The Eyemo "spyder" model 71QM in action, fitted with a metal accessory on the camera door.

The Eyemo (sometimes written as Eymo) is a 35mm motion picture camera which was manufactured by the Bell and Howell corporation. It is no longer made, but many used models are in circulation. A 71QM model Bell and Howell Eyemo 35mm camera, mounted on a tripod. ... A 71QM model Bell and Howell Eyemo 35mm camera, mounted on a tripod. ... Simulated 35 mm film with soundtracks - The outermost strips (on either side) contain the SDDS soundtrack as an image of a digital signal. ... The Eyemo spyder model 71QM in action, fitted with a metal accessory on the camera door. ...

Designed and first manufactured in the late 1920's, it was for many years the most compact 35mm motion picture camera available. Its small size and ruggedness made it a favorite choice for newsreel and combat cameramen (it was used through World War II, the War Department issued special manuals for it), and also found use for fiction and documentary filmmakers whenever a portable, rugged, and inconspicuous camera was needed. World War II was a truly global conflict with many facets: immense human suffering, fierce indoctrination, and the use of new, extremely devastating weapons such as the atom bomb. ...

It is still in use by filmmakers to this day, often used as a "crash cam" for filming dangerous stunts and explosions, and shots where the camera must be dropped from a building or other elevation.

The Eyemo is a non reflex camera, viewing while filming is through an optical viewfinder attached to the camera door. Some models take one lens only, while the "spider model" features a three lens turret and a "focusing viewfinder" on the side opposite the optical viewfinder. All Eyemos feature an identical Eyemo lens mount except the model 71-k, which is slightly different. In photography a viewfinder is what the photographer looks through to compose, and in many cases to focus, the picture. ...

Winding up the Eyemo's spring motor before a shot.

Eyemos feature a built in clockwork (spring wind) motor which, when winded by a ratchet key, runs about 20 seconds of film per winding (at the 24 frames per second speed), and can film at speeds from 8 to 48 frames per second. The camera can be hand cranked with a manual crank accessory. Several optional electric motors are available, some run off of DC battery power while others run off of household AC current. There is currently a synchronized motor availible for sync sound filming but no comercially availible camera blimp to reduce the camera's noise. Winding up the Eyemo camera with a ratchet. ... Winding up the Eyemo camera with a ratchet. ... A ratchet (a) with a gearwheel (b) In mechanical engineering a ratchet is a device used to restrict motion in one direction. ...

The Eyemo takes an internal load of 100 feet (30 m) of film, which lasts just over a minute when filming at the standard 24 frames per second speed. Some models also accept a 400 ft or 1000 ft magazine that is attached to the back, which can hold respectively 4 and 10 minutes of film. When used with a 400 ft magazine the Eyemo is cumbersome (but not impossible) to operate without the use of a tripod, while the use of a 1000' magazine requires tripod support.

Some camera shops have modified Eyemos to reflex viewing, attached "video taps" and motors to them, and modified its proprietary lens mount to allow the camera to use different optics (such as lenses made for still Nikon cameras). Such modified Eyemos often cost several times the price of a factory model. Nikon redirects here; there is also a leader of the Russian Orthodox Church named Patriarch Nikon. ...

Bell and Howell modelled its successful 16mm "Filmo" movie cameras after the Eyemo.

See also

• Konvas