Paulo Mauro Posted August 7, 2004 Share Posted August 7, 2004 Hello people, I just got a Bolex EBM, it looks beautiful, but I have no idea how to run it. Is there anybody in the Burbank or LA area that could spend 30mins with me to answer some questions :blink: . We can meet for beakfast at Paty's in Burbank on me, mmmmmm.....Yummy. Any help would be appreciated. Thank you in advance!!!! almada@dealmada.com Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Premium Member Tim Carroll Posted August 8, 2004 Premium Member Share Posted August 8, 2004 Paulo, Unfortunately I do not live in Burbank, I'm here in Chicago, but I have shot a film or two with the Bolex EBM, so I might be able to help you out a bit. What kind of information are you looking for? -Tim Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paulo Mauro Posted August 9, 2004 Author Share Posted August 9, 2004 Hi Tim, Thank you very much !!!! Well, I have a couple of questions: Lens - Vario-Switar 100 POE - If I use the automatic diaphragm and the exposure meter and power-zoom with those batteries in, do I need to use my light meter? Where do I see those measurements from the lens? Did you have any bad experience with this camera? Eventually I would like to modify it to super 16 but I went to Camera Pro web site and they have a new format called Ultra 16, what do you think? Is the modification (super 16) done in Switzerland better then here in US? I will probably have more questions, but I really, really, really appreciate your information. Thank you, Paulo Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Premium Member Tim Carroll Posted August 9, 2004 Premium Member Share Posted August 9, 2004 Paulo, For starters, I would not use the built in light meter in the lens. That lens is probably about thirty years old, and unless you know the exact history of it, I would not trust the light meter. Also the mercury batteries that the meter was designed to use are no longer available, and the batteries that are now available for it are alkalines, and they will throw the meter off. If you do not already have a light meter, get yourself one, it will more than pay for itself. If you want to use the power zoom, get some of the alkaline batteries and that part of the lens should work for you fine. Be sure to check the terminals inside the battery compartment, they had a tendency to corrode very badly. I did have a very bad experience with the camera and I hope I can tell you how to avoid what happened to us. The key word is TEST, TEST, TEST. Get yourself a few 100ft rolls of black and white reversal and using your light meter, set up some shots and shoot some test rolls. Then project the footage or have it telecined. We did this, all except projecting the moving image or having it telecined. We examined individual frames and checked exposure and sharpness and the like. What our tests missed was an intermittant shutter bounce. Ruined 1600 feet of film that we shot for a short production. The camera can look fine and seem to be working fine, and the only way to tell if there is a problem is to test it completely before you shoot something important. You don't mention having the 400 ft Magazines for the camera, if you do, make sure you do scratch tests on them, they can ruin a 400 ft roll very easily if they have not been taken care of well. As far as Super 16 verses Ultra 16, I personally would avoid Ultra 16 like the plague. Look through the archives on this site and you will see long discussions about the Ultra 16 format. Bolex in Switzerland will do the best Super 16 conversion on the camera, but before you spend the $1800 for the camera conversion, remember you will still need to get a different zoom lens, your current one will vignette at anything wider than about 35mm in the zoom range, and you will also have to convert any 400 ft mags you want to use with the camera. And in the end, you will have a Super 16 MOS camera, because even though you can crystal sync the camera, the noise it makes while running can cause serious problems if you are trying to record the actors dialog at the same time. Do you have the Camera, 16-100 POE lens, and the 400ft mags and MM motors? Do you have manuals for the camera, lens, mags, etc.? -Tim Carroll Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paulo Mauro Posted August 9, 2004 Author Share Posted August 9, 2004 Tim, Yes, I have the complete out fit, I got it from eBay and the guy send it to Chambless Cine Equipment for cleaning and haven't use for 2 years it looks like new. If I have shutter bounce, it means that the images will bouce up and down? Do you know if they can fix it? How the power zoom works? How do I do a scratch test? Is the shutter bounce a common problem in this camera? I want to call Chambless Cine Equipment to see if they have a record on this camera. What does MOS mean? Does the sound proof covers really help? Does the shutter bounce occurs only when the camera is in movement ? Paulo Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Premium Member Tim Carroll Posted August 9, 2004 Premium Member Share Posted August 9, 2004 Paulo, I'm a little slammed right now so this will have to be quick. Shutter bounce causes "flicker" which is when the image gets slightly brighter and slightly darker every couple of frames. The other thing to look for is weave, which is the image moving slightly side to side on the film. Again, all this will be easily visible if you project the film or have it telecined. Your camera is probably fine, but it is always good to test, test, test. If you do have shutter bounce, it can be very expensive to fix, but it is not a common problem with Bolex EBMs, it just happened to be a problem with ours. The problem with getting it fixed is that no one really knows which part of the electronics was causing it, so it was a situation of "We'll open it up and replace this part, the part will cost you two hundred dollars, and the labor to open it up and put it all back together will cost you $750. But that may not fix the problem. If it doesn't, we'll have to go in and try replacing this other part, which will cost you $250 with another $750 labor to open it up and put it back together again. And that may not fix it, etc. etc." So we finally just tossed the camera in the dumpster and sold the lens, mags, motors, etc. Learn how to load the camera and how to use the loop formers. It is relatively easy to "lose the loop" on a Bolex if you don't thread it properly and this too will screw up your images. I highly recommend getting a copy of the EBM users manual, the 400ft mag users manual, and if you can find it, a copy of the 16-100 POE manual. The zoom has a little silver slider on one side that activates the zoom motor. For information on scratch tests and other tests to run, look through the archives. I don't want to mislead you Paulo, you can make some very good images with the Bolex EBM, it's a great camera and very affordable. Just realize that it is a camera that needs a certain amount of time to learn and master, put in that time and you will be rewarded. -Tim Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paulo Mauro Posted August 9, 2004 Author Share Posted August 9, 2004 Tim, Thank you very much for your info and time, I will try to learn as much as I can. I hope I can talk to you soon. -Paulo Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mister X Posted August 9, 2004 Share Posted August 9, 2004 If you are using the POE 100 zoom lens, you need to use the MRB625, (which replaces the PX625 mercury battery), for the exposure meter, and the PX1A, (which replaces the PC1A), for the power zoom. I've gotten several from Battery Wholesale Distributors at eBay, (now at US$3.95 and US$3.75, each, respectively). Read the manuals. Test the equipment with film. And, practice. MOS is "minus optical sound." The Bolex may shoot "sync" but is too noisy for scenes with dialog. It's a great camera for non-dialog work: MOS scenes, nature photography, animation, titles, and time-lapse. For scenes with dialog, rent a quiet "sync" camera. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Premium Member Josh Hill Posted August 9, 2004 Premium Member Share Posted August 9, 2004 Never heard the "Minus Optical Sound" one before. All the pros I've ever worked with have just called it "Mit Out Sound" (the old German director thing). Either way, I still prefer the "mit out sound" definition better. Its just a better story to explain. And it opens up all kinds of interested dialogue (on a shoot I was working on we had a running joke of "We're doing this shot MOS. Mit Out Stephanie." because one of the crew, Stephanie, walked through one of the shots the first day) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Premium Member Tim Carroll Posted August 9, 2004 Premium Member Share Posted August 9, 2004 Josh, From my sources, it is actually "Mit Out Sprechen" (which I am sure I spelled wrong), "sprechen" being the German word for speak or speech. As a kid growing up in the late fifties and early sixties, I remember the TV series "Combat", which followed a fictional group of Americans during WWII in Europe, and the would always have the Germans say "Sprechen de Duetch" (which I am sure I also misspelled) whenever they captured an American. And being kids, we used to run around the neighborhood saying "Sprechen de Duetch" Paulo, I found a PDF manual that I had created of the Bolex EBM manual, the 400ft Mag manual, the Vario-Switar 100 POE manual and a few other things having to do with the camera. If you do not have the manuals for that camera, send me your email address and I will try to send it to you. -Tim Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paulo Mauro Posted August 9, 2004 Author Share Posted August 9, 2004 Hey Guys, Thank you for the info , I have the manual for the camera and the lens but I don't have it for the magazine that would be awesome my e-mail is almada@dealmada.com. What about that cover that goes over the camera, does that help anything? Another question that I have is how can you focus, on the rubber eye piece has a focus ring plus the lens what do you normaly do you focus with the rubber eye piece ring first and then the lens? - Paulo Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Premium Member Tim Carroll Posted August 9, 2004 Premium Member Share Posted August 9, 2004 Paulo, If you are referring to the barney, it is better than nothing, but it doesn't really quiet the camera down all that much. We stuffed ours with extra felt and that helped a little. The focus you refer to on the eyepiece is the diopter adjustment. Take the lens off the camera and use the diopter adjustment to focus your eye on the ground glass, focus so the ground glass is sharp, you can see all the speckles. Then lock it off with the little thumb screw. Then you use the lens for focus when you are shooting. If you have the manuals, study them. You will find many of the answers in there. I will try to email you the Lens&Mag PDF I made. -Tim Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paulo Mauro Posted August 9, 2004 Author Share Posted August 9, 2004 Hi Tim, I will study them. On the lens manual that I have, on the cover image it has the camera with a box with a cable stuck on the right side, what is that for? is that sound out put? When you mention film reversal what "Reversal" means? I am checking some 16mm projectors on ebay hope I get one today, I think is better than telecine to check because on telecine I have to pay for each 100 feet at least $125 everytime. - Paulo Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Premium Member Tim Carroll Posted August 9, 2004 Premium Member Share Posted August 9, 2004 Paulo, This is a great website because there are so many really knowledgeable folks who are willing to help newbies out. They have helped me alot over the years. But newbies have the responsibility of doing their homework. The questions you are asking, about things like Reversal Film and the motor unit pictured on the Rex 5 on your lens manual, show a complete lack of fundamental knowledge on the subject of 16mm film production. We all like to help out, but first you need to do your homework. Read the manuals you have, and the one I sent you, carefully. Visit the Kodak website and read through the 16mm Motion Picture section. Play around with your EBM, take it apart, look at the mags, explore. Then in a couple of weeks when you have done all that, come back and ask some specific questions and we will be happy to help. -Tim Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paulo Mauro Posted August 9, 2004 Author Share Posted August 9, 2004 Tim, Yes I will do it, I just get very crazy and I want to know everything, my dad use to be a cinematographer in Brazil, I will be there in September so I can ask more questions, and he use to use Bolexes. When I get the projector I will film everyday, but I appreciate your and everybodies help is just sometimes the manual doesn't answer my questions. - Paulo Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Premium Member Tim Carroll Posted August 9, 2004 Premium Member Share Posted August 9, 2004 Paulo, You may also want to visit Andrew Alden's Bolex website: http://www.bolex.co.uk/ And it would be a good idea to pick up his Bolex Bible book, it is full of very good information about all things Bolex and could answer many of your questions. -Tim Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paulo Mauro Posted August 9, 2004 Author Share Posted August 9, 2004 Tim, Thank you very much for your help. I will practice for a couple of weeks and I will let you know how it goes. I cann't wait, I am very excited, hope the camera doesn't have a shutter bounce. - Paulo Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Martijn Maria Smits Posted May 3, 2009 Share Posted May 3, 2009 Tim, Yes I will do it, I just get very crazy and I want to know everything, my dad use to be a cinematographer in Brazil, I will be there in September so I can ask more questions, and he use to use Bolexes. When I get the projector I will film everyday, but I appreciate your and everybodies help is just sometimes the manual doesn't answer my questions. - Paulo Ola I'm going to Brazil in Novembre and would like to do a master degree there, I have a bachelor degree directing which I did at the Dutch Filmacademy in Amsterdam, just shot my first feature for cinema and now doing a 40min film for television. Maybe you can tell me what the best filmschool in Brazil is to do a master, or would you suggest to go to mexico or argentina if they are so much better, anyway I really would like to go to Brazil. Hope to hear from you soon, regards, Martijn www.framejunky.com Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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