Need Help Finding a Camera

[Ernie Zahn]

Hi,

I've been looking around for a 16mm camera to do some simple short films. Maybe a sound one or two. I own a DeVry 16mm is nothing short of a black box with a hole in it. I've considered renting cameras but factoring in:

 

$100+ for the camera

$25 for transportation

$?? For insurance (required by the rental services in my area)

 

It's hard enough for me to manage schedules to saitsfy everyone invloved in a project. I'd rather not have to factor in return of the camera. When I work on a project with a larger production crew and a resonabl budget I'd like to flock to rentals, but as long as I have projects where I act as: writer, producer, director, director of photography and anything else; I'd rather have a simple camera I can use at my leisure. It'd be worth the money if I knew it'd be one less thing to worry about for scheduling.

 

So what I'm looking for is a camera up to $300 that will take at least 100' rolls and shoots 24fps. Are there 100' cameras that use loadable magazines? If not that's fine. But if anyone could help me out with this, It'd be much appreciated.

[Troy Warr]

Hi Ernie,

 

As you probably know, <$300 won't get you very far toward anything but a Super-8 camera. In the 16mm world, you might try hunting for a deal on a Krasnogorsk K-3 or a non-reflex Bolex. The former is a Russian camera that you can actually find brand new for about that price (at least I did several years ago) - albeit with some inherent problems, even straight from the factory. They tend to scratch film and can have some other mechanical maladies. Several companies and individuals used to (and likely still do) offer overhauls, but after parts & labor, those often come out to more than you paid for the camera. You might either try finding a used overhauled one (or at least a well-maintained, problem-free one from a trusted seller), or, if you're feeling lucky, buy a new one and hope it doesn't scratch your film.

 

I bought a non-reflex Bolex model a while back for around $200, and while it was kludgy to shoot with (parallax error, aging parts, some odd design elements), it did a decent job. If it had broken down at some point, I would have been out of luck, but fortunately those things are built like tanks. I would recommend finding one that comes with a lens(es) so that you don't have to hunt those down separately. As with all used cameras, be sure that the owner has run a roll through it *recently* to confirm that it's working properly.

 

Best of luck!

[Ernie Zahn]

Hi Ernie,

 

As you probably know, <$300 won't get you very far toward anything but a Super-8 camera. In the 16mm world, you might try hunting for a deal on a Krasnogorsk K-3 or a non-reflex Bolex. The former is a Russian camera that you can actually find brand new for about that price (at least I did several years ago) - albeit with some inherent problems, even straight from the factory. They tend to scratch film and can have some other mechanical maladies. Several companies and individuals used to (and likely still do) offer overhauls, but after parts & labor, those often come out to more than you paid for the camera. You might either try finding a used overhauled one (or at least a well-maintained, problem-free one from a trusted seller), or, if you're feeling lucky, buy a new one and hope it doesn't scratch your film.

 

I bought a non-reflex Bolex model a while back for around $200, and while it was kludgy to shoot with (parallax error, aging parts, some odd design elements), it did a decent job. If it had broken down at some point, I would have been out of luck, but fortunately those things are built like tanks. I would recommend finding one that comes with a lens(es) so that you don't have to hunt those down separately. As with all used cameras, be sure that the owner has run a roll through it *recently* to confirm that it's working properly.

 

Best of luck!

Thanks for the input. :) Considering the information you've given I may wait until I can pay for something a bit more up there in price. I'd still rather pay more for a camera to own than the trouble of renting. If I were iving in the city, it would be different. But it's a bit of a trek into the city for something like a camera. Are there cameras that use 100' magazines.

[Richardson Leao]

Hi Ernie,

 

The Krasno 2 and 1 use 30m day load mags:

http://www.geocities.com/russiancamera/16mm/16mm_cameras.htm

http://cgi.ebay.com/KRASNOGORSK-2-RAREST-R...1QQcmdZViewItem

 

 

pentaflex also have 30m loads:

http://cgi.ebay.com/PENTAFLEX-16-Movie-Cam...VQQcmdZViewItem

http://cgi.ebay.com/PENTAFLEX-16mm-movie-c...VQQcmdZViewItem

 

Kinor 16-sx and sp-16(sp-m) also

 

 

 

Hi,

I've been looking around for a 16mm camera to do some simple short films. Maybe a sound one or two. I own a DeVry 16mm is nothing short of a black box with a hole in it. I've considered renting cameras but factoring in:

 

$100+ for the camera

$25 for transportation

$?? For insurance (required by the rental services in my area)

 

It's hard enough for me to manage schedules to saitsfy everyone invloved in a project. I'd rather not have to factor in return of the camera. When I work on a project with a larger production crew and a resonabl budget I'd like to flock to rentals, but as long as I have projects where I act as: writer, producer, director, director of photography and anything else; I'd rather have a simple camera I can use at my leisure. It'd be worth the money if I knew it'd be one less thing to worry about for scheduling.

 

So what I'm looking for is a camera up to $300 that will take at least 100' rolls and shoots 24fps. Are there 100' cameras that use loadable magazines? If not that's fine. But if anyone could help me out with this, It'd be much appreciated.

[Ernie Zahn]

Thanks for the links :)

[Scott Bryant]

I've been in kinda the same boat as you for a while ernie. I was looking for really cheap and got a Beaulieu R16 a good camera to start on in my opinion but i don't really know much better. I figure now i'm wanting to make a couple of longer short films so i may have to bite the bullet and step up to a gsmo, or arri bl or maybe an eclair npr. I figure if you take care of it you can sell it back for around what you paid for it so i may look into doing that. It would suck to drop that kind of money on a small budget but you might be able to make a good portion of that back.

[Dan Salzmann]

Maybe a later model Canon Scoopic - it takes internal 100 ft. loads and is really easy to load fast and handles like a giant super8.

It is not crystal sync and a bit noisy but so are Bolexes and Beaulieus so sound will be difficult.

[Guest Ole Dost]

Hi Ernie,

I recommend the Kinor 16 sx-2m -it is a pin registered Camera for a very reasonalbe price. You can use 100ft Mags as well as 400ft Mags. It has it´s own lens mount, but there are more then 10 primes and two Zooms that had been offered for this Camera. All of them are very good and they are often offered on EBay for very few money. The Kinor 16 offers very much of an Arri- or Eclair Camera for < 1000 $! If you want to know more about this very interesting Camera -I wrote an article about my experience. You will find it with the search-function of this film magazoine site: www.smallformat.schiele-schoen.de

I own two of these cameras -and I love them. Great pictures.

Ole