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Alan Gordon gear device for Arri 16 - might be 716GE-5 ?


Duncan Brown

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I have a very sturdy gear-up device of some kind which appears to be for an Arri 16 camera of some sort - at least the output portion matches my 16S motors exactly.

The part number would appear to be 716GE-5

For every turn of the input portion, I get precisely three turns of the output ball.  I guess a critical question is: what the heck fits into the input portion?  In addition to the input wheel, there are also two threaded holes, which presumably are used affix the motor or drive device to this device, which then clamps into the camera the normal way like a motor would.  (Do the other models of Arriflex 16, the M or the BL, have the same style motor attachment as the S?)

Some pictures spread across multiple posts because of the size limits.

Duncan

alan_gordon_716ge_5_01.thumb.jpg.2dd5ee716268f0e9752250d0d2ab7512.jpgalan_gordon_716ge_5_02.thumb.jpg.6eba1f47778ab23612c09f1497583431.jpgalan_gordon_716ge_5_04.thumb.jpg.d2446b5ebf1faeabe5e486940f6c25f4.jpg

 

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I was wondering what motor would go so slow you'd need to increase its speed 3X to get into interesting ranges for the 16S, but I hadn't considered the original motor!  Other than crazy nostalgia, what would make someone want to hand crank an Arriflex?

Duncan

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Greetings Duncan!

Your mystery part for the Arri 16 ST (or M) is the 'camera adaptor' for an NCE Animation Motor Drive System for 16mm or 35mm cameras. This single frame motor drive was probably made by Gordon Enterprises.

IMG_20211128_0004.jpg

 

One would purchase the Control Box and motor, then add the appropriatecamera adaptor for the camera or cameras they wanted to use it on.

IMG_20211128_0006.jpg

 

You would still need a 'capping shutter' to use it with the Arri cameras, as those cameras were not really designed to be used for single framing. They could fog the film from light entering the lens when the film was at rest. The controller has provisions for 'synchronized shutter openings' or to use the 'capping shutter'.

I've never seen this set up, not even on eBay.

Back in 1983, the NCE III Controller and Motor would have set you back $1650, then you add the cost of the camera adaptor. Also, the motor was 120 volts. You would need a long extension cord or a generator to use it in the desert for time-lapse with an intervalometer.

Nice looking piece of Arri equipment however!

Charlie 

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Hey, that's definitely the little guy in the picture there!  Interesting that the Arri was one of the more expensive ones, but it's a sturdy, well-engineered and constructed thing, with some precision gears inside.

Well maybe someday I'll find someone with an NCE III animation controller and motor going cheap, or better still someone with one of those and a big budget will be desperately searching for the Arri adapter ?

I can't imagine more than a small handful of those were ever made.

Duncan

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