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Arriflex 35-III weird modification !?!...


Thibaut de Chemellier

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I've just bought an Arri 35-III 2nd generation.

The Camera has slept for maybe 5 or 10 years and is in a rather good condition but has some oxidation points and the speed is erratic?anyway, I need to send it to a good technician for overhaul.

 

The camera comes with 3 400? coaxial magazines and I don?t know if they can run in reverse and what?s their maximum speed?

 

The weirdest thing is that it has a 10° fixed shutter, It has been modified for military use by ARRI and the modification is very nice?but very restricting?!!!

Who can I contact at Arri to have some information about my camera, do they keep records on all modifications they make?

Anyone seen this before? I think it can be remove easily but then I?ll have a fixed 180° shutter. Is it hard to find a 15°-180° variable shutter???

 

I?m also looking for repair and maintenance documentations, if someone can tell me where I can find it?

Thanks

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You're right, it's Huge...8000 Euros for the variable shutter and about 1000 Euros for the work...I don't understand their price policy...a new shutter for the price of the camera!

 

I think a good camera tech can remove the extra 170° of my shutter without problems.

 

I'll keep looking for a variable shutter cause I love to use it but meanwhile I'll shoot with a fixed 180°, it's not such a big deal...I've found this camera for almost nothing so it's cool anyway.

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  • 2 weeks later...
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You're right, it's Huge...8000 Euros for the variable shutter and about 1000 Euros for the work...I don't understand their price policy...a new shutter for the price of the camera!

 

I think a good camera tech can remove the extra 170° of my shutter without problems.

 

I'll keep looking for a variable shutter cause I love to use it but meanwhile I'll shoot with a fixed 180°, it's not such a big deal...I've found this camera for almost nothing so it's cool anyway.

 

 

Check out camera repair manuals. Once you realize the precision with which these parts are made, and the hell that must be gone through to put a shutter into a camera, you'll understand the prices. :blink:

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I know, it's two days of work minimum!

It's not the same "league" but I've reassemble a 3-perf Cameflex (the one and only to my knowledge) that was in pieces and it takes me quite a long time :wacko: , so I know how much work it is...

The labour charges are ok but 8000 euros is not a reasonable price for a spare part, even a shutter...

 

I've ask P+S technic, it's pretty much the same thing.

Actually I've sent many many mail around the world asking for a used shutter...it's really really rare and always very expensive but I'll keep looking for it, I still have many leads but if someone here know where I can find a shutter, at a reasonable price, please contact me!!!

 

BTW I'm wondering : there's only few DP in France who have serious S-16 or 35mm gear, I've spent many times and a few Euros and I've made really nice bargains...that almost ruined me !!! Is there really many DP in the US who have their own 35-3, 4-35 or 5-35...???

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BTW I'm wondering : there's only few DP in France who have serious S-16 or 35mm gear, I've spent many times and a few Euros and I've made really nice bargains...that almost ruined me !!! Is there really many DP in the US who have their own 35-3, 4-35 or 5-35...???

 

This was discussed a couple of times already, i think. Does it really make sense to get "serious" gear? You will have to rent it to serious productions that can pay you enough so you get even. But along with that there will be serious demands, like a wide variety of accesories, prep space, etc... And then you are running a serious rental business.

By the way: i know one DoP in Germany who owns a 435 (a tuned up Advanced). He's good friends with the ARRI guys and tests a lot of their new developments. And many others who own BL1s, IICs or 16BLs they rarely use on paid jobs or rent out.

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I think you are looking at "normal" prices , though high, but it is because the extremely tight tolerances these parts are made of.

 

Last year I did a maintenance course on the Arricam camera´s at Munich and one of the guys was assembling an SR2 mirror on it´s axis. You have no idea how much time is involved, they have special rigs and special micrometers that measure any uneven or not absolutely square mounting on the spindel and the mirror. The guy was placing miniscule pieces of silver foil under certain places to get the mirror straight , this only can be checked when fully assembled, if it is not correct, and we are talking 0,001mm deviation here, disassemble and reposition the foil pieces (less then 1mm square).

 

This is to be sure there is no wobble and vibration when shooting between 2 and 130/150 fps. The internal forces and stress on these components is enorm and when not properly balanced it can become a grenate!

 

Then the whole assembly has to be mounted and adjusted in the right place in the body, with the same precise measurements, to make sure that your image is projected right and the distance to the groundglass is correct.

tools, tools and more special tools.

 

Oh, and about spare parts, they have still some, but when i was there, in november 2005, they just completed the very LAST 2 ARRI 3´s for an Indian customer.

There are no more in stock, not half-build or else, just a spare part supply for a few years i guess.

 

I don´t think you can just remove a part of the 15 degrees shutter, as it will throw the whole assembly off-balance.

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Just one more thought about your camera, I think it might have been an explosion-research camera, and therefore the small shutter exposure, to limit the over exposure and to get exposure times up to approx. 1/3000th second! (based on max 130 fps)

 

That said, your shutter might not be the only modification....

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