reflex camera adaptable to either handheld or studio conditions. After four years of development, the Panaflex debuted in 1972. A revolutionary camera that operated quietly, the Panaflex eliminated the need for a cumbersome sound blimp, and could synchronize handheld work. The Panaflex also included a digital electronic tachometer and magazine motors for the take-up reel. Ted Post's Magnum Force (1973) and Steven Spielberg's The Sugarland Express (1974) were the first motion pictures filmed with the Panaflex. During the 1970s, the Panaflex line was updated and marketed in new incarnations: the Panaflex X, Panaflex Lightweight (for steadicam), the high-speed Panastar, Panaflex Gold, and Panaflex G2. Panavision came out with a direct competitor to Tiffen's Steadicam stabilizer, the Panaglide harness. The Panacam, a video camera, was also brought out, though the company largely left the video field to others. Robert Gottschalk died in 1982 at the age of 64. After Gottschalk's death, Warner Communications sold the company to a consortium headed by Ted Field, John Farrand, and Alan Hirschfield. With new ownership came sweeping changes to the company, which had stagnated. Optics testing was computerized and, in 1986, the new Platinum model camera was introduced. The next year—responding to a perceived demand for the resurrection of the 65 mm camera—development began on a new model. The company was sold to Lee International PLC for $100 million in 1987, but financing was overextended and ownership reverted to the investment firm Warburg Pincus two years later. In 1989, the company brought out Primo, a new line of lenses. Designed with a consistent color match between all the different focal-length instruments in the line, these were also the sharpest lenses yet manufactured by Panavision. Six years later, Oscars were awarded to the company and to three of its employees for their work on the Primo 3:1 zoom lens: Iain Neil for the optical design, Rick Gelbard for the mechanical design, and Eric Dubberke for the lens's engineering. According to the AMPAS citation, "The high contrast and absence of flare, along with its ability to provide close focusing and to maintain constant image size while changing focus, make the Primo 3:1 Zoom Lens truly unique." In 1991, the company released its new 65 mm technology, System 65, though Arri had beaten it to market by two years with the Arriflex 765. The gauge was not widely readopted, and only two major Hollywood films were shot with