Asking price:

$3,000 (USD)

Shipping included, ships to most countries, I also accept Euro.

If you’re interested, want more information, or detailed images/videos, don’t hesitate to email me at espen.susort@gmail.com or message me at Instagram.

I am selling a well-preserved historic motion-picture camera that was owned and used by Norsk Film AS either before or during World War II. It comes with a custom-made travel case. The case is covered with old railway ticket stickers from locations across Norway, mainly Trondheim and Oslo.

I found an old roll of film inside the camera, which I sent to the National Library of Norway for digitisation. Based on all the journeys this camera appears to have made, it is believed to have been actively used during World War II to shoot propaganda films for Filmavisen, the Norwegian newsreel. After Germany invaded Norway, the Germans invested in Norsk Film AS and sent many older cameras of this type to Norway. The Askania Universal was introduced around the mid-1920s.

The camera can be operated either by hand crank or with an electric motor. The hand crank is missing, but the electric motor works and can be plugged into a wall socket using the correct converter.

It comes with three German lenses made by Astro-Berlin:

• Astro-Berlin Pan-Tachar 35mm f/2.3
• Astro-Berlin Pan-Tachar 50mm f/2.3
• Astro-Berlin Pan-Tachar 75mm f/2.3

These lenses have significant collectible value in their own right, as they were highly popular in film production during the 1920s and 1930s, both in Europe and Hollywood. Films such as Citizen Kane and Metropolis used Astro-Berlin Pan-Tachar lenses like these. I have written extensively about Astro-Berlin for anyone interested in learning more about this historic company.

For buyers who are not interested in the lenses, I can sell the camera without them at a reduced price.

This is a piece of Norwegian film history.