{"product_id":"bell-amp-howell-perpetua-electric-eye-8mm-movie-camera-three-lens-turret-c-1958","title":"Bell \u0026 Howell \"Perpetua\" Electric Eye 8mm Movie Camera, Three-Lens Turret, c. 1958","description":"\u003ch3\u003eThe Piece\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eA sculptural piece of mid-century industrial design that happens to be a movie camera. The cast-metal body wears Bell \u0026amp; Howell's signature bronze-gold hammertone crackle finish against black, all crisp panels and machined dials. The showpiece is the front: a rotating three-lens turret — marked \u003cstrong\u003eT\u003c\/strong\u003e, \u003cstrong\u003eN\u003c\/strong\u003e, and \u003cstrong\u003eW\u003c\/strong\u003e for telephoto, normal, and wide, ringed in yellow and green — that swings the chosen lens into place with a satisfying, mechanical certainty. Above it sits the gridded \"Electric Eye\" selenium meter that gave the camera its name, flanked by a bright viewfinder, a film-speed dial reading 10-16-25-40 frames, a footage counter, and a fold-out winding key for the spring-drive motor.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eIt's the kind of object that looks like the 1950s idea of the future — heavy in the hand, beautifully over-engineered, and quietly gorgeous on a shelf.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch3\u003eHistory \u0026amp; Provenance\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eBell \u0026amp; Howell introduced the Perpetua in 1958, at the crest of the home-movie era, when 8mm cameras brought Hollywood's magic to the American living room. Its \"Electric Eye\" automatic exposure — a selenium cell that read the light and set the aperture without a thought from the operator — was exactly the sort of push-button modernity that sold the postwar dream. The rotating turret, meanwhile, borrowed straight from professional cine cameras, letting a backyard director frame a wide shot and a close-up without changing lenses. Chicago's Bell \u0026amp; Howell had been building precision motion-picture equipment since 1907; cameras like this are where that pedigree met the suburban den.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch3\u003eProduct Details\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003ctable\u003e\n\u003cthead\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003cth\u003e\u003c\/th\u003e\n\u003cth\u003e\u003c\/th\u003e\n\u003c\/tr\u003e\n\u003c\/thead\u003e\n\u003ctbody\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eObject\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003e8mm home-movie camera\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003c\/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eMaker \/ Model\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003eBell \u0026amp; Howell \"Perpetua\" (Electric Eye, Model 393)\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003c\/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eEra\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003eCirca 1958\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003c\/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eFormat\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003eStandard 8mm (Double-8) film\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003c\/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eFeatures\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003eRotating 3-lens turret (tele \/ normal \/ wide); \"Electric Eye\" auto exposure; spring-wind drive; film-speed dial 10–40 fps; footage counter; optical viewfinder\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003c\/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eBody\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003eCast metal, bronze-gold hammertone crackle finish\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003c\/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eDimensions\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003e \u003cem\u003e(6x2x5)\u003c\/em\u003e\n\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003c\/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eCondition\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003eHandsome display condition with light wear and a small finish chip near the counter window; sold as a decorative\/collectible object, mechanically untested. \u003cstrong\u003eCondition Guaranteed.\u003c\/strong\u003e\n\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003c\/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eAvailability\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eOne of a Kind — 1 Available\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003c\/tr\u003e\n\u003c\/tbody\u003e\n\u003c\/table\u003e\n\u003ch3\u003eWhy It Belongs in Your Home\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eSome machines are too beautiful to retire to a drawer. Set it on a bookshelf beside leather-bound spines, stage it on a walnut desk, or let it anchor a styled vignette of collected objects — it reads instantly as intelligence, nostalgia, and craft. A conversation piece with real design credentials, and a small monument to the age when every family became its own filmmaker.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Viridian Eclection","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":47835122172009,"sku":null,"price":125.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0651\/0093\/9369\/files\/DSC01594.jpg?v=1785045522","url":"https:\/\/viridianeclection.com\/products\/bell-amp-howell-perpetua-electric-eye-8mm-movie-camera-three-lens-turret-c-1958","provider":"Viridian Eclection","version":"1.0","type":"link"}