Wilcam R 16 S

Marty Hamrick · July 15, 2005

I saw one of these on ebay.It looks like it will go cheap.It looks like a Frezzolini or CP 16 R.Anyone know what lens mount it takes?It says a bayonet type mount but not which type of mount.It looks like it's in great shape except it has no lens.

Robert Hughes · July 15, 2005

I've never seen a Wilcam, so I'm just hazarding a guess, but that guess is that the Wilcam R16S is an Auricon "chop top" conversion. In the early 60's newsmen and documentary filmmakers were taking the stock Auricon CineVoice (originally designed to take 100' internal daylight spools) and sawing off the top of the camera to install Mitchell magazines.

Jeff Kreines on "roll your own" cameras

The more successful Auricon conversions, such as the Cinema Products CP16 and the Frezzolini, continued to be manufactured for years.

This Wilcam was probably somebody's garage shop production. Who knows what bayonet mount it used? I've got an Auricon conversion named a "Sollus" that hadn't been used since 1968 and leaked light like a sieve until I patched it up. But now it's a fine, quiet camera with a stable image and a 120VAC synchronous motor, perfect for dialog shooting. It's got a C mount on it like the original Auricon.

Edit:

Looking at the picture of that Wilcom, I'd also guess it has some sort of reflex viewing system. Whether it uses a mirrored shutter or a prism is your guess.

Edited July 15, 2005 by Robert Hughes

Marty Hamrick · July 16, 2005

Edit:
Looking at the picture of that Wilcom, I'd also guess it has some sort of reflex viewing system. Whether it uses a mirrored shutter or a prism is your guess.

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I thought about that too.Can't tell what kind of VF that is,if it's fully orientable or just out to the side.Wilcam was famous for conversions.They had a super 8 SOF newsfilm camera that took single strand roll film.They also did 35mm VistaVision cameras.

I often wonder about the value of these things to collectors.Some of these things were like Edsels only a few models made.Remember Beckman and Whitley?

truesync · July 30, 2006

I thought about that too.Can't tell what kind of VF that is,if it's fully orientable or just out to the side.Wilcam was famous for conversions.They had a super 8 SOF newsfilm camera that took single strand roll film.They also did 35mm VistaVision cameras.

I often wonder about the value of these things to collectors.Some of these things were like Edsels only a few models made.Remember Beckman and Whitley?

MITCHELL or WILCAM - R16S - was not a 'chop top' or conversion......

Despite this being a late reply , I thought it best to present the facts to anyone wanting info on the R16S...

Firstly I own a R16S Mitchell Wilcam , they were Sold in two forms - Mitchell Wilcam & WILCAM .

Far from being an Auricon 'chop top' the R16S was a totally new concept and was advertised as the most innovative on the market - within ; American Cinematographer in the mid 70's ...

It has a magnesium body and advanced features - mirror reflex with viewer light metering , VU meter and footage counter into the viewfinder ,, plus the shutter always stops closed.

Belt drive quiet , the R16S easily matches my BL Arri for silent running , the gate & claw design is totally unlike Auricon... more like the Pathe Pro Reflex at the time . The Mitchell Wilcam R16S has crystal sync of 24 or 25 and a good selection of wild speeds - it also has onboard batteries & optional cable operation.

For both models the Cameras have a detachable Amplifier for multi channel audio recording on mag. stripe .

Lens mount is bayonet of the CP type and the standard kit included a 12 - 120 zoom .

Being a Mitchell base product , there was more choice than most in footage size of magazines .

The R16S was very advanced for it's day and is better than many of the 16's I see around even today !

thanks , M.H.

Robert Hughes · July 30, 2006

Thanks for the update on the Wilcam. Do you have any pictures, plans, manuals, etc you could show here? Perhaps you could put up a page for it on the super8wiki (even though it's 16mm, I know).