Filming Equipment
Filmmuseum Potsdam recently obtained a camera, which in museums and among collectors of old film technology had been previously entirely unknown: the Geyer Filming System. Under this name, the camera was introduced with an advertisement, also shown in the museum, from the "KARL GEYER Maschinen und Apparatebau GmbH Berlin." Since Geyer Maschinenbau GmbH was first separated under this name from the Geyer Werke in 1918, and could be found at a different address beginning in 1924, the camera must have been produced during this time period.
Intensive research in the film literature of those years provided another piece of evidence: In a report on the Cinema Trade Show in Leipzig in March 1921, we read: "Professional filming devices were represented by constructions by Wardack and Rothe-Berlin, Ernemann, Ertel, Karl Geyer-Berlin, Hahn-Goerz and Stachow, which with the exception of the last borrow from well-known, usually foreign constructions."
Up until now, all attempts to obtain more information on this camera were unsuccessful. There are not even any references to this camera in the remaining files of Geyer Maschinenbau GmbH. Other than the fact that up until now, no 35mm Geyer camera was known of, this would be nothing special. But the construction of the device gives a clue to all those who know the material as to why this camera was probably only sold in very small numbers and thus remained unknown.
The basic construction corresponds in all details and measurements to the camera Pathé Model B, a construction from 1905, which generally is known as Pathé Professional or Pathé Industrial. Only the film channel was changed, since in this case the round plywood magazines are, unlike the Pathé, not behind one another, but rather are placed on top of the camera, one next to the other. In addition, the camera was equipped with a compendium with an iris, as it is written in the advertisement, "a recently popular way for eccentric in- and out-irising."
This camera certainly is one of the devices which Guido Seeber was referring to when he complained at the beginning of the 1920s that Germany makes no new cameras of its own. One of the trusted models copied by German manufacturers was the Pathé Model B.

Charles Pathé, who is supposed to have said about himself, "I did not invent the cinema, but I industrialized it!," began in 1895 with the distribution of Edison′s Kinetoscope.

With the support of Henry Joly, who himself had constructed a usable camera, he also made his own films for the Kinetoscope.
In 1896, after parting ways with Joly, he founded together with his brothers the firm "Pathé Freres." Since Pathé was able to acquire all film technology rights and patents from the Lumiere Brothers in 1905, it was possible to develop this firm to an internationally leading company, which in France only had competition from the firm Gaumont.
The Camera Model B was probably developed in 1905, and was originally only intended for the production of their own films. It is not clear when it began to be sold. There is a good deal of evidence that this began around 1908. It was intended for professional use, and is one of the first cameras which was industrially mass-produced. Thus, it also became known internationally under the names Pathé Professional or Pathé Industrial.
In this camera, Pathé used the Lumiere-Carpentier claw; in addition, the construction of the Lumiere Cinématographe was also basically retained. In that the base, which holds the film channel, drive and controls, is perpendicular to the optical axis, this camera is quite wide, but not very deep. In this way, and also in that the two magazines are placed one behind the other, this camera already clearly differs from others merely in its external construction.
The most important advantage of this construction is the simple, straight film channel. Among other things, this provides the camera with excellent image stability. Not at least due to this, it was in its time one of the best and internationally most popular cameras.
The cinematographer Billy Bitzer, for example, used this camera for such important films as "Birth of a Nation" in 1915 and "Intolerance" in 1916, directed by D. W. Griffith.

Films by Mack Sennett and Charlie Chaplin were also filmed with this camera. In the case of the Camera Model C, the magazines are placed inside the camera, one next to the other. For adjustment purposes, the back part of the housing could be opened up, revealing the film reels and a part of the mechanics (roller, film guides, and aperture plate). This camera, also called Pathé Voyage, was after some constructive changes sold as Pathé Reportage. The film channel was simplified and there was no longer an opening to the mechanics. Instead, the camera was equipped with an adjustable eyepiece.
In 1912, Pathé introduced a 28mm safety film for amateur use, with special perforation, the Kok Film. In addition, they developed the Home Projector Pathescope, or Pathé Kok Projector, and it spread very quickly.
Beginning in 1913, an accompanying camera, also termed Pathé Kok, was available for purchase. In its construction, it is similar to the Reportage.

Projecting Equipment
Film did not remain a mere entertainment medium, but, after initial disdain and scepticism, soon became a popular educational tool.
In an article about a special exhibition on "School Cinematography in Leipzig, 1914," we read: "Considering the successes of cinematography, it should not be surprising that since its invention, the enemies have not yet been convinced of the high cultural value hidden within it. Other than the pictures, which one correctly refuses to use in the school, producers have made at great expense which are educationally of the highest significance. For history, botany, geography, industry, etc., individual pictures have been made which complement hours of teaching, even perhaps replace them.
When the word and the stationary image have reached the limits of their effectiveness, the moving picture begins as a welcome helper, and, due to its fidelity to nature, illustrates life processes in such a dramatic and impressive way that the spectator does not lose the impressions for his entire life."
Mainly for use in schools, but also for associations and lecturers, the firms offered devices which they called "lecture machines," "school and educational cinematograph," "school and association cinema," or simply "school projector." One of the first projectors of this kind was the Kinox from Ernemann, from the year 1914.
Characteristic for all of these devices was their relatively light construction and simple operation. Thus, they could quickly be set up in different locations. Often, they were built so that, when not in use, they could be kept in transportation boxes or closed beneath a covering. At the same time, these devices were equipped with low power lamps. The lower heat produced by these lamps meant a lower risk of fire. The firecodes stipulated fire protection measures which projectors had to meet if they were to be used "outside of a fire-secure booth."
Here, the regulations could not keep up with the manufacturers, who adapted their apparatuses to the special requirements of schools and lecture halls. According to the regulations of the German Imperial Light Law, beginning in 1926 all projectors had to be approved by special inspector. The projectors were classified into classes, which determined the approved area of their use.
Class A projectors could only be operated as stationary machines in special projection booths by a licensed projectionist. Class B projectors also required a licensed projectionist, but these devices could also be used in any booth separated from the spectators.
Only class C projectors could be placed in the same room as the spectators, and could be used by an "instructed person." With improved fire protection measures in the projectors, the regulations were loosened so that B projectors could also be used in the same room as the spectators. The school projectors which had been developed up to that point were accordingly placed in classes B and C.
Because it is so common, the Monopol from the ICA AG Dresden, built beginning in 1914, is certainly the most known early school projector in Germany. Framing was achieved by use of a hand crank placed high on the projector. A slightly altered model appeared in 1924. The framing here was done with a knob placed lower on the projector.
The Monopol was the only projector of the ICA AG which was still built after 1926 by the Zeiss Ikon AG. It was always offered in various versions and with various accessories. Various stands were offered: "Three legged of wood," "transport and storage case serves as base," "column stand" and "iron stand." The possible light sources were electric arc light, calcium light burner or bulb light.
The Monopol was offered also with reverse and stopped projection. For stopped projection, that is, the longer projection of an individual film image by stopping the film transport, the projector was equipped with a folding shutter, which was clapped together when it was stopped, and in movement folded out by centrifugal force. Here, however, only lamp light or the "low voltage arc light, 6 amps" could be used, otherwise the film would become too hot. All versions were offered with corresponding transport boxes.
A more stable and powerful school projector from the Zeiss Ikon AG was the lecture machine "Docent," a further development of the school projector from the Hahn-Goerz AG. Although H. Tümmel describes the Docent as a follower of a school projector from Nitzsche, a comparison of the devices clearly shows its origins in the Hahn-Goerz. Nitzsche′s machine, the projector Reform, is decidedly different in its construction.
The 1920 Ernemann Magister can also be classified as a school projector. Three versions were sold: Magister I on a four-legged table, Magister II on a column tripod, or Magister III as a portable projector in transport box.