Pathé’s better mouse trap for news reel pros
Toronto. In this September, 1962 advertisement, Pathé announced its ‘better mouse trap’ – the WEBO-M 16mm reflex movie camera intended for news reel shorts taken in the field. The ad appeared in ‘American Cinematographer’ of that year, placed by the American distributor of the famous French camera line.
I found it interesting that the ad announced this camera as the first of its kind to sell under $530US but was illustrated with a pricier setup which in very tiny print at the bottom says, “Model shown sells for less than $1,375.” As they said in Laugh-in about the same time, “very interesting”.
Once again, we owe a big thank you to my good friend, George Dunbar, for sourcing and sharing this tidbit of photographic history in this age of TV, streaming, and digital everything.
