In 1908, Joseph Debrie developed the 'Le Parvo' camera, described at the time to be robust, compact and at the height of technology. The original models were constructed from polished hardwood, but the 'Le Parvo' series also included metal bodied cameras in a variety of model types designed for studio and location work, the 'L' [for studio work], the 'E' and the 'K'. The wooden casing was an enclosing shell. The gears, film gate, etc. were mounted on, and contained within a metal chassis. On the front panel was a brass knob to open the front of the camera and a further brass knob to unlock the shutter mechanism. The camera had a fold-out Newton finder and eyepiece. The rear of the camera featured a footage counter dial marked in feet, a cranking speed indicator marked 16fps and 24fps and a pull-out focusing eyepiece with diopter adjustment and an eyepiece light-trap cover.
Also on the rear panel was a spirit level to level the camera on a tripod. The camera front lifted up and the side panels were hinged to reveal the very impressive movement and two 400 feet co-axial metal film magazines.
The hand-cranked 'Le Parvo' [meaning 'compact' and of small dimension] was at one time the most popular European made camera. Even in the early 1920's, the 'Le Parvo' was the most used camera in the world. Famous users included F.W. Murnau [for his silent film 'Nosferatu, eine Symphonie des Grauens'] and Leni Riefenstahl to film the 1936 Berlin Olympics.
In 1921 followed the Super Parvo with an automatic dissolve facility.
The Debrie Parvo was a 35mm motion picture camera developed in France by Joseph Jules Debrie, in 1908. The camera was relatively compact for its time. It was hand cranked, as were its predecessors. To aid the camera operator in cranking at the correct speed, the camera had a built in tachometer.
The Parvo held up to 120 meters of film (approximately 400 ft) inside without the need for an external film magazine, yielding almost 6 minutes of film when cranked at the standard 16 frames per second silent film rate. It allowed the camera operator to focus the camera lens but - as all other cine cameras of its era - had a side optical viewfinder to be used during actual filming.
The Parvo was immensely popular in Europe during the silent film era, straight through the 1920's. Directors who particularly liked the camera were Abel Gance, Leni Riefenstahl, and Sergei Eisenstein. The latter's cinematographer, Eduard Tisse, would use the camera into the sound era, i.e. filming the duelling sequence in Alexander Nevsky.
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