Arri IIC Fellini/Technovision Door?

John Jaquish · February 20, 2014

After getting a series of film tests back shot on my IIC with the subjects a little out of focus, I'm searching for alternate IIC viewing options. Putting a wide-angle viewfinder attachment from a 35BL helps, but I've heard of the Technovision/"Fellini" door and was interested to see if anyone had experience with these, and how much of an improvement on viewing the image it might provide? Also, how popular were these, and how difficult should it be to find one?

I've also seen the Jurgen's rotatable viewfinder with video tap, but I'm not sure if this provides a clearer image as an improvement to the original door or not.

Tim Carroll · February 21, 2014

The first thing I would do is have the Flange Focal Distance checked on the camera and have the Ground Glass checked. Those both have to match EXACTLY for the images on your film to be in focus. If both of those are spot on, then experiment with different doors/viewfinders/eyepieces. I struggled with focusing my IIC and it is one of the reasons I finally sold it. The old timers were good a focusing those cameras and it has something to do with having your eye exactly in the center of the viewfinder/eyepiece.

Good luck.

Best,

-Tim

John Jaquish · February 22, 2014

Thank you, Tim. Too bad this is a more general IIC issue. I'd been using it previously as purely a hand-held camera with wide lenses (and wide shots), so critical focus hadn't been as much of an issue. I'll have to get it examined.

Robert Houllahan · February 22, 2014

Do you have the Arri STD mount on yours still? I think that is a big limiting factor and 2C's with PL Mounts are dirt cheap now as are 35-3's which is quite a better camera. I have 2 2Cs and would love to have a 35-3 or 235.

-Rob-

John Jaquish · February 22, 2014

Do you have the Arri STD mount on yours still? I think that is a big limiting factor and 2C's with PL Mounts are dirt cheap now as are 35-3's which is quite a better camera. I have 2 2Cs and would love to have a 35-3 or 235.

-Rob-

Actually, Rob, I do. But it's funny you mention this -- I'm looking at getting one with a PL mount right now. Would this improve the image in the viewfinder?

I've actually handled a 35-3 and it's obviously a much improved viewing system and overall camera, but for some reason, I really like the ergonomics of the 2C for handheld work. I like the pistol-grip. Of course, this was on a 35-3 with an extended viewfinder (making handheld viewing almost impossible) and without any handgrips attached, so that of course is affecting my opinion.

Edited February 22, 2014 by John Jaquish

Robert Houllahan · February 23, 2014

I agree with the niceness of the 2C with the pistol grip vs. the 35-3 which has to be rigged into handheld awkwardly. I think one of the bad things about the 2C viewfinder is the ground glass with the steps in it to prevent light fogging. I am not sure but I think replacing the ground glass with a newer flat one would improve the viewer considerably, maybe that was done on some of the PL conversions?

Robert Houllahan · February 25, 2014

There is a 2C Jergens video / rotatable finder door on ebay right now which looks pretty good...

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Jurgens-Rotating-Viewfinder-Color-Video-Assist-for-Arri-Arriflex-2C-camera-/221381924330?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item338b6415ea

He is asking $750 for it, seems pretty good.

John Jaquish · February 25, 2014

Thanks, Rob. I saw that. I did just recently get a video attachment that attaches to the Arri eyepiece. I'm wondering if the viewfinder image is an improvement on the original 2C door, though. I'm also looking at his 2C PL body...

Robert Houllahan · February 26, 2014

I bet it is allot closer to the 35-3 and basically looks similar to the newer 35-3 door, I would think it's allot better and that maybe the ground Glass in the PL 2C is of a newer type. I could be wrong but I think the older style glass has those steps in it to prevent light fogging by the other lenses in the 3-lens turret.

Tim Carroll · March 4, 2014

I had a IIC for years and had a problem with focusing it. It was a PL mount IIC and it still had the light baffles in place. The ground glass on a IIC is part of the camera body and not the door, so whether you use a Fellini door, a Jurgen's door, or the stock door, the focusing issue I had remains the same.

I talked with a number of camera operators who used the IIC camera extensively in the 1960's and 1970's and they all said it was a "quirk" of the IIC camera optics design. The way the ground glass is designed, when you are focusing the camera from any viewfinder (Fellini, Jurgen's, Stock, etc.) you had to have your eye exactly in the center of the viewfinder to get accurate focus.

It used to drive me nuts as I was used to working with Arriflex 16SR, SRII, 16S and Aaton cameras, all of which don't have this issue. Even tried all the different ARRI eyepieces, Stock, Wide, Super Wide, nothing helped enough to make me enjoy shooting with the camera. So I eventually sold it.

The way the Arriflex III ground glass/fibre optics screen is set up is completely different than the way it is done on the IIC. I had no problems focusing an Arriflex III.

Best,

-Tim