Fries VistaVision Butterfly Camera Package

PRODUCT HIGHLIGHTS

This Fries Engineering VistaVision Motion Picture Camera Package is in EXCELLENT CONDITON & will be FULLY SERVICED by one of our veteran camera technicians at time of sale, prior to shipping! This Fries VistaVision camera body & magazines show very little cosmetic wear for a vintage camera of this age. 

VistaVision: “Motion Picture High Fidelity”

• VistaVision is a 35mm film format in which the film negative runs horizontally through the gate, creating an image that is eight perforations wide– roughly twice the area of standard vertical 4‑perf 35mm.

• The larger negative yields higher resolution, finer grain, and the ability to use slightly longer focal lengths for a wide field of view with shallower depth of field, which many people associate with a very “cinematic” look.

What is a Fries VistaVision Camera?:

• After VistaVision faded as a general production format in the 1960’s, the original VistaVision cameras (made by the Mitchell Camera Company) ended up in storage at Hollywood facilities until the VFX boom of the 1980s made the format attractive again for effects plates because of its large negative and spherical optics.​ Fries Engineering took the original VistaVision cameras, rebuilt them, and added modern features so they could be used on contemporary productions. Fries transplanted the original VistaVision film movement into a studio‑style body and added a spinning mirror shutter for reflex viewing, replacing non‑reflex/rangefinder arrangements so operators could look straight through the taking lens. The cameras received new, largely analog electronics with multiple boards, trimmers, and later upgrades to higher‑resolution encoders for much finer speed control and better sync with motion‑control and other gear.

Why shoot VistaVision in “The Digital Age?”
Short answer: Because it looks amazing!

VistaVision runs 35mm film sideways:
• 8 perforations per frame
• Nearly twice the image area of standard 4-perf 35mm

Shooting in VistaVision produces:
✔ Incredible resolution
✔ Extremely fine grain
✔ Smooth tonal roll-off
✔ Gorgeous highlight behavior

VistaVision sits in a sweet spot between 35mm and 65mm. It Has a Very Specific “Texture”

Digital large-format cameras are clean. VistaVision is:
• Clean… but organic
• Sharp… but dimensional
• Dense… but not sterile
Skin tones in particular look amazing when captured with VistaVision! There’s a subtle micro-contrast and grain structure that modern sensors don’t quite replicate.

MODERN USE of the VistaVision format in the Digital Age:
Brady Corbet’s 2024 film The Brutalist was was shot on VistaVision 35mm film. It was not only nominated for Best Picture of the year, it won the Oscar for Best Cinematography in 2025. Paul Thomas Anderson chose the VistaVision format for his film One Battle After Another resulting in another VistaVison 35mm film being nominated for Best Picture AND Best Cinematography. 

This product is backed by our 6 MONTH PARTS AND LABOR WARRANTY.

Worry free 7-DAY MONEY BACK GUARANTEE.