Arri 16BL or Eclair NPR

John Jaquish · February 1, 2011

Hello, all. I plan to be shooting a short film soon on regular 16mm. It's going to be sync sound and I need to be able to do some controlled zooms. My options are shooting on either the Arri 16BL or Eclair NPR. Additionally, I'm going to need to go wider than the 12mm at the end of the zoom range of the Angenieux 12-120 that comes with the BL. Now, the BL I have access to does not have a prime lens blimp, only the blimp for the zoom (they did make a separate blimp for primes, didn't they?). So, if I'm using either a zoom control or prime lens, it won't be blimped if using the BL, which I don't think should be too much of a problem since there wouldn't be dialogue in either situation. So, I suppose my lens options would be greater with the NPR (that is, lens/sync sound options), but I'm not sure if the NPR presents any additional disadvantages that I'm unaware of.

So, I guess my question is, would it be worth working with the BL considering these circumstances and the lens blimp, or would I be better off with the NPR?

Finally, on a side note, how available might a prime lens blimp be to rent? Also, I do not have access to a zoom control/motor. Are they generally rented only when renting a lens, or might some places rent a zoom control separately? And is there some sort of universal zoom control/motor or do they apply to specific lenses/manufacturers?

Thank you and any feedback would be greatly appreciated.

John Sprung · February 2, 2011

The BL is quieter, has better registration, and far fewer parts fall off while you're shooting. With the NPR, even back in the 1970's, we often had to stretch gaffer's tape very tight from the lens to the magazine to keep the miserable thing working. It's hard to imagine that any of them work anywhere near right 40 years later. But other than the lens and mag falling off, the lids falling off the sides of the mag, and the rubber motor coupling slipping and putting you out of sync, they're a great camera.

The BL prime lens blimps were scarce even when they were new, probably near impossible to find today. We used the zooms for sync, and only took them off for MOS. Zeiss had a 10 - 100 that was better than the 12 - 120.

-- J.S.

John Jaquish · February 2, 2011

The BL is quieter, has better registration, and far fewer parts fall off while you're shooting. With the NPR, even back in the 1970's, we often had to stretch gaffer's tape very tight from the lens to the magazine to keep the miserable thing working. It's hard to imagine that any of them work anywhere near right 40 years later. But other than the lens and mag falling off, the lids falling off the sides of the mag, and the rubber motor coupling slipping and putting you out of sync, they're a great camera.

The BL prime lens blimps were scarce even when they were new, probably near impossible to find today. We used the zooms for sync, and only took them off for MOS. Zeiss had a 10 - 100 that was better than the 12 - 120.

-- J.S.

Thanks, John. After some looking into, I'll probably stick with the BL.

Herbie Pabst · February 2, 2011

My NPR has none of the above mentioned problems.

Toby Edwards · March 9, 2011

my NPR works great as well.

Ian Cooper · March 9, 2011

Like with most older equipment, I suspect much will depend upon the individual condition of each camera.

A well used (abused) BL will probably be a dog to use and have far more problems than a good condition NPR that's been looked after. A lot could have happened to any camera that's 40 years old!

My own NPR has never leaked light despite not taping up the magazine, the mag. covers clip firmly into place and the locks on the cover release latches work to prevent accidental opening by the user. The magazine locates firmly onto the body even without actuating the additional sliding lock, and there's never been any hint of it falling off. The often criticised CA-1 lens mount locks the lens firmly into position on my camera with no hint of looseness either, (although when I first came across it I was a tad concerned by there being no positive locking action!).

Having said all that, I am aware my particular example is in good condition with hardly any signs of wear. I'm not about to suggest it is representative of all NPRs anyone will (or have) come across. As I mentioned before, it's probably a little unfair to generalise too much on any equipment that's had 40 years of use. One needs to weigh up the condition of what's actually sitting in front of them.