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camera purchase


Nate Yolles

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It's come time to purchase a camera for myself and I'm just curious as to what kind of word of mouth is out there on these two companies.

 

1) The Optical Electro House in Culver City, CA

2) Visual Products Inc. in Wellington, OH.

 

At the time being, I feel confident with either company. Yet, I am curious as to anybody's dealings with them.

 

Thank you

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I just had a camera serviced at Visual Products and they have done me well in that respect (stuck to the estimate even though they went over on hours, build a battery for my camera, etc) ... so I would definitely recommend Visual Products just for the simple fact that they are nice people.

 

And I know their parts and labor warranties are pretty good (6 months I believe).

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You must be a pretty well of DP if you can afford to buy your own equipment. A new Camera will break the local banks vault. A new Arricam Studio will cost you $164,000.00 for the body alone (Quoted from Arri's Price list)... Plus Magazines @ $10,000.00 each and Video assist for $15,000.00, ect.

 

A nice loaded camera will cost you $250,000.00

 

Be sure you have enough business to support a buy of this sort.

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You must be a pretty well of DP if you can afford to buy your own equipment. A new Camera will break the local banks vault. A new Arricam Studio will cost you $164,000.00 for the body alone

 

What makes you think that he bought an Arricam? There are plenty of older, second hand cameras out there that cost reasonable amounts. Even the new Arri 235 body is only around ? 35.000.

 

As far as I know there is ony one individual who owns an Arricam.

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Guest Daniel J. Ashley-Smith
What makes you think that he bought an Arricam? There are plenty of older, second hand cameras out there that cost reasonable amounts. Even the new Arri 235 body is only around ? 35.000.

Oh well not too much then... ................. .....................

 

I don't know anyone that actually owns a 35mm cinecam, only companies that you rent them from. Thing is, if you buy the camera it's got to pay for itself. Which in most peoples cases it just wouldn't, but if it's available to everyone to use then it's a different story.

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Guest Daniel J. Ashley-Smith

I don't think anyone was trying to correct him, just saying how un-usual it is to actually buy a 35mm cinecam. And you have to admit, not many people do own them.

 

I've seen them going cheap, I saw one up at £30,000, but I still can't afford it.

 

One day I'm gonna buy an XL2 or something, but that?s about as far as I will ever go when buying equipment. I'll just rent the big stuff.

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If it is your first camera, then yes.

 

Because the camera is compatible with existing magazines (435, Arri3) and accessories, rental companies are at an advantage. Most will still buy the sexy 235 200ft mag though.

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I don't think owning 35mm is really that unusual. There are all kinds of older Arri BLs out there which still work fine and are quite the workhorses. You can get a BL1 from Visual Products for under $20k. Not to mention Arri-IIs and IIIs, Aaton-35s, etc.

 

As for Landon, I think you're buying a camera based on prestige. As has been said many times, the camera is just a box that runs film through it. Sure, Arricam and Panavision cameras have all kinds of special advantages, but its the lens and the film that determines image quality.

 

And, though you may not be trying to correct him, you were quite condescending in your comment and I think that is what people were trying to say.

 

I have a friend who is shooting on a BL1 right now. Sure its an older camera, but it has had upgrades done to it over the years and is still a good, solid camea. Look at the history of cinema. Plenty of movies have been made without Arricams or Panaflexes.

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I have a friend who is shooting on a BL1 right now. Sure its an older camera, but it has had upgrades done to it over the years and is still a good, solid camea. Look at the history of cinema. Plenty of movies have been made without Arricams or Panaflexes.

 

I love BL's, almost prefer them. I might be alone in that.

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If it is your first camera, then yes.

 

Because the camera is compatible with existing magazines (435, Arri3) and accessories, rental companies are at an advantage. Most will still buy the sexy 235 200ft mag though.

 

 

:blink: i had no idea that camera mags were sexy

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Many DPs who work with the latest/greatest cameras also own less expensive older MOS cameras for secondary and B-camera work. Based on the two companies the original poster inquired about, I would say that he likely falls under this category and is considering an Eclair CM3 (aka Cameflex). A nice CM3 package can start under $4000, so it's hardly a bank-buster.

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It's come time to purchase a camera for myself and I'm just curious as to what kind of word of mouth is out there on these two companies.

 

1) The Optical Electro House in Culver City, CA

2) Visual Products Inc. in Wellington, OH.

 

At the time being, I feel confident with either company. Yet, I am curious as to anybody's dealings with them.

 

Thank you

 

Casting no aspersions on either company, you should make sure of a couple things when purchasing. Be sure that no chroming has been done I.E. Gates and or Rails. That if you buy, say an Arri BL 4 or SR III, it has an Arri BL4 or SR III motor and not a BL3 or SR II motor. The mirror is pristine and the mags have recent clutch overhauls. The electronics are free, totally, of any corosion. Also the serial # is checked through PERA the rental industry hotline for stolen or "missing" equipment. If a cam. has traded hands more than once the seller may not know its "true" history. When getting lenses I highly recomend they be shipped by the seller to a lens tech such as FOCUS OPTICS for a complete checkout. Especially, a zoom lens grease packing for a good focus of the gear system is unfortunatly not an uncomon practice in zooms or primes. There are more pitfalls to consider than these but these are some of the main ones.

 

Best and Good Luck,

 

GWPB

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Mr. Gross is quite right. I'm paying a little more however, since I'm having a few upgrades like replacing the eclair CA1 mount with a PL mount, adding an extra mag, etc... It's a nifty little camera. It actually shoots both 35mm and 16mm, it's crystal sync with variable speed and it has a variable shutter. Coutard used it to shoot Godard films in the French New Wave. Haskell Wexler, ASC owned one. It is quite loud though.

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Actually, I think Haskell owned three! If you want to see something frightening, check out the end shot of "Medium Cool," where he is seen operating one inside a blimp housing he had custom made. Looks like a small refridgerator.

 

You should also check out Les Bosher in the UK. He does excellent upgrades and works on the CM3. I wouldn't be surprised if no matter where you bought your camera with a PL conversion that the work was actually performed by Les.

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Actually, I think Haskell owned three!  If you want to see something frightening, check out the end shot of "Medium Cool," where he is seen operating one inside a blimp housing he had custom made.  Looks like a small refridgerator.

 

Net Flixed it, straight to the top. How'd he survive that picture...writer, director, director of photography and camera op.

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