Re: Speaking of Rotaries

Back in the day, Jerry, prior to the advent of sound (October 1927, The Jazz Singer) with its need to run film at a constant 24 fps (optical sound track), professional 35mm cameras were hand-cranked. After that, they had electric motor drive. The cameras you are speaking of, I believe, came at a later date. Spring drive was the preferred drive for 8mm and 16mm cameras. See my post with the photo of Cecil B. DeMille.

My guess is the video clip referenced here was originally intended for motion picture theater presentation and so would have been filmed and projected on 35mm film at 16 fps. Because the cameras were hand-cranked, 16 fps was an approximation. 35mm silent projectors usually had a rheostat so that projection speed could be varied too.

Mike