The 221st provided their clients both kinds of photography...still and motion. Their movies were filmed single-system (no sound) using the venerable military standard, the Bell & Howell 16mm Filmo, various versions of which had been in use worldwide since the 1920's. The camera had a replaceable three-lens turret and the film was moved past the shutter by a spring-wound motor (there was a winding key on the other side of the camera; new rolls of film were loaded in a light-proof "changing bag").

     The 35mm version of the camera was called the Eyemo and operated pretty much the same way. The cost of processing 35mm vs. 16mm film was much more, so 35mm mopic was reserved for special unit use. For three-quarters of the 20th century, Bell & Howell pretty much owned the basic mopic camera and projector market; today they're no longer an American company and produce mostly graphic scanners.

     The Graflex Super Speed wound up primarily as a studio camera, used mostly for portrait and ID photography, at least at the 221st, using various film backs (accessories that utilized different film sizes). I don't think that the photographers felt it was sufficiently sturdy for their use in the field even though it had done just fine in WW2 and Korea.

     Next to play with was the Graflex XL, a component-based camera system, for use as a field camera, primarily because of its media adaptablity: the use of various film backs and sizes and lenses made the XL useful for almost any purpose. It was also a bit more sturdy than tbe Super Speed, designed for use in rougher environments. But it was still only useable with manual settings: no autofocus, no auto exposure. And still no single lens reflex capability. For a fledgling photographer, this was all getting very complicated. Almost all of the "still" guys had had three months of training back in Ft. Monmouth. I was still getting over audio tape. I was the original "point and shoot guy".

     Its biggest problem for field work, or so I was told, was how it loaded up with dirt (much like M-16's). But any piece of gear used in such an environment would be subject to these issues. 221st photographers found another way...using SLR cameras, purchased on their own.

     I eventually learned that most of the photogs declined to use the issued cameras in favor of 35mm SLR cameras they had purchased from discount sources, usually from Hong Kong suppliers. These cameras were smaller, lighter and offered lens capability and automatic features that the Graflex cameras didn't.

     The most serious photographers (usually the guys who had been drafted from photo gigs into the Army) chose and purchased Nikon F cameras or Leicas. These top-of-the-line cameras were way beyond my pocketbook and technical skills.

     The Nikon Photomic FTN head offered previously unavilable semi-automatic features using matching lenses, all of which focused manually. A few years later, back in the US, I "traded up" to one of these but never could get used to using it.

     The Pentax Spotmatic seemed to me to be the second most-used 35mm field camera, or at least the second-most recommended, and offered auto-exposure via "needle matching" in the viewfinder window and many other features. Focus was manual but assisted by several different optical aids. The photos displayed on this site were taken using the Pentax Spotmatic I bought by mail from a dealer in Hong Kong. I seem to remember that I purchased the camera and its "normal (50mm) lens" for about $200...which was a pretty big bite out of a Spec 4's monthly paycheck in 1969. But I eventually managed to also get a couple of extra lenses for it; the one I found most useful was a non-Pentax (but compatible with the camera's systems) 35mm-105mm zoom. Even though I rarely used it for anything but personal photo work, the camera and the lenses still needed constant cleaning. I still have the beaver-hair shaving brush (make your own jokes) I bought at the Tan Son Nhut BX for that purpose.