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Cinema Products 16 Camera


Larry Chan

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There's tons of info on the net about these cameras, but since I own one, I'll give you my opinions and a few pointers.

 

1. Don't get the "A" version, get the "R" or "RA". The "A" doesn't have removable lenses.

You can recognize it, by the angular viewfinder jutting out from the lens itself.

 

2. These were popular news cameras, student film school cameras, and rentals long ago, so many of them are pretty beat up, however they are built well and hold up quite well, but I suggest being careful when you buy, because some are a little jacked up. Get new belts too.

 

3. The Angeniuex 12-120 lens that seems to always come with these is not a good lens. Really soft, especially wide open, so plan on buying new glass, unless you're just farting around and don't care that much. I got a good deal on a Canon 12.5-120 on ebay, and I'm very happy with it. WWAAAAAYYYY nicer and sharper than the Angeniuex 12-120, and I also got a couple CP Ultra primes, and they're way sharp (thanks for the tip, Mitch!).

 

4. They're very quiet, which is good. Much quieter than say, the Bealiuex R16, which sounds like a chainsaw!

 

5. Get good batteries & one or two chargers. (Lots of old bad batteries floating around out there too, so be careful).

 

I'm very happy with my camera though.

 

Matt Pacini

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Hi Matt

 

Thanks for your reply.

 

And may I ask one more thing whether the camera loads 16mm film with daylight spool or just core?

 

Cos I did try to load a roll of 16mm film with daylight spool. Before, everything was smooth, easy to turn the sprocket. But when I closed the mag door, I could not even rotate the wheel sprocket.

 

Best

Larry

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like any lens, i think it depends on the condition of each particular one.

 

it is true with the lens breathing when pulling focus at certain focal lengths.

 

i have gotten some beautiful images out of that lens but when i shoot 16mm i always try to rent the Zeiss 10-100 (T2).

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I've used both daylight spools and cored on this camera.

It's easy to think you have the spool all the way down, when it's not, so you have to really check and push kinda hard to snap it down on the spindle.

 

The Ang' lens "can" look OK, but if you shoot in low light, you will start hating your lens, because it goes very soft, and starts color shifting on you.

I got a Canon 12.5-120, and it's so much better I sold the Angie in a heartbeat and never regretted it.

 

Matt Pacini

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If the "A" is the non-reflex, certainly you can change lenses, but it requires a zoom with a built-in finder (so called "dogleg")

 

Angenieux has made some very good zooms, and some less than desirable zooms

 

-sam

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That's a matter of symantics, I guess, because I'm pretty damn sure the only lens with that viewfinder hanging off it, is the crappy 12-120 Angie we're talking about.

 

So while it may be "technically" removable, you can't put anything else on the camera, and even if there is another lens out there with the "dog ear", you certainly don't have a wide variety of lenses you can use on an "A", whereas there are a bunch of lenses with the standard CP mount, and if you find one you like, most can be converted.

You can also have the camera modified to a PL mount, a nikon mount, pentax mount, etc.

 

Matt Pacini

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That's a matter of symantics, I guess, because I'm pretty damn sure the only lens with that viewfinder hanging off it, is the crappy 12-120 Angie we're talking about.

 

So while it may be "technically" removable, you can't put anything else on the camera, and even if there is another lens out there with the "dog ear", you certainly don't have a wide variety of lenses you can use on an "A", whereas there are a bunch of lenses with the standard CP mount, and if you find one you like, most can be converted.

You can also have the camera modified to a PL mount, a nikon mount, pentax mount, etc.

 

Matt Pacini

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That's a matter of symantics, I guess, because I'm pretty damn sure the only lens with that viewfinder hanging off it, is the crappy 12-120 Angie we're talking about.

 

So while it may be "technically" removable, you can't put anything else on the camera, and even if there is another lens out there with the "dog ear", you certainly don't have a wide variety of lenses you can use on an "A", whereas there are a bunch of lenses with the standard CP mount, and if you find one you like, most can be converted.

You can also have the camera modified to a PL mount, a nikon mount, pentax mount, etc.

 

Matt Pacini

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  • 2 weeks later...

There were other lenses manufactred with the dogleg viewfinder such as the Som-Berthiot zooms, but sad to say the 12-120 was probably the best of them. And that's not saying much. There were some Ang. 9.5-57 zooms made with the dogleg, and that is the best lens, but with any old glass you have to check them individually to see if they're any good.

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