PR-25 16mm Sound Cinecamera

RCA Victor Company Inc., Camden, New York, USA. Serial no. 24171.

Written by Chelsey O’Brien, curator, ACMI:

The RCA Victor Sound 16mm Camera was introduced in 1934, five years after Hollywood’s conversion to sound pictures. The RCA Sound camera was the world’s first 16mm sound on film camera and was marketed towards amateur film makers.

The RCA sound camera was capable of shooting one hundred feet of black and white film while recording synchronized sound of the same role, ideal for direct sound recording while filming. The soundtrack was recorded on the edge of the film by a beam of light from a small battery-operated lamp, reflected from a small mirror attached to a diaphragm vibrated by speech from the camera operator. The camera operator could speak commentary which was recorded as a variable area soundtrack along the edge of the film. This placement however meant that the microphone also recorded sound from the camera’s spring-loaded motor. Once film was developed it could be played back on RCA’s sound projector, released a few years earlier to project studio-made sound films.

The RCA sound camera is an important addition to the ACMI Collection as it articulates a vital and historically early technical leap in the amateur film market as well as the sound on film process. Furthermore, it is representative of what would have been used in Australia in late 19th Century.

Technical details: Cinecamera for 16mm film, 100 foot reels. Wollensak Velostigmat lens f/3.5-16, in three-lens turret, screw mount. Clockwork motor drive, 16-24 feet per second. Single sprocket and claw mechanism. Sound recording head, 4 volt 0.75 amp lamp lit from three dry cells. Level adjusting screw. Critical focusing device (under red rubber cap). Direct vision optical finder with frames for three lenses. Paralax compensated rear lens. Footage indicator working on feed spool. Light from lamp falls on recording slit via mirror fitted on ‘microphone’ diaphragm.

From Science Museum UK catalogue: The RCA sound camera was produced for direct sound recording while filming. The sound track was recorded on the edge of the film by a beam of light from a small battery operated lamp, reflected from a small mirror attached to a diaphragm vibrated by speech from the camera operator. The camera operator could speak commentary which was recorded as a variable area sound track along the edge of the film.

From ebay seller: RCA 16mm sound motion picture camera with windier on side, handle on top and base has a power lead connector. The RCA 16mm Sound Camera was the first of its kind made in the USA. There were only a few made, perhaps less then 40. WWII stopped the development of 16mm sound camera and RCA discontinued the project. The camera operates with a spring wound motor and flashlight batteries to power the sound. It accepts a 16mm 100ft Daylight load of film, Spring Wound Motor