Question about Angenieux 12-120mm Type C

[Derick Crucius]

Greetings everyone!

 

My name is Derick and I'm new to the forums. I'm a filmmaker based in Philly and I work primarily with super 8 and 16mm film.

 

I recently acquired an Angenieux 12-120mm Type C with the C Mount to use on my Bolex rex 4.

 

Now from my understanding, the type c is made to be RX compatible, which is great. My only question/concern is, all of the images i've seen of this lens online shows the lens with the silver cupped mount with the engraved 'BOLEX RX" or something along those lines. The thing is, mine doesnt have the so called "silver cup" with that engraving. It just seems to be a normal c mount that screws right onto my camera.

 

My question is, is my lens still properly calibrated for the reflex prism although it doesnt have this engraved mount? Were there different variations of the TYPE C lens that were made throughout the years, making mine different but the same as far as collimation?

 

Sorry if this question has been asked before, I just can't seem to find the answer and I dont want to eat up a bunch of film and find out all of the images are soft.

 

Thanks in advance,

Derick

[Derick Crucius]

Bump

[Guest Glenn Brady]

Factory literature suggests Angénieux type C lenses are compatible with Bolex H 16 cameras. Versions described as "Spécial Paillard Bolex H 16 Reflex" and marked H 16 RX on the satin chrome mount are compatible with Bolex H 16 RX cameras.

[Derick Crucius]

Thanks Glen, so there are just different versions? Because my type C does not have the chrome satin mount, just a plain old black c mount.

[Phillip Mosness]

I've read if you stop down a non RX lens past f 3.5 you'll overcome the aberrations of the reflex prism.

 

here's some pics of the RX version of the 12-120

 

https://www.rockycameras.com/--12-120mm-h16-rx-angenieux--angenieux-12-120mm-bolex-h16-rx--lens-cased-cw-caps---nice--24999-56482-p.asp

[Derick Crucius]

So the version I have is not RX, but is Bolex compatible? Even though its the Type C version? Weird.

 

Can I get this lens collimated to be compatible with the reflex prism?? Im kind of bummed I bought it, i thought it would work well with my camera.

[Dom Jaeger]

According to this post from Boris Belay, who seemed to know a thing or two about Bolex, type C was the Angenieux classification for zooms that were made for reflex Bolexes, whether in C mount or Bolex bayonet:

 

http://www.cinematography.com/index.php?showtopic=33405&p=268071

 

I don't have any information on it, so I can't say if it's true or not, but it seems to make sense. Being "Bolex compatible" yet not RX would simply make it standard C mount, which is type B. From my experience the types are not indicative of the actual mount, since I have seen type B zooms in various mounts.

 

The proof is always in the pudding, so I would shoot a test with the zoom at full aperture and various focal lengths to see how it looks.

[Thomas Harmsen]

@Derick Crucius Hi! I have the exact same question you had here! Did you ever shoot something with the lens and find out wether it has (noticable) aberrations? 

[Derick Crucius]

On 9/30/2023 at 12:30 PM, Thomas Harmsen said:

@Derick Crucius Hi! I have the exact same question you had here! Did you ever shoot something with the lens and find out wether it has (noticable) aberrations? 

Hey Thomas, I did! And everything looked totally fine to me, but keep in mind that I shot in daylight, on 50d probably at around 5.6 or above. Still, it ended up working out!