, who achieved international recognition for his wilderness and canoeing documentaries in the 1960s and 1970s.

Function

To record cine images on photographic film.

Technical

The Bill Mason collection consists of typical cameras and other equipment in the 16 mm format widely used by documentary film makers in Canada in this period. Due to its relatively light weight (touted by the maker as the world's lightest) and reflex view finding system, the Beaulieu R16 was marketed as a news camera, although company literature also suggested it was ideal for industrial and scientific film making. Called by one authority a "reasonably sturdy, well designed, versatile, beautifully finished and easy-to-use machine," the Beaulieu was less expensive than such competitors as the Arriflex 16BL and Éclair NPR cameras, although also not as quiet or robust (Lipton, 132). The Beaulieu reflex viewfinder system consists of a mirror on the reciprocating shutter that directs light passing through the lens to a ground glass viewing screen during intervals when the shutter is closed. Unlike the more limited reflex viewer on the Ciné Special, this system enables accurate focus and depth of field evaluation while filming, even when zooming or switching from one subject to another. A built-in reflex photocell, meanwhile, displays a light reading in the viewfinder to guide the operator in adjusting the diaphragm setting. Unlike the spring-driven Ciné Special, the Beaulieu R16 is powered by a transistor regulated electric motor that provides stability over a range of speeds (2-64 fps) while a sync pulse socket enables connection and synchronous operation with an audio tape recorder (although Mason appears not to have used the Beaulieu for synchronous sound filming). The drive train offers a variety of standard special effects features: reverse drive for fades and dissolves, single frame filming for animation and time lapse photography and variable speed for slow and fast motion sequences. This example was rarely used by Mason because he considered it unreliable. [Ref. 1]

Area Notes

Unknown

Details

Markings

"Beaulieu/ R16" on camera body side. "MASON/ 6272282" incised 0n lower portion of casing, near mounting for tripod."BILL MASON/ MEACH LAKE RD/ OLD CHELSEA QUEBEC" and "BILL MASON/ MEACH LA[ke]/ RD. OLD/ CHELSEA, P.Q." printed by hand on tape labels applied to casing. All controls, etc. labelled. "IMPORTED & SERVICED BY/ IMPORTATION & SERVICE PAR/ ANGLOPHOTO LTD" and "MADE IN FRANCE" marked inside film compartment.

Missing

Unknown: camera proper appears complete.

Finish

Heavy silver metal camera body has dark grey finish overall, with selected black synthetic fittings; black imitation leather and bright chrome trims; selected areas [ie. face plates, setting charts, etc.] have flat black finish; brown leather handle; clear glass optics. Off-white adhesive-backed tape labels applied to casing.

Decoration

N/A