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Moy & Bastie - Experiments in Color

British manufacturing partners Ernest Francis and Percy Henry Bastie began producing cinema cameras in 1900. This successful Moy & Bastie model, first manufactured in 1909, soon became a workhorse of the emerging industry. By 1912, it became the go-to camera for studio and newsreel films thanks to its straightforward and reliable design.

1909 35mm MOY & BASTIE camera No.196

Moy No 194 was American cinematographer George Hollister’s personal camera, and was used to shoot the 1912 film, From the Manger to the Cross. With scenes filmed in Jerusalem, Bethlehem, and other authentic locations in Palestine, From the Manger to the Cross was one of the first features ever to be shot on location. 

In the mid 1910's, Hollister modified this camera to shoot in Kinemacolor, an early attempt to simulate four-process color, in camera, during exposure. The red / green color wheel produced a two color process by exposing every other frame through alternate red and green filters.