Vitascope 16mm Camera

[Dave Lasayko]

Hi,

 

Does Anyone Know Where I Might Be Able To Obtain A Copy Of An Instruction Manual For A Vintage Vitascope Hand Cranked 16mm Movie Camera?

 

 

Dave

[Ira Ratner]

The Smithsonian?

 

But seriously--what do you think a manual would tell you for that camera anyway? You can figure out how to load it, right?

 

The biggest trick is going to figure out exposure. I think you actually crank those those things pretty fast.

 

My guess is you're going to want to shoot b&w Tri-X to replicate the old-time look. At 200 ASA in full sunlight, that means you're going to want to rig some kind of filter system to accommodate neutral density filters, plus red and yellow filters.

[Dave Lasayko]

Thank You Ira For Your Helpful Information. I'm Still A Bit In The Dark About How I Would Filter The Pinhole.

 

Dave

[Ira Ratner]

You have the 1931 model, correct? Like this one?

 

http://www.xs4all.nl/~wichm/moviemaker.jpg

 

I was going to pick up one of these a few months back for the heck of it, but someone beat my eBay bid and I didn't want to go nuts with it. (I buy ENOUGH crap on eBay.) I didn't do any research on this camera, but will this work with single perf film? Do you know about that--that just about all 16mm film sold nowadays is single perf?

 

Also, have you played with cranking it yet? If not, look for a switch/lever which adjusts the frames per second. I don't know if the Vitascope has one, but check. If it has variable fps, that's going to of course radically affect your expose--hence those ND filters I was talking about. (You could jerry rig something down the road using square filters, It has a tripod socket, right?)

 

As far as metering, you're going to obviously need a separate meter--or you can just wing it outdoors with 100 Plus-X and have some fun.

 

It's cool to get into these old cameras, but with the expense of film and processing, you really want to have all of your ducks in a row before pulling the trigger. Or as many ducks as possible.

Edited January 31, 2009 by Ira Ratner

[Paul Bruening]

You have the 1931 model, correct? Like this one?

 

http://www.xs4all.nl/~wichm/moviemaker.jpg

 

I was going to pick up one of these a few months back for the heck of it, but someone beat my eBay bid and I didn't want to go nuts with it. (I buy ENOUGH crap on eBay.) I didn't do any research on this camera, but will this work with single perf film? Do you know about that--that just about all 16mm film sold nowadays is single perf?

 

Also, have you played with cranking it yet? If not, look for a switch/lever which adjusts the frames per second. I don't know if the Vitascope has one, but check. If it has variable fps, that's going to of course radically affect your expose--hence those ND filters I was talking about. (You could jerry rig something down the road using square filters, It has a tripod socket, right?)

 

As far as metering, you're going to obviously need a separate meter--or you can just wing it outdoors with 100 Plus-X and have some fun.

 

It's cool to get into these old cameras, but with the expense of film and processing, you really want to have all of your ducks in a row before pulling the trigger. Or as many ducks as possible.

 

Is it a pinhole cam? Did I read right?

[Saul Rodgar]

Do you know about that--that just about all 16mm film sold nowadays is single perf?

 

You can still buy dual perf film, it is called 2R. Not all the stocks may be available, mainly the reversal stocks, but it was still available last time I checked.

[David Auner aac]

You can still buy dual perf film, it is called 2R. Not all the stocks may be available, mainly the reversal stocks, but it was still available last time I checked.

 

7219 is also available as 2R as are a number of other color negative stocks such as 7205 IIRC. I just asked my Kodak rep a week or so ago...

 

Cheers, Dave