Eyemo Oddity

Patrick Neary · February 27, 2007

I'm posting this for anyone interested in weird Eyemo permutations, because I've never seen one like this before. It's billed as a Traid 808 Photo-Aid Sequence Camera, made by the Traid Corp. I guess this is the same Traid Corp. that made the infamous Fotron camera ("Push the taking button and congratulate yourself. You've just taken a color picture!") The Fotron must be the biggest, ugliest point-and-shoot ever made, look it up for a laugh.

So this camera shows up at the door the other day (mmm, old camera smell!), and it's like the Mitchell NC of Eyemos. Traid added a very stout AC motor with settings for 12, 18, 24 and 48fps (and an inching knob), an adaptor on the back to take standard Mitchell mags (it came with a 400-footer), and best of all, a variable shutter, with marked settings from a wide-open 170-degrees down to a very narrow 5-degrees. I assume Traid did the shutter work, I've never heard of an Eyemo with a variable shutter. The front is fitted with an eyemo mount and filter slot. Too bad they didn't change that out too. They removed the spring and winding mechanism, as well as the on-camera fps dial.

This one is serial # 1217, so they must have made a few of them. It's really a solid (and heavy) set-up, and the workmanship is first-rate.

I'll give it a little clean and lube, and as soon as I can find a core-adaptor for the take-up side of the Mitchell mag (dang!) I'll run some film and see how it goes. I could still run a daylight load inside the camera, but where's the fun in that?

Now maybe I can get some pictures to show up.....

Here is the access hole to the variable shutter, just to the left of the lens mount:

Dan Salzmann · February 27, 2007

That sure is a bear! I'd definitely try to switch the lens mount because I've never been too impressed with any color work shot with an Eyemo mount lens.

The variable shutter is a first and I've been into Eyemos for about 10 years!

Robert Houllahan · February 28, 2007

That sure is a bear! I'd definitely try to switch the lens mount because I've never been too impressed with any color work shot with an Eyemo mount lens.
The variable shutter is a first and I've been into Eyemos for about 10 years!

I think that many of the scientific variants of the eyemo, including instrumentation cameras based on the eyemo movement, had variable shutters. I have a "Flight Inst. Co." camera which I am planning to turn into a crash cam which has a eyemo movement and front coupled to a AC or DC internal motor. The camera is very square with multiple mounting points and in the manual there is extensive notes on the variable shutter option. Unfortunately mine is sans variable shutter.

-Rob-

Paul Bruening · March 1, 2007

I've got a B&H movement in a Giametti... what the heck is it called? It's a scientific cam. It may die a worthy and violent death, one of these days.

Patrick Neary · March 1, 2007

I've been cleaning the thing up and giving it a little 3-in-1 where it seems like it needs it, but I realized there's not much left inside the eyemo when they take the spring/winding mechanism out of it!

> I've got a B&H movement in a Giametti... what the heck is it called? It's a scientific cam. It may die a worthy and violent death, one of these days.<

I saw from an old Alan Gordon catalog (I just can't ever get rid of it) that the Eyemo-based Automax is rated to 15 Gs in all directions, and 20 Gs vertical. Hoo-dang.

alvaro germano · July 25, 2007

Hi, i`m interested to buy your camera. I live in Uruguay, south america. Can you sent it to me by fedex? How is the price in american dollars? Thank you my mail is siracusa@adinet.com.uy to contact me.

Hal Smith · July 25, 2007

What speed does the motor run at? If it's 1800/1200/900 RPM exactly it could be a sync motor. That would make it a REAL find.

Patrick Neary · August 22, 2007

Hi Hal-

I don't see any RPM markings on the unit, but I might shoot a test with HMIs for laughs to see if I pick up any flicker-

Of course that test won't be shot with the 100' rolls I got from CERTIFIED FILM (off ebay) awhile back. I've already mentioned somewhere else about the rusty film cans taped up with scotch strapping tape and their shipping which took almost two months, and their non-existent communication...now I go to open the first cans (100' daylight loads) and film literally just spills out. It hadn't been secured by tape, a paper band, nothing, and seemed to not even be secured to the spool itself, so it just unspooled itself, or never was wound correctly in the first place. Nice operation there, guys.

And more housecleaning, I see above I made a comment about the "eyemo based automax", and having somehow secured one of those too, I see -for the record- that it doesn't share anything in common with the eyemo, except that it also pulls 35mm film. oops.

oh, it's not for sale... ;)

Paul Bruening · August 23, 2007

Some of those science cams used B&H guts that they put into their housing. That's how mine is.

Patrick Neary · August 23, 2007

yes, that's what I thought the automax was, but looking inside mine can see it uses a geneva movement, and kind of an odd magnetic clutch coupling to the motor, among other things. It's fitted with a nikon mount, so I was hoping to rework it somehow to run at a more useful speed than 16fps, but my machining and fabrication skills are, ummmm, not up to the task. :)