BEAULIEU R16 help me!

[DaNiElE BeLArDo]

hello people could you help me? ...what fo you think about this camera? is really unreliable camera? the viewfinder id brighter than bolex h16?

 

i have find the viewfinder of bolex h16 rx 5 very very dark! i am unable to frame and focusing with f/5.6 !!! the vision is very very blind!!

 

thanks for all

[salt-sg]

Yes!

The Beaulieu R-16B will give you very brighter view finder image than Bolex!!

And easy to focus under the low light.

Further, the finder image of late model of R-16 is as big as Bolex RX-5.

 

However, the grain of focusing screen is very delicate, so will be lost easily if you touch!

And it become unsuitable for focusing.

Edited March 4, 2007 by salt-sg

[Mikael Gustafsson]

I'm fairly new with the R-16, but here's my two cents:

 

I've been very happy with mine in all aspects this far. I had it overhauled at Björn Andersson and he did a wonderful job. I'll have to admit it's finicky compared to new cameras. If you care to read the manual a few times and take some time learning to load it properly, everything should be fine. During the time I read up on the camera before lunging for one I came up with usual complaints about loading hazzle and unsteady footage. Most solved with proper loading as far as I know.

 

It may not be the cheapest option, but it's commonly accepted as being a good idea to give a full service to these things before you use them. Makes sense I guess, the cameras being quite old and all. That should help with the reliability.

 

Hope that helps, even a bit.

 

Best regards,

Mikael

[DaNiElE BeLArDo]

how much cost to bjorn a service? and which type of modify he apply?

 

also which model of r16 should i buy? (possibily with 3 turret option)

 

thank friend!

[Mikael Gustafsson]

I'd guess he can modify the camera in every possible way. For the R-16 we got for our exam film he did the following:

 

- Crystal sync

- 16:9 markings in the viewfinder

- Overhaul (cleaning, lubing etc)

 

The cleaning was a few hundred euros.

 

His e-mail is bjorn.andersson(at)brevet.nu

 

 

He can surely answer the question concerning the model better than most of us as well, I guess it all boils down to what you're after and what you need.

 

Best regards,

Mikael.

[salt-sg]

My Beaulieu was serviced by Mr.bjorn too, and works very well.

I requested conversion to single mount panel from turret mount at the same time as lubrication.

Because I thought that the turret mount is too weakly to mount a zoom lens such as Angenieu 12-120. Actually the turret mount of Beaulieu that I got was bended already.

 

Beaulieu R16 camera Forum

http://p205.ezboard.com/Beaulieu-R16-camer...ieur16usersfrm1

[Patrick Cooper]

Although I have never used a Beaulieu R16, it sounds like quite a versatile camera. Like any camera, I have heard that it has a number of advantages and disadvantages. Like mentioned above, I have heard good things about the bright viewfinder. It does have an internal light meter which many ?inexpensive? 16mm cameras lack. Though I have heard that this light meter is not that reliable in auto exposure mode (R16 owners can comment on that if they wish.) The broad range of running speeds sounds quite impressive and the top speed if 64fps for nice fluid slow motion. However, I have heard from some individuals that there is a bit of a delay before the tachometer kicks in and it gets up to speed?(I don?t know how long this delay is.)

 

It uses C mount lenses so there is a wide variety of affordable optics for it. Of course on the other hand, a C mount can be problematic if you use long telephoto lenses without a proper lens support. I have also heard from R16 users that great care must be used to seat the gate properly when loading film otherwise all the footage will be jumpy. Additionally, I have heard from experts that the Beaulieu R16 cannot successfully be converted to Super 16 because the size of the mirror shutter is not large enough to reflect light evenly over the whole frame. While most 16mm cameras in general are quite tough and robust machines, I have heard a number of comments that Beaulieu R16s are a little bit more delicate (though some disagree.) I am sure that R16 owners can elaborate on any of these points that I have mentioned and include some points that I have missed.

 

Another interesting thing about the Beaulieu R16 that I have noticed is that prices for this camera on the used market are all over the place. While most cameras have a particular ?value range? for which you can expect to certain amount of money, I have seen super cheap R16 prices as well as super expensive and anywhere inbetween.