TECHNES Encyclopedia Database

The only studio camera to truly challenge the supremacy of the Mitchell in the classical era of film history was also derived from a model first introduced in the silent era: the Debrie Parvo. In the early 1930s the French company launched a new edition of the model, the Super Parvo, better suited for studio shooting with synchronous sound.^[15] Just like the Mitchell cameras designed for sound cinema, the Super Parvo featured 1,000′ magazines (the Parvo could only take 400′ of film). It was also equipped with a relatively soundproof body and an electric motor nested between the two internal coaxial-type magazines. A massive camera, the Super Parvo needed to be installed on a heavy stand sold by Debrie.