Arriflex 16S, 16S/B and 16M motors

[Tim Carroll]

Ever been in the middle of a shoot and wondered, "What motor is on this Arriflex 16S I'm using?" <_<

 

Or wondered, "What motor would be just right for that next big project?" :blink:

 

Well, I finally got around to putting together the pictorial list and descriptions of the thirteen most common motors available for the Arriflex 16S, S/B, St, and 16M cameras.

 

You can view them at the web page below:

 

Arriflex 16S Motors @ www.Arri16S.com

 

 

-Tim

[Guest Robert Skates]

Tim,

Here is a link to an arri s on ebay. The motor is the same one that came on an arri s I bought a few years ago. It is a variable speed motor with a smaller speed dial than the common arri motor. It has a toggle switch for forward and reverse. It also has a circuit type thing on the side. It is an arri made motor. This is only the second one I've seen. Have you seen one of these before?

 

http://cgi.ebay.com/ARRI-ARRIFLEX-16ST-B-B...1QQcmdZViewItem

[chuck colburn]

Tim,

Here is a link to an arri s on ebay. The motor is the same one that came on an arri s I bought a few years ago. It is a variable speed motor with a smaller speed dial than the common arri motor. It has a toggle switch for forward and reverse. It also has a circuit type thing on the side. It is an arri made motor. This is only the second one I've seen. Have you seen one of these before?

 

http://cgi.ebay.com/ARRI-ARRIFLEX-16ST-B-B...1QQcmdZViewItem

 

Hi Robert,

 

A reverse running Arri S is a new one on me. Tim would know if there is such a beast!

 

Chuck

[Nathan Milford]

They all run in reverse.

[chuck colburn]

They all run in reverse.

 

Nathan,

 

Ahhh.

Never knew that!

Thanx.

 

Chuck

[Tim Carroll]

Tim,

Here is a link to an arri s on ebay. The motor is the same one that came on an arri s I bought a few years ago. It is a variable speed motor with a smaller speed dial than the common arri motor. It has a toggle switch for forward and reverse. It also has a circuit type thing on the side. It is an arri made motor. This is only the second one I've seen. Have you seen one of these before?

 

http://cgi.ebay.com/ARRI-ARRIFLEX-16ST-B-B...1QQcmdZViewItem

 

Robert,

 

Saw that auction on eBay and my first reaction was, "No way they are going to get that much for that camera." Also, have had a very negative experience with that seller.

 

Anyway, I have not actually seen one of those motors in person, but my understanding is that it is one of the last variable speed motors that ARRI produced. I am just guessing on this but I would think that it performs the same as the standard variable speed, they just wanted to put a transistor on the side (like the later Governor Controlled motor I have listed on the web page (third one down)) which cuts down on the arcing of the brushes and cuts down on the noise/interference the motor causes to the Pilotone system on the GS model of the camera. So they moved the forward and reverse switch from the back of the motor to the side, and made the whole back of the motor not rotate like the standard one does. Just my guess.

 

In theory all Arriflex 16S cameras will run in forward and reverse, as long as you have a motor that runs forward and reverse attached to the camera. Not all of the thirteen motors I have listed will run in forward and reverse.

 

The other thing that needs to be done for the camera to make good images in reverse is that the movement has to be set very precisely, otherwise the registration is off and your image quality suffers. We use two different sizes of steel film when setting the movement on the Arriflex 16S, with different spacing between the sprocket holes, one for forward and one for reverse.

 

The Arriflex 16S is an incredibly versatile camera, and with the TXM-22 it's capable of running crystal speeds from 6 to 50 fps, in forward and reverse. Not many cameras can do that.

 

-Tim