Bolex Repairs, CLAs, and Super 16 conversions

[Scott Bullock]

Hello all,

I've come across some fairly inexpensive Bolex cameras recently and am considering picking one up. I've owned a few over the years but foolishly got rid of them. I've been incorporating film into my projects as much as possible lately and am really missing the convenience of a simple, spring-wound Bolex camera.

I'm wondering who is servicing Bolex cameras these days. Anyone now of a place they'd like to recommend? Also, any companies or individuals out there still doing Super 16 conversions?

If anyone is looking to sell or trade a Bolex kit (specifically, REX 4, 5, SB, or SBM) that's ready to go, I'd be very interested in that as well. In the meantime, I'll be content just finding a place to work on these old gems.

Thank you

[Dom Jaeger]

I service and convert Bolexes in Australia, with 20 years experience and all the Bolex custom tools.

Many of the experienced Bolex masters in the Americas have retired or only work for existing clients. But you still have Du-all in NJ and Pigeon Creek Camera in Alberta (who trained under Bolex master Jean-Louis Seguin). 

Feel free to PM me about the cameras you've found, I'm always looking for cameras for parts or refurbishment. 

 

[Scott Bullock]

Thanks for the reply, Dom.

I sent a message to Jean-Louis through these forums yesterday and am hoping to hear back from him. He was the very first person I contacted because he worked on a Bolex many years ago for me. I'm not sure if he's retired or just busy. Maybe both. But I don't have any other contact info for him.

Is it too cost prohibitive to send cameras from the US to Australia? I'm in no massive rush and I haven't acquired a camera just yet anyway. I'm still researching current Bolex ownership to make sure I can get support when needed if I do buy another one. These days it almost seems you have to be willing to ship internationally to get some things done. I send my Beaulieu cameras to Bjorn Andersson in Sweden and I often find more support for some of my Super 8 cameras in Europe than I do in the US.

Du-all is definitely an option. I also heard back today from a company called TCS- Technological Cinevideo Services in New York. They have factory-trained Bolex technicians but, for whatever reason, they don't do S16 conversions. I heard about them on a Reddit forum and several people were very pleased with their work and timely turnaround but, again, no Super 16.

Do you have American clients, Dom? I'm more than happy to send you a message if you don't mind discussing it in more detail.

[Dom Jaeger]

Hi Scott,

Yes I've converted cameras for clients in the US and Europe. Not ideal due to shipping costs and customs duties, but certainly possible. 

Jean-Louis is of course the gold standard, if he is willing to take on new jobs. I think TJ from Pigeon Creek might be starting to do conversions.  Du-all only recently started offering Bolex conversions, so I haven't had a chance to see their work, but they are normally very professional.

[Scott Bullock]

That's all very good information, Dom; thank you so much for providing it. If I decide to buy a camera, it gives me added confidence knowing all is not lost if I run into an issue beyond my limited capabilities.

If I still had the Bolex Jean-Louis serviced for me all those years ago, I wouldn't be in the quandary I'm in now. 🙂 Lessons learned, I suppose. I'm hopeful he'll return my query but it's still good to have options.

I've never priced shipping items back and forth to Australia but would be willing to do so to have the camera worked on by a trusted, reputable camera technician. The extra money to have the job done right pays dividends later, in my opinion. "Buy once, cry once..." as the adage goes.

I've noted your email for reference...thanks again, Dom!

[Nicholas Kovats]

Hi Don,

Slight correction. TJ of Pigeon Creek Camera  is originally from Alberta but resides in the beautiful Kawarthas region of Ontario north of Toronto. https://www.pigeoncreekcamera.com/

Yes, indeed he fulfilled Jean-Louis Seguin's 10,000 hour apprenticeship. 🙂 I sent a query to TJ if he is in fact offering Bolex super 16 conversions.  

[Scott Bullock]

11 hours ago, Nicholas Kovats said:

Hi Don,

Slight correction. TJ of Pigeon Creek Camera  is originally from Alberta but resides in the beautiful Kawarthas region of Ontario north of Toronto. https://www.pigeoncreekcamera.com/

Yes, indeed he fulfilled Jean-Louis Seguin's 10,000 hour apprenticeship. 🙂 I sent a query to TJ if he is in fact offering Bolex super 16 conversions.  

Hey Nicholas, if you wouldn't mind posting the info regarding S16 in this thread once you've heard back, I'd greatly appreciate it.

[Nicholas Kovats]

Hi Scott. TJ responded, i.e. 

"Hi Nicholas, thanks for reaching out, unfortunately not able to offer Super 16 conversions as a service yet. hoping to source some more machining equipment this fall and hopefully update my website with more info next year when I can offer conversion services. hope that helps for now, all the best! TJ Ediger"

[Scott Bullock]

Thank you @Nicholas Kovats, much appreciated!

Sounds like services are still available and more coming soon, all great news for Bolex owners. Gives me added confidence to hunt for a camera again.

In case it got lost in the comments above, the company below offers Bolex services in North America also and are factory trained. They are located in New York. No Super 16 conversions though.

TCS- Technological Cinevideo Services.

Nice guys too and super responsive.

[Tyler Purcell]

5 hours ago, Scott Bullock said:

Sounds like services are still available and more coming soon, all great news for Bolex owners. Gives me added confidence to hunt for a camera again.

People aren't the problem, parts are. There are basically no parts. 

Any tech with experience servicing cameras, can pickup the service manual, build a few of the tools required, take apart, re-assemble and calibrate a Bolex. Those are all easy tasks. 

The hard part is when things don't work. There are NO MORE wind up motors and they are not serviceable for the most part because the pin that holds the spring snaps over time. This pin can't be fixed, you need to basically weld in a new pin and it requires a lot of machine time. Fewer and fewer people have that kind of money, custom service stuff, it can be very expense. This is the problem with super 16 mods, it's a lot of work to nail the gate machining, shift the lens center, expand the ground glass to cover S16, machine back the sprocket drive, etc. I think some of the people who use to do these mods, were WAY under charging because they had batches of parts made for them and when they were all gone, they didn't re-order. It's a lot of money to invest in a batch of parts and then sell them over a few years ya  know? 

As a tech, it's not easy to do service AND mods, you almost need to focus on one or the other, especially if you're busy. I know we're slammed, I couldn't imagine adding S16 mods to our list, especially on cameras like the Bolex, it's not easy to nail it. 

[Dom Jaeger]

1 hour ago, Tyler Purcell said:

People aren't the problem, parts are. There are basically no parts. 

Any tech with experience servicing cameras, can pickup the service manual, build a few of the tools required, take apart, re-assemble and calibrate a Bolex. Those are all easy tasks. 

No I don’t agree. 

I have a stack of parts, as do other experienced Bolex techs who have been doing this since before the factory closed. Other parts can be manufactured. I have a source for new springs, I’ve fixed a few now. I’ve made my own S16 gates and nylon backs, as well as other bits. And I’ve been buying Bolexes for years to scavenge the parts I can’t make. It’s getting more expensive, but that’s just the cost to service older equipment now. There were a lot of Bolexes sold over the years, far more than are needed now, so if it takes two cameras to make one that works, so be it.

The hardest part by far is knowledge. If you think servicing Bolexes is easy, you haven’t serviced many. Sure, it’s easy to learn how to disassemble and reassemble them. It’s knowing how to diagnose faults and properly tune them that’s the hard part. The manuals never really tell you that bit, even Bolex manuals which are among the best. Then there’s knowing the differences between the many models and which parts changed. I’ve been working on Bolexes for over 20 years, and I’m still learning. They are far from simple. Hubris is the one thing you don’t want in a camera tech. 

[Simon Wyss]

6 hours ago, Tyler Purcell said:

There are NO MORE wind up motors and they are not serviceable for the most part because the pin that holds the spring snaps over time.

This pin can't be fixed, you need to basically weld in a new pin and it requires a lot of machine time.

Yes, there are. The first batch of fresh mainsprings for younger Bolex-H cameras is nearing depletion. A next batch will be of better quality. Imagine, the knowledge about spiral spring making has been retrieved. It was never lost with clockmakers but movie camera drives changed from elastic steel to electric motors.

The anchor you mean can be driven out the arbor and also be replaced. Nothing very complicated and expensive. Don’t weld. Work a headed bolt.

To round this off, there are other spring-drive movie cameras. Some allow rewinding the mainspring during takes. Only the early Bolex H up to serial number 33200 do.

[Tyler Purcell]

9 hours ago, Simon Wyss said:

The first batch of fresh mainsprings for younger Bolex-H cameras is nearing depletion.

Where is someone able to purchase newly re-built motors? 

I just don't have the time to rebuild them in-house, way too busy. 

I was told by numerous other techs, re-built motors are all gone. I have multiple people needing them. 

[Tyler Purcell]

18 hours ago, Dom Jaeger said:

I have a stack of parts, as do other experienced...And I’ve been buying Bolexes for years to scavenge the parts I can’t make.

It's grossly expensive to buy Bolex bodies in 2025 when the prices have skyrocketed in the last decade. 

Also, all the parts that get damaged like motors, start/stop assembly and optics of various kinds (amongst other things), they're worn out on any used body you'd get anyway. With good bodies going for $800 - $3000 each (depending on generation) you're basically investing in the hope you'd be able to re-build the components and make money.

Some things like the motors, there are generational gaps which means, you basically have to re-build them yourself, which means you're not servicing cameras. 

18 hours ago, Dom Jaeger said:

I’ve made my own S16 gates and nylon backs, as well as other bits.

Manufacturing gates means, you aren't servicing cameras. 

18 hours ago, Dom Jaeger said:

There were a lot of Bolexes sold over the years, far more than are needed now, so if it takes two cameras to make one that works, so be it.

Well yea, obviously physically damaged cameras make great parts bodies, but they're very hard to come by. I have been able to purchase 3  in the last decade for parts at a reasonable rate that was worth while. All the good parts from them are long gone, just some shells and gears left. In the end, I probably lost money buying those bodies and selling the parts. This is why I don't advertise. 

18 hours ago, Dom Jaeger said:

The hardest part by far is knowledge. If you think servicing Bolexes is easy, you haven’t serviced many. Sure, it’s easy to learn how to disassemble and reassemble them. It’s knowing how to diagnose faults and properly tune them that’s the hard part.

This isn't even an experience thing, it's a basic fundamental understanding of mechanics. If you don't have any understanding of mechanical things, you shouldn't ever touch a camera anyway. 

If you can't diagnose a problem by seeing the camera and trying a few things, then you probably shouldn't be a tech. There is no rocket science to wind up cameras. There are no electronic components to fail, no pechan prisms with fungus in them, no rubber parts that have fossilized or turned into gunk, no precision pulldown movement which requires careful tuning to be quiet, no perfect crystal speed requirements, no battery systems to deal with, no integrated light meters to deal with, no video assists to deal with, no rust and rusty components because Bolex for the most part, used treated screws. No magazines with their own host of problems from; rust, failed sound insulating, broken latches, bad seals, gunked light traps, scratch issues, bad counter and counter rollers, loud drive system and belts.

Shit the only thing that really is shared between a Bolex and the stuff I do every day, is really down to the proper running speed, timing/pulldown, transport issues, scratches and light leaks. You can make a Bolex person's day by charging 1 hour of time to fix something simple, which are most peoples issues. 

With cameras like the Bolex or Beaulieu's, if I have to manufacture a new part, I'll back away. I have been burnt too many times with lower-end camera users not understanding the costs associated with fixing a $500 yard sale purchase. This is why again, I just don't advertise Bolex or Beaulieu service. Honestly I'm so busy, I'm really only taking commercial cameras today anyway. 

18 hours ago, Dom Jaeger said:

The manuals never really tell you that bit, even Bolex manuals which are among the best. Then there’s knowing the differences between the many models and which parts changed. I’ve been working on Bolexes for over 20 years, and I’m still learning. They are far from simple. Hubris is the one thing you don’t want in a camera tech. 

When I started my business a few years ago, I was intrigued by opening up a Bolex service department because so many people were struggling to get their cameras serviced, with long wait times and techs simply not responding to emails or calls. Having serviced them in the past with much success, I thought why not buy a few bodies, get re-trained a bit and start doing them as one of my main cameras. 

The first problem I ran into were parts, in the United States they were impossible to get. I quickly stripped my 3 junk bodies of all their good parts. The second problem was the cost of doing business was financially impossible when you're manufacturing/refurbishing components. It was a total waste of time because customers who own Bolex's for the most part, aren't expecting that type of bill. Then you look at mods, it makes no business sense to develop them all when so few people are requesting them and/or have that kind of money. In the end, your profits are very limited compared to working on professional cameras. 

At least with professional camera owners, they know exactly what they want, parts are easier to get a hold of and in the end, they have money. Even cameras with wildly complex electronic and mechanical issues, I feel confident if I bill them, they'll pay. Not the case with Bolex owners, at least state side, you just never know. After being burnt a few times, I just said it's not worth it and decided to not take Bolex cameras for anything else but CLA in the future. It's a shame, because I can do the work, it's just down to parts. If Bolex re-opened their offices and I could order parts, I'd immediately taken new cameras. 

So no, not hubris, it's called being a smart businessman. 

Edited August 17, 2025 by Tyler Purcell

[Dom Jaeger]

32 minutes ago, Tyler Purcell said:

. 

Also, all the parts that get damaged like motors, start/stop assembly and optics of various kinds (amongst other things), they're worn out on any used body you'd get anyway..

Everything you’re writing tells me you know jack about Bolexes. As usual, you pretend to be an expert in stuff you barely know. I can bring most Bolexes back to good working condition and make a business of it, and I’m operating in a market 20 times smaller than the US.

By all means, please avoid Bolex service and stick to Aatons. Specialisation helps in this game. I don’t pretend to know about Aaton service despite having worked on quite a few, because I know how much experience counts.

I was trained on Arriflex and Panaflex, with 20 years more tech experience than you, so you don’t need to explain to me how pro cameras are different to a Bolex. And despite the apparent simplicity I have found they are still quite difficult to master. Like horology. People reading this can make their own conclusions about your opinions. 

[Gregg MacPherson]

1 hour ago, Tyler Purcell said:

........ If you don't have any understanding of mechanical things, you shouldn't ever touch a camera anyway. 

If you can't diagnose a problem by seeing the camera and trying a few things, then you probably shouldn't be a tech......

You're way out of line Tyler...and way out of your league...

Edited August 17, 2025 by Gregg MacPherson

[Tyler Purcell]

48 minutes ago, Dom Jaeger said:

Everything you’re writing tells me you know jack about Bolexes. As usual, you pretend to be an expert in stuff you barely know. I can bring most Bolexes back to good working condition and make a business of it, and I’m operating in a market 20 times smaller than the US.

I said parts are impossible to get, which is a true statement. 

I said anyone with camera service experience, can figure out a Bolex. This is a true statement, I'm living proof. 

48 minutes ago, Dom Jaeger said:

Specialisation helps in this game. 

Honestly in the film-only business in today's climate, the most successful people are heavily diversified. They have to be because if you do a good job, cameras don't come back for service very often. You have to take multiple brands, you have to broker/sell products, we even scan film and do restoration. It requires all of our "services" to keep the bills going, even though we are slammed with camera repair. 

48 minutes ago, Dom Jaeger said:

And despite the apparent simplicity I have found they are still quite difficult to master.

I totally understand that, but I don't think mastering would mean much to a Bolex service if there were parts available. 

48 minutes ago, Dom Jaeger said:

 People reading this can make their own conclusions about your opinions. 

No opinions were stated. 

[Simon Wyss]

5 hours ago, Tyler Purcell said:

If you don't have any understanding of mechanical things, you shouldn't ever touch a camera anyway. 

There is no rocket science to wind up cameras. There are no electronic components to fail, no pechan prisms with fungus in them, no rubber parts that have fossilized or turned into gunk, no precision pulldown movement which requires careful tuning to be quiet, no perfect crystal speed requirements, no battery systems to deal with, no integrated light meters to deal with, no video assists to deal with, no rust and rusty components because Bolex for the most part, used treated screws. No magazines with their own host of problems from; rust, failed sound insulating, broken latches, bad seals, gunked light traps, scratch issues, bad counter and counter rollers, loud drive system and belts.

Wind-up cameras have a spiral spring in them that must be well made. There are gears that should be cleaned, inspected, and lubricated. There’s a centrifugal governor. There is a shutter in cooperation with the film advancing means. Everything in motion wants to be lubed, regardless whether you have register pins or not. Of course it’s not rocket science, a film camera is not a rocket.

There is rust with Paillard-Bolex products. There’s wear, there are even bad parts installed originally. And there is humanity of today that takes less care in handling things.

[Dom Jaeger]

2 hours ago, Tyler Purcell said:

I said parts are impossible to get, which is a true statement. 

If you bothered to look instead of pretending to be an expert, Duall has 13 pages of Bolex parts and accessories, including turrets, claws, pressure plates etc:

https://duallcamera.com/collections/bolex-accessories?page=1

Here’s just one shelf of my Bolex parts inventory:

I have sources for new springs (thanks Simon!), for prism re-silvering, for gate manufacture, for replicating plastic parts. I have half a dozen bodies with various parts I can salvage. If you know which parts are interchangeable or modifiable between models, you can source parts cameras fairly easily. The cost just needs to be factored in to what you charge. I also have a machine shop where I can fabricate or modify stuff. 

So no, your statement that parts are impossible to get is demonstrably false.

Most overhauls I do require relatively few parts, and I always let the clients know in advance if a new part might be required, or if I discover something during the repair, because I have the experience when I assess a camera to know what might be wrong, what really needs replacing and what can be repaired or refurbished. Clients never complain.

2 hours ago, Tyler Purcell said:

I said anyone with camera service experience, can figure out a Bolex. This is a true statement, I'm living proof. 

Except you’re not living proof, because so many things you just described about Bolexes were wrong: 
 

6 hours ago, Tyler Purcell said:

There are no electronic components to fail, no pechan prisms with fungus in them, no rubber parts that have fossilized or turned into gunk, no precision pulldown movement which requires careful tuning to be quiet, no perfect crystal speed requirements, no battery systems to deal with, no integrated light meters to deal with, no video assists to deal with, no rust and rusty components because Bolex for the most part, used treated screws. No magazines with their own host of problems from; rust, failed sound insulating, broken latches, bad seals, gunked light traps, scratch issues, bad counter and counter rollers, loud drive system and belts.

There are electronic components to fail - in the motor accessories, the mag motors and the electric models. There are beamsplitter prisms, transverse prisms and right angle prisms that can and do get fungus, as well as delamination and loss of reflective silver. There are rubber vibration isolators for the motors that harden. The speed in spring models is governor controlled, which in some ways is trickier than a crystal circuit (I’ll lay odds you haven’t worked on a Bolex governor, or had to tune a new one). And working out exactly why a spring camera slows down early can be a real challenge. The speed control circuit in an EL is as complex as anything you’ll find in other cameras, and there are crystal motor accessories for Bolexes too. There are battery systems for the external motors and the electric models, all different. There are third party video splits available for Bolexes. Rust is a very common issue with Bolexes, no idea why you think that doesn’t happen. And there are of course magazines, that’s what makes a Rex 5 different from a Rex 4, or an SBM from an SB. If you don’t even know that I don’t know why you’re commenting on a Bolex service thread. 

So spare us any more hogwash about how you’ve mastered Bolex service or at least you could if you bothered because they are so simple but you just can’t get parts. Sure, they’re not rocket science. Neither are Aatons or Arris. But like anything, there are good technicians, artisans and tradespeople, and there are bad ones. The bad ones always think everything is easy. 

Apologies to Scott for derailing his thread with these petty arguments, I normally ignore Tyler’s comments but sometimes the misinformation annoys me too much to let it stand. Over and out. 

[Tyler Purcell]

14 hours ago, Dom Jaeger said:

But like anything, there are good technicians, artisans and tradespeople, and there are bad ones. The bad ones always think everything is easy. 

On 8/16/2025 at 1:44 AM, Dom Jaeger said:

Hubris is the one thing you don’t want in a camera tech. 

20 hours ago, Gregg MacPherson said:

You're way out of line Tyler...and way out of your league...

This is what it all comes down to, just hate speech. 

 

[Steve Switaj]

16 hours ago, Dom Jaeger said:

I have sources for ... prism re-silvering

Dom;

Out of curiosity, what does it cost to have a prism re-silvered nowadays?

And which parts need to be shipped all the way down under for your delicate services? Is it the whole camera, or just a sub-assembly? 

Asking B/C I have an Rex-4 or Rex-5 in a box somewhere with a dark finder, and I have never bothered to delve into it far enough to figure out just what the problem is because I always just assumed it was a bad prism that would cost more than the camera was worth. On the other hand, if it's a serviceable item....

I would have PM'd you , but I'm willing to bet that there's more than one reader who read your post and had the same question flit through their head, so I figured I'd inquire in public.

[Dom Jaeger]

1 hour ago, Steve Switaj said:

Dom;

Out of curiosity, what does it cost to have a prism re-silvered nowadays?

And which parts need to be shipped all the way down under for your delicate services? Is it the whole camera, or just a sub-assembly? 

Asking B/C I have an Rex-4 or Rex-5 in a box somewhere with a dark finder, and I have never bothered to delve into it far enough to figure out just what the problem is because I always just assumed it was a bad prism that would cost more than the camera was worth. On the other hand, if it's a serviceable item....

I would have PM'd you , but I'm willing to bet that there's more than one reader who read your post and had the same question flit through their head, so I figured I'd inquire in public.

Hi Steve,

There are two silvered prisms in a Bolex viewfinder system, one is a rhomboid transverse prism with 2 reflective surfaces (inside the front), the other is a simple right angle prism (at the end of the viewfinder tube). When corrosion or fungus gets underneath the silver (or aluminium) layer, it results in black squiggly shadows. Depending on which surface is affected, it can be quite in focus or somewhat out of focus. I charge different amounts depending on which prism needs to be repaired, $100 and $200 AUD. I just need the prisms, if someone is able to capably remove them and refit them again. The right angle one will require alignment on re-assembly. 

If your finder is just uniformly dark, it's more likely to be haze, dust or fungus on optical surfaces. That can usually be cleaned up with a standard overhaul. 

[Scott Bullock]

18 hours ago, Dom Jaeger said:

Apologies to Scott for derailing his thread with these petty arguments, I normally ignore Tyler’s comments but sometimes the misinformation annoys me too much to let it stand. Over and out. 

No apologies necessary, Dom. My take aways from this thread haven't really changed; re, some camera techs can and do work on Bolex cameras and some don't. And some are definitely better than others. Fortunately, there seems to be more available than I thought before going into this discussion, which is a plus for Bolex owners, in my opinion. Personally, I'm not deterred and have decided to find one to buy again thanks to both your advice and the current research I've done.

I don't really fault a camera tech for picking a lane if that's what's best for their business model. Visual Products doesn't (correct me if I'm wrong) work on Bolex cameras anymore, for example, but Du-All does. Both are valuable resources for the products they do serve. I didn't know Du-All did Super 16 conversions for the Bolex until recently, and one camera tech I spoke to said he saw one of their conversions and thought it was very well done, as is the norm from them.

I was finally able to correspond with TJ at Pigeon Creek as well and he's all-in on the Bolex, servicing them exclusively. Sounds like he's got work lined up for weeks and is looking to expand his operation into conversions as well in the coming year, so more good news!