Bell & Howell Filmo Straight Eight (1935)

It weighs 24 ounces, which was light for its time, and the baked enamel finish still turns heads.

Overview

The Bell & Howell Filmo Straight Eight was a calculated bet in the 1935 market on a format that never quite caught on. It was sold as a single 8mm movie camera and used Bell & Howell's proprietary "Straight Eight" system, a direct alternative to Kodak's Double-8 format. Kodak's method split developed 16mm film down the middle to yield two 8mm strips. Bell & Howell used pre-split 8mm film, specifically their "Filmospan," in daylight-ready cartridges containing 30 feet of usable film. Loading was simple. No darkroom, just pop in the spool and go. The exclusivity of the format is what hurt it.

Introduced in July 1935 after more than three years of internal development, the Filmo Straight Eight had the engineering pedigree Bell & Howell was known for. The body is solid cast aluminum alloy and feels substantial without being cumbersome. It measures 1 3/8 by 3 by 5 inches, compact enough for handheld use but not pocketable. The baked brown enamel finish with black and plated trim stood out from the more utilitarian designs of its contemporaries. It was built for reliability.

Two variants came quickly. The 127-A offered frame rates from 8 to 32 images per second. The 127-B doubled that range to 16-64 i/s, for more advanced users who needed slow motion. The spring-wound mechanical drive gave consistent film transport, which matters for stable exposure and smooth playback. A standard 12.5mm f/2.5 anastigmat lens with universal focus sat up front and gave sharp, contrasty images for the era. The optical viewfinder included additional frames, likely for composition across different focal lengths or aspect ratios. Exact details on parallax correction or magnification remain undocumented.

The lens mount is the technically interesting part. It is neither threaded nor bayonet. It uses a spring-lock mechanism, and pressing two buttons simultaneously releases the lens for a quick swap. That was unusually advanced for a consumer-grade 8mm camera in 1935, and it suggests Bell & Howell envisioned a modular ecosystem. Later lenses from the Filmo 70 and 75 series were reportedly adaptable. The ecosystem never fully materialized, because the film format faltered.

Specifications

Manufacturer	Bell & Howell
Model	Filmo Straight Eight
Type	8 mm camera
Production Year	1935
Format	8 mm, Straight Eight
Film Length	Bobine 30 pieds (9,14 mètres) utilisables
Drive	Mécanique à ressort
Frame Rates	8 à 32 i/s (127-A), 16 à 64 i/s (127-B)
Viewfinder	Optique avec cadres supplémentaires
Lens (standard)	Un objectif 12,5 mm F :2.5 anastigmat à focus universel
Lens Mount	Le changement des objectifs est rendue rapide et facile par un verrouillage à ressort. On appuie simultanément sur deux boutons pour libérer et remplacer l’objectif.
Weight	seulement de 24 onces
Dimensions	un et trois huitièmes par trois par cinq pouces
Body	solide boîtier en alliage d’aluminium moulé
Finish	finition dans un riche émail brun cuit au four avec des raccords noirs et plaqués
Film Type	utilise le nouveau film , Bell & Howell ‘’ Filmospan ‘’, un film panchromatic réversible à grain fin qui est prédécoupé dans le sens de la longueur et emballé pour être chargé à la lumière du jour sur une bobine contenant 30 pieds de film utilisable plus 2 pieds pour le chargement et le déchargement à la lumière du jour.
Exposure Control	set the camera to 'EE' mode and the selenium cell controls the aperture

Key Features

24-Ounce Cast Aluminum Body

At just 24 ounces, the Filmo Straight Eight was sturdy enough for field use and light enough for extended handheld operation. The cast aluminum alloy body saved weight, but it also gave rigidity that minimized film-path misalignment, a common problem in cheaper spring-driven cameras. This construction was typical of Bell & Howell's professional-grade approach and contributed to the camera's reputation for reliability. The metal also acted as a heat sink and vibration damper, which helped frame registration and reduced wear over time.

Baked Brown Enamel Finish with Plated Trim

The finish was more than cosmetic. The oven-baked brown enamel was durable and resistant to chipping, a practical step up from the painted or lacquered surfaces common on other 1930s cameras. With the black and plated metal fittings, it gave the camera an instrument-like look. The color also helped the camera stand out in promotional materials, which fit Bell & Howell's premium positioning.

Spring-Lock Lens Mount System

Pressing two buttons to release the lens was a novel approach in 1935. Threaded mounts can seize and bayonets need precise alignment. The spring-lock mechanism allowed rapid lens changes with no tools. It hinted at a modular philosophy ahead of its time, and the fact that later Filmo 70 and 75 lenses were adaptable suggests Bell & Howell intended users to build a lens library. In practice, the proprietary film format limited the user base.

Daylight-Loadable Filmospan Film System

The Filmospan film cartridge was one of the camera's most user-friendly features. It held 30 feet of usable panchromatic, fine-grain, reversal film, pre-loaded and sealed for daylight loading, so no dark bag or changing tent was needed. Two additional feet were included for leader and take-up, which made threading easy. The film was pre-split single 8mm, so no splitting was needed after processing, unlike Kodak's Double-8. That exclusivity backfired, though. Filmospan was only made by Bell & Howell.

EE Mode with Selenium Exposure Control

The "EE" (Exposure Easy) mode with selenium cell metering was a significant step toward automation. The selenium cell measured ambient light and adjusted the aperture accordingly, which cut down on manual calculation. That was particularly useful for amateur filmmakers unfamiliar with exposure values. Selenium cells degrade over time, losing sensitivity or failing entirely, so working EE systems today are rare. No aperture range is documented, but the f/2.5 lens suggests a multi-blade iris was likely controlled by the EE linkage.

Historical Context

The Filmo Straight Eight launched into a format war it was destined to lose. The Single 8mm (Normal-8) film format was introduced to the market by Eastman-Kodak in March 1932, and by 1935 it had gained broad market acceptance. Bell & Howell's decision to pursue a competing, proprietary single 8mm system in 1935 seemed defiant, even arrogant. Despite the camera's technical merits, there was no compatible film stock outside Bell & Howell's own Filmospan, and that limited its appeal. By December 1935, just months after the Straight Eight's announcement, Bell & Howell conceded and released the Filmo 134 "Double Run," a camera that embraced Kodak's Double-8 standard.

It still had some influence. Alongside the Agfa Movex 8 in Germany, the Filmo Straight Eight was one of the few serious attempts to establish an alternative 8mm standard. Some were used to transfer 100-foot reels of news footage to 8mm for home viewing, a practice noted in archival trade documents. As Double-8 became the de facto standard, the Straight Eight faded into obscurity. It survives mostly in collections and occasional eBay listings.

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