ARRI SR2 / SR3 Gate compatibility

[Adrian Kuciel]

Hello!

I own an Arri SR2 HS Super16, but my gate was apparently modified and has round corners which neither me, nor my directors like, as the image has to be significantly cropped to get corners out of the view.

After asking a question on "Arriflex Anonymous" FB group If SR3 gate fits SR2 I got several responses confirming it from people who changed theirs.

So I managed to find a SR3 Gate for a reasonably good price but when I gave the camera and the gate to my technician he told me that it doesn't fit. The difference is in small hole for the screw that he said is for adjusting the height of the gate. See the picture attached:



Do you maybe know  what could be the reason for such a difference? Is my camera somehow modified or built differently for some reason?


Thank you for you help!
Adrian

[Dom Jaeger]

Your fitted gate is very odd, it has one older rail on the right and one newer one on the left, and the locating slot is not where it normally is in my experience. Definitely a weird modded gate.
The gate you show on the left is not an SR3 gate, but a S16 SR2 gate. The position of the locating slot is where it normally is for SR3s and later SR2s. 
I suspect your camera is an older camera that has been a bit Frankensteined. 
 

An SR3 gate looks like this:

[Adrian Kuciel]

@Dom Jaeger Thank you for your reply!

Yes, that is a fact! Apparently it's a SR2 S16 gate.
I don't know what would be the difference between sr2 s16 gate and sr3 gate - in stability?

I just got a reply from Georg Bogner who says:
"...your Kamera converted to Super 16 by a technician were put the register pin on an other place like 16SR-3. Now you have two posibilities. mill out filmgate on the right place or you remove register pin."

So I think I will look for someone who will precisely machine it for me.

[Aapo Lettinen]

would it work to just precision machine the round corners out of the original gate edges? could be easier if machining needs to be done anyway?

[Adrian Kuciel]

On 11/14/2023 at 8:17 PM, aapo lettinen said:

would it work to just precision machine the round corners out of the original gate edges? could be easier if machining needs to be done anyway?

Probably yes!
However I find it extremely difficult to get someone even to machine this hole on the side for me (which doesn't have to be THAT precise (comparing to gate corners)). Everyone owning a CNC apparently is busy doing a big orders and does not want to bother with one-time piece.
What other guy told me, it is hard to get perfectly sharp inside corners using CNC, as it rotates. He told me that different machine has to be used for the inside corners.