When there are no second takes, reliability is of the camera is of
the utmost importance. This is the reason Frank Hurley, the Australian
photographer and cinematographer of the Shackleton Antarctic Expedition
chose a Prestwich as his cine camera. In October 1914 Hurley sailed
with Sir Ernest Shackleton on the wooden steam/sailing ship Endurance
from Buenos Aires for Antarctica. He had to abandon his Prestwich
camera when the ice crushed the ship Endurance on November 21, 1915.
Hurley was able to film the crushing and sinking of the ship and then
seal his films in cans in order to preserve them. It is believed that
this is the first actual filming of a sinking ship. His Prestwich
camera gave us some incredible historically important film. He and
the crew were desperately stranded on the ice beyond all hope of rescue.
Six months later Shackleton and two others staggered into a whaling
camp a thousand miles away and mounted a rescue party to return and
save the rest of their crew.