Newman and Sinclair NS400 35mm cine camera

[Gareth Blackstock]

So I came across this cine camera, quite a big thing, in a second hand shop.  The shop owner initially told me the camera was off the floor, being stored in a private room.  I seemed pretty keen, I thought it might be an old Auricon, he told me the camera was an old newsreel camera.  He eventually took me upstairs to see the camera.  From the distance I thought it was an Eclair, but getting closer it seemed to big.  Anyway, turns out to be a pretty good condition Newman and Sinclair NS400.

The attached picture is not of the actual camera, its from the net.  The camera in the shop came with around 5 lenses and a magazine.  

Does anyone have any info on these cameras? Any documents?

The shop owner seems keen to power it up, but I warned him off until he knows exactly what voltage etc is needed, otherwise he risks killing the motor.  And the price tag is AUD$3600...

Cheers, Gareth

[Simon Wyss]

The 1962 NS P 400 has a pair of fixed pilot pins like the Bell & Howell 2709 or an early Mitchell, closer to the Mitchell AA movement which also pivots around a shaft above the gate.

https://cinematography.com/index.php?/forums/topic/72258-mystery-camera/

https://archive.org/details/americancinemato43unse/page/38/mode/2up?view=theater&q=Newman

Edited March 13 by Simon Wyss

[Gareth Blackstock]

Hello, Simon

Thanks for offering some valuable info on this camera.  At least I can tell the owner it most likely runs on 12v.

Cheers, Gareth

[Gareth Blackstock]

I returned to the shop, and while the guy I spoke to earlier was not there, I left his wife print outs of the information I could find.  I took a few more pics.  It seems in good condition.  Although he has a price tag on the kit for AUD$3600, I suggested to his wife it may be worth much more, especially as it has two Cooke Panchro series II lenses attached, a 50mm and 75mm one.

I had a quick look at the lenses and they appear, without cleaning them, to be just a little dusty.  The 75mm one has a yellowish tint to it.

Anyway, I look forward to hearing back from the owner, not as I am looking to buy it, mostly so I can tell him he has a very cool camera that may be worth much more than $3600

[Gareth Blackstock]

[Gareth Blackstock]

The lens mount is not PL, a short tube with a guide, a smaller rotation of 70 degrees to remove.  

[Gareth Blackstock]

So a quick update.... the owner of the camera kit has asked me to sell it for him.  I was keen as it gave me the opportunity to have a really close look at the camera, take lots of photos, and get it running.  I am hoping it sells to a film shooter... but I reckon the owner will be happy to get some money for it.   I have posted it on three popular sites, sadly I cannot list it here.

If people have more info on this interesting and well made camera, please let me know.

Gareth

[Gareth Blackstock]

And I took some quick clips of the film chamber while the camera was running, one clip with film, one without.  The clips were made at different motor speeds

 

 

Edited April 13 by Gareth Blackstock

[Gareth Blackstock]

[Dom Jaeger]

Nice find Gareth!

Just regarding running the camera, I would be a little careful running it without any lubrication, it’s likely bone dry after all these years. While it may be ok, it also risks seizing up.

More amateur cameras with looser tolerances can often better handle running without lubrication, they just wear, but certain professional cameras with very precise fits can gall and bind, which is more destructive. Mitchell and Panaflex cameras for instance need very regular lubricating or they will seize. Arriflexes, by contrast, were designed to run without regular lubrication, but I think a lot of the older professional grade cameras were more like Mitchell’s and Panaflexes.

The movement is an interesting one. As Simon mentioned before it has fixed registration pins like the Bell and Howell 2709, a famous camera from the early days of cinema. The film is lifted off the pins, moved down and seated back on the pins for each frame, making a fairly god-awful clattering sound. Not a good candidate for sound cameras, but very stable. I’m sure Simon could tell us a lot more about it. I’ve played a bit with the older spring-powered Newman Sinclair cameras which use the same movement design, but never seen one of these. 

Kubrick famously threw a Newman Sinclair camera off a roof six times to get a shot in Clockwork Orange, and found the camera undamaged afterwards:

“How did you manage the subjective shot of Alex's suicide attempt? 

We bought an old Newman Sinclair clockwork mechanism camera (no pun intended) for 40 Pounds. It's a beautiful camera and it's built like a battleship. We made a number of polystyrene boxes which gave about 18 inches of protection around the camera, and cut out a slice for the lens. We then threw the camera off a roof. In order to get it to land lens first, we had to do this six times and the camera survived all six drops. On the final one it landed right on the lens and smashed it but it didn't do a bit of harm to the camera. This, despite the fact that the polystyrene was literally blasted away from it each time by the impact. The next day we shot a steady test on the camera and found there wasn't a thing wrong with it. On this basis, I would say that the Newman Sinclair must be the most indestructible camera ever made.”

[Gareth Blackstock]

Hello,

Yeah, I was quite careful with running the camera. beforehand I removed the right hand side panel of the camera body and got a visual on all the gears, everything looked well coated with grease.  I thought perhaps a little over greased, but looking closely I found no buildup of hardened grease, and no clumps of greasy dust.

I also made a short video of the pull down claw, gate lifting slowly, and shutter in background.  I manually turned the camera.

So I am unsure if it has had charmed life of hardly been used, or has been maintained in the last few years.  As the camera is not mine, I resisted the urge to get more covers off and peer into the camera's innards...