The Evolution Of Bell & Howell's Electric Eye Camera

The Bell & Howell Electric Eye camera was made in the United States in the 1950s. The company Bell & Howell was founded in 1907 and initially manufactured movie cameras, later branching into still cameras in 1948 with the Foton camera. The Electric Eye camera was one of the first in the world to have full automatic exposure. It used 127 roll film and took twelve 4cm x 4cm exposures. The camera was simple to use, with a fixed focus, a single-speed shutter, and minimal manual control. It featured a revolutionary auto-exposure system, allowing the camera to work in a variety of lighting conditions. The Electric Eye was a significant innovation in photography, paving the way for future advancements in camera technology.

The Bell & Howell Electric Eye 127 was released in 1958

The Bell & Howell Company was incorporated in 1907 by Donald J. Bell and Albert S. Howell, and was originally based in Wheeling, Illinois. The company initially specialised in cinematic film projectors and cameras. The Electric Eye 127 was possibly the last still film camera the company ever made. The company continued to produce cameras until the 1970s.

The camera had a list price of $79.95

The Bell & Howell Electric Eye 127 was a still film camera with a list price of $79.95. It was one of the first cameras in the world with full automatic exposure, allowing the camera to work across a variety of outdoor and well-lit indoor lighting conditions. The camera's selenium cell controlled the aperture automatically according to the available light. When there was insufficient light, a red flag would appear in the viewfinder, and when the light was adequate, the flag would disappear, and the camera was ready to shoot. The camera was solidly built and featured an attractive all-metal body. It was also supplied with a leatherette case and an accessory flashgun.

The Electric Eye 127 was a simple camera aimed at novices. It had a single-speed shutter and offered very little in the way of manual control. The only manual settings were a dial with two marks—a red triangle and a white circle—that allowed the user to adjust the light meter for different film types, and a slider that allowed manual adjustment of the aperture. The camera also had a double exposure prevention feature.

The Bell & Howell Electric Eye 127 was possibly the last still film camera the company ever made. The company, founded in 1907, focused on manufacturing movie cameras and products for the motion picture industry. They introduced their first amateur 8mm film camera in 1934 and their first still camera, the Foton, in 1948. By the early 2000s, Bell & Howell had shifted their focus to their Information Technology business, and their imaging assets were sold to Kodak.

It was one of the first cameras with full automatic exposure

The Bell & Howell Electric Eye camera was one of the first cameras with full automatic exposure. The camera, made in the United States around 1958, uses 127 roll film and takes twelve 4cm x 4cm exposures. Although a simple box camera with a fixed focus, a single-speed shutter, and very little manual control, it offered a full automatic exposure mode.

To activate this mode, photographers simply had to set the camera to 'EE' mode. The camera's selenium cell would then control the aperture automatically according to the available light. A red flag would appear in the viewfinder to notify the photographer that there wasn't enough light to take a photo. Once the flag disappeared, the camera was ready to capture the image. This simple innovation worked incredibly well and allowed the camera to adapt to a variety of outdoor and well-lit indoor lighting conditions.

The Bell & Howell Electric Eye's automatic exposure system was billed as having an "Infallible Electric Eye". While the camera did have some limitations, it was still an impressive feat for its time, as it managed to accurately expose images without the use of any electricity or batteries.

The Electric Eye 127 was possibly the last still film camera that the company ever made. It was solidly built and included an accessory flashgun and leatherette case. Although it was a basic camera, it had a revolutionary auto-exposure system.

The Electric Eye technology was so successful that Bell & Howell applied it to their 8mm movie cameras, with the Vintage Bell & Howell Electric Eye 8mm Movie Camera being released in the 1950s.

The camera was solidly built and had a revolutionary auto-exposure system

The Bell & Howell Electric Eye camera was built on a sturdy, all-metal body, giving it a solid look and feel. The camera was one of the first in the world to feature full automatic exposure, with a selenium cell that controlled the aperture automatically according to the available light. This allowed the camera to work in a range of outdoor and well-lit indoor lighting conditions.

The auto-exposure system was billed as having an "Infallible Electric Eye", accurately exposing images without the need for batteries or electricity. This was achieved through a unique design where the selenium meter was connected directly to the lens. Inside the lens, there was a metal plate with a slit that started narrow and gradually widened. This plate had painted red lines that were visible through the viewfinder. When the selenium cell detected light, it moved the metal plate to align the lens with the appropriate opening, with the width of the opening determined by the amount of light detected.

The auto-exposure system also included a red flag in the viewfinder, which indicated when there was insufficient light for proper exposure. Once enough light was available, the red flag disappeared, and a clear green tab appeared, signalling that the camera was ready to capture an image.

The Bell & Howell Electric Eye camera's revolutionary auto-exposure system was a significant advancement for its time, allowing novice photographers to capture well-exposed images with ease.

The Electric Eye 127 was possibly the last still film camera the company ever made

The Bell & Howell Company was incorporated on 17 February 1907 by Donald J. Bell, a projectionist, and Albert S. Howell as a maker of cinematic film projectors and cameras. The company initially manufactured movie cameras and, in 1934, released the first amateur 8mm film camera which allowed for daylight film loading.

The Bell & Howell Electric Eye 127, made in the United States around 1958, is possibly the last still film camera the company ever made. It was one of the first cameras in the world to have full automatic exposure. The camera was a simple box camera with a fixed focus, a single-speed shutter, and very little manual control. It used 127 roll film and took twelve 4cm x 4cm exposures.

The Electric Eye 127 was solidly built and featured a revolutionary auto-exposure system that was billed as having an "Infallible Electric Eye". The camera managed to accurately expose images without the use of batteries or electricity. It had a list price of $79.95 and included an accessory flashgun and leatherette case.

The Bell & Howell Company continued to produce cameras until the 1970s, after which it focused on its information technology business. The company still exists today, making products for the postal and information sorting industry.

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