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ACL I mags on ACL II


Gregg MacPherson

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Hey you guys,

I may be upgrading to an ACL II. I have two English 400' magazines here that I would like to use on it. Do these work ok? What about the French mags that were made before the ACL II?

 

The way I am descriminating between the English and French mags is by the take up system. The English with the rubber tyres running on the film take up roll and the French with a friction drive like the 200' magazine seems to have. The different footage counter/indicators are also obvious I guess.

 

Do the English mags work ok at 75fps?

 

Does anyone know what the purpose was of the separate pressure pad on the ACL II magazine is? Obviously we don't have this feature on ACL I mags, but does it matter?

 

Thanks

Cheers

Gregg

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I heard elsewhere some confirmation that any ACL magazine can go on any ACL camera. This still leaves the question about the relative quality or function of the different types. Can we take better pictures with the mags with the extra pressure plate? The designers must have had a reason to add this.

 

The other question about whether the English mags are happy running at 75fps (especially stopping and starting) - I didn't find an answer to it yet

 

Gregg.

Edited by Gregg MacPherson
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  • 4 weeks later...

there are a load of myths about french/english mags...truth is they all work fine

hope this helps

 

 

Thanks for that reassurance. I have a couple of English 400' mags that I'm going to try on an ACL II S16 that I'm getting soon.

 

One interesting thing I realized recently. Some 400' magazines have large platters, a proper size for a 400'roll, and some have small platters that look the same as for the 200' rolls. I'm calling it a platter. It's the black round plate that the film roll sits on. The first 400' mag I had (English) had some uneven tracking on the takeup roll. This was probably due to the rubber take up "tyres" being a little loose on the "hub". I fixed this by improvising guides taped to the inside of the magazine, level with the platter.

 

Having seen a 400' platter on a mag for sale recently on eBay I can see the value of it. They are probably hard to find, but maybe not too hard to make.

 

Cheers,

Gregg

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Truth is, while most ACL mags are interchangeable, it depends on the actual magazines themselves. There are plenty of minute factory variations / 3rd party modifications that I have seen. I have never encountered two completely identical mags aside from a few ones bearing sequential serial numbers, eg. 0001, 0002 or mags belonging to a kit. Some fall of easy, and some munch on film, or make spaghetti on the take up side, etc. I'd have a reputable tech look at them before you film so you can get the best out of them.

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