Bolex 1:1 drive shaft

[Stephanie Zimmer]

I just bought a Bolex off of eBay and would like to learn more about it. Is there a website I can check the serial number of the camera to find out if it has a 1:1 drive shaft to use an intervalometer? Is there a way to tell on the body? Are there any alternative brands of intervalometers for other cameras that will work with the Bolex or does it have to be a specific type? What should I look for?

 

Also, if it is not 1:1, is there another way to rig something to do time lapse without having to control the camera manually? Thanks.

[Boris Belay]

Hi Stephanie,

Welcome to the wonderful world of Bolex and 16mm. film !

The best model/serials reference about Bolex in my opinion is

http://www.city-net.com/~fodder/bolex/history/index.html

As for the 1/1 motor shaft, it's easy to tell : if your camera has an 'I-T' lever (for Immediate or Timed single-frame exposure) in a cresent-shaped resess between the turett and the side release, then it only has the 6/1 motor axle. If the 'I/T' control is a little rounds knob, then the 1/1 shaft is there, just above.

Regarding motors and intervalometers for either kinds (obviously more choice with the later models), the best place to start is Clive Tobin's shop, but since he's active in this forum, I'm sure he'll respond directly.

 

www.tobincinemasystems.com

 

B.

[Boris Belay]

PS. Alternatively, if you want to give me the auction link or eBay item #, I can look it up and tell you what kind of a deal you got.

[Stephanie Zimmer]

PS. Alternatively, if you want to give me the auction link or eBay item #, I can look it up and tell you what kind of a deal you got.

 

Hi,

I'd be very grateful if you could tell me the value of what I purchased. The serial number is 256294. The eBay item number is 7555766407.

 

I heard that you can look up your camera by serial number and there should be a log of what you have. Have your heard about this? Is there a website where I can look up the serial number? Thanks for your help,

 

Stephanie

[Herb Montes]

Hi,

I'd be very grateful if you could tell me the value of what I purchased. The serial number is 256294. The eBay item number is 7555766407.

 

I heard that you can look up your camera by serial number and there should be a log of what you have. Have your heard about this? Is there a website where I can look up the serial number? Thanks for your help,

 

Stephanie

 

That looks like a nice Rex5 you bought there. Value for the body runs from $800 to $1000. Unfortunately those may not be Rx primes you got with the camera. I paid $1000 for my Rex5 and it came with two Shneider Rx primes (a 10mm and a 25mm).

[Boris Belay]

Hi Stephanie,

 

For the serial number info, look up the site I indicated in my first post.

 

Your camera kit looks good, and the price is fair. If the camera works well, you're ok, and if all the lenses are good, you're very ok !

This was the top of the line Bolex throughout the late 60's and remained/remains the favorite models of those who want a mechanical motor, so it's a very good camera indeed. And it does have the 1/1 axis, as well as the possibility to mount a 400ft magazine for longer takes (you'll need the magazine, a camera motor, and a magazine motor for that option, and the camera becomes quite heavy then !).

more details :

1 BOLEX H16 RX5 REFLEX CAMERA IN VERY GOOD CONDITION No 256294

--> very nice, run some basic tests with an old spool of film if you have some.

1 SWITAR 10MM F1.6 LENS (It doesn't look nice but works fine) No 1023172

--> very nice wide-angle lens (if not the latest), and yours is RefleX-compatible. Check the front element, which is quite exposed and often damaged, but may still shoot decently.

1 BOLEX ESM 12V DC SYNC MOTOR (click here to see photo)(runs at 10, 18, 24, 25, 50 fps)

-->excellent motor, runs on 12V. battery packs, can be connected to a crystal unit for ultra-precise speed.

1 P. ANGENIEUX TYPE M1 F.95 25MM LENS No 1307845

--> amazingly fast (F:0.95 !) standard lens, but is not RX-specified, so proceed with caution at wider apertures (or sell it on eBay to buy a Switar 25/1,4 RX that will match your Switar 10mm.

1 12-120 ZOOM LENS F3.3 PAN-CINOR SOM BERTHIOT This lens has some scratching on the surface

but the footage I have shot with it looks fine.

--> Good, little-known zoom lens, RX-compatible, good useable range and very compact, but low aperture as a trade off. Hope the glass is ok, as it's a good complement to fast fixed focal lenses.

1 KERN -PAILLARD YVAR F2.8 75MM ARLENS No 736371

--> OK telephoto lens, probably form an older H16 kit. Try it, it may work for you, or sell it ($50?).

1 COOKE PANCHROTAL ANASTIGMAT 2.8INCH F2.3 LENS made by Taylor, Taylor and Hobson No.464722

--> another, equivalent telephoto lens, may be better than the Kern, keep one or the other, lesser market value.

1 set of 5 filter holders plus one in the camera

--> useful, but it's becoming hard to find good gel filters.

1 BAYONET MOUNT HANDLE WITH TRIGGER

--> Actually not "bayonet-mount" but has a quick-release disc that also works on Bolex tripods. Nice handle, but will not fit with motor attached (electric handle is similar and cheap without the mounting disc that you already have).

2 PELICAN CASES

-->good quality, convenient.

 

So, quite good overall. Main question is the real shape of the camera, and obviously the lens of glass. But even a scratched fron element or damaged coating may not mean the lens is useless -- just that you should test it, and see its limits.

More questions?

[Boris Belay]

PS. I looked at the eBay pictures again, and I had missed an important detail which makes this a much better deal : the camera is a late series, probably 71-75, equipped with the great 13x viewfinder that first appeared on the EBM. Previous Rex-5's had a good 10x viewfinder, but this one is even better and quite rare on this model. If the camera functions well, it alone may be worth $1000. Not that you should sell it -- you should keep it and enjoy it for a long, long time !

[Stephanie Zimmer]

PS. I looked at the eBay pictures again, and I had missed an important detail which makes this a much better deal : the camera is a late series, probably 71-75, equipped with the great 13x viewfinder that first appeared on the EBM. Previous Rex-5's had a good 10x viewfinder, but this one is even better and quite rare on this model.

 

Boris -

Thank you so much for your help. One question about looking up the serial number - for the 13x viewfinder, for instance, if the serial number of the camera is past the number that the feature was offered, it was automatically given that feature? There wasn't an option to have either the 10 or 13x for that year? I just want to make sure I have a 13x viewfinder because I was surprised how dark it was when I received it. I appreciate all your time. Thanks again,

 

Stephanie

[Sam Wells]

They're all dark, the 13X is just larger dark :blink:

 

-Sam

[Boris Belay]

Boris -

Thank you so much for your help. One question about looking up the serial number - for the 13x viewfinder, for instance, if the serial number of the camera is past the number that the feature was offered, it was automatically given that feature? There wasn't an option to have either the 10 or 13x for that year? I just want to make sure I have a 13x viewfinder because I was surprised how dark it was when I received it. I appreciate all your time. Thanks again,

 

Stephanie

 

Hi Stephanie, Your viewfinder is definitely the 13x. version. It's obvious on the pictures of the auction (even if I missed it the first time I looked at it), and the serial # above 250,xxx tells you so too -- I have had a couple of these late Rex-5s, so there is no doubt.

And, no, it was not an option : after it was designed, that improved viewfinder was mounted on all the Reflex Bolex.

It really shouldn't be so dark, unless you're looking through a closed-down lens while indoors, for instance. Try with one of the Switars opened-up all the way (1.4/1.6,...) and check. Also make sure there is no gel filter on the filter-holder behind the taking lens, and look at the glass on the prism (the manual tells you how to swing the prism mirror open), on the ground-glass on top of that prism (and obviously on the lenses).

Let me know.

-Boris