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WTB: S16 Aaton LTR/XTR/XTR Prod or Arri SR2/3


Nehemiah Stark

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Hi all,

Looking for a fully-working package with clean registration and exc. condition in a PL mount (bonus if it has HD video tap/assist).
Budget is about $3-6k (closer to 6 only if it has video assist).

Feel free to DM or email me at n.strakovsky@gmail.com

Thanks!
Nehemiah

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There’s an SR2 up on eBay that’s being bid on right now! It looks like it has a tap on it. To be honest though, it’s gonna be hard to find any of those cameras in good condition in that price range, especially with an HD tap already installed. 

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1 hour ago, Thomas Blanks said:

There’s an SR2 up on eBay that’s being bid on right now! It looks like it has a tap on it. To be honest though, it’s gonna be hard to find any of those cameras in good condition in that price range, especially with an HD tap already installed. 

Thanks, Thomas! Have prices bloated recently? I have friends who have bought LTRs (admittedly without video tap) for 1.5-2k. 


Also, if I’m looking for something closer to this range, is there a different camera you would suggest?

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prices are pretty insane right now unfortunately. There is an sr2 for sale for 23k in the thread below this one... I am currently fully overhauling my LTR at the moment with pl mount and a video tap and all new electronics. could be interested in letting it go for the right price. 

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43 minutes ago, Matthew Pothier said:

prices are pretty insane right now unfortunately. There is an sr2 for sale for 23k in the thread below this one... I am currently fully overhauling my LTR at the moment with pl mount and a video tap and all new electronics. could be interested in letting it go for the right price. 

Hi Matthew. Thanks for writing. I’ll DM you

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23 hours ago, Nehemiah Stark said:

And willing to pay $6-8k for the right XTR package with HD video tap. 

Currently XTR's are going for $16- 18k with an HD tap. 

Plus's are around $8 - $12k with a OEM SD tap

SR3's are around $12 - $16k

SR2's however, standard 16mm? You can get them for way less and they are a very nice camera. They "should" fit in your price range $6k-$8k, but parts have been harder and harder to get, especially replacement motors. You won't get an HD tap for that money, but Visual Products has a great HD tap for the SR1, SR2. 

Edited by Tyler Purcell
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10 minutes ago, Tyler Purcell said:

Currently XTR's are going for $16- 18k with an HD tap. 

Plus's are around $8 - $12k with a OEM SD tap

SR3's are around $12 - $16k

SR2's however, standard 16mm? You can get them for way less and they are a very nice camera. They "should" fit in your price range $6k-$8k, but parts have been harder and harder to get, especially replacement motors. You won't get an HD tap for that money, but Visual Products has a great HD tap for the SR1, SR2. 

Thanks, Tyler. I think you mean Prods are going for 16-18k, though, no? Regular XTRs should be going for 5-7k without tap, 7-10k with tap. 

Also, there are S16 SR2s out there, but I’d like something a little better for handheld. Maybe ACLII or a regular XTR (not Plus or Prod) are the best fits

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Just now, Nehemiah Stark said:

Thanks, Tyler. I think you mean Prods are going for 16-18k, though, no? Regular XTRs should be going for 5-7k without tap, 7-10k with tap. 

Yea sorry, the first camera was Prod, the "plus" is the standard XTR and they are going for well over $10k with a SD tap, not HD tap. 

Regular XTR's are very hard to find and honestly, they don't offer anything over an LTR, which is way cheaper. You won't get an HD tap on one, without some mod's which can be tricky to find. 

There is no comparison between an SR2 and ACLII, the ACL is a very old camera, it's not something you can use professionally. An SR II well setup, can be used to shoot professional productions. 

I have shot hand held with the SR's quite a bit, they work fine. 

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2 minutes ago, Tyler Purcell said:

Yea sorry, the first camera was Prod, the "plus" is the standard XTR and they are going for well over $10k with a SD tap, not HD tap. 

Regular XTR's are very hard to find and honestly, they don't offer anything over an LTR, which is way cheaper. You won't get an HD tap on one, without some mod's which can be tricky to find. 

There is no comparison between an SR2 and ACLII, the ACL is a very old camera, it's not something you can use professionally. An SR II well setup, can be used to shoot professional productions. 

I have shot hand held with the SR's quite a bit, they work fine. 

Copy. I’m not opposed to an LTR, but as I recall, the loops are a little more volatile and strenuous on the film on the LTR mags compared to XTR. I’ve been offered an early XTR package in the budget that I’ve described  

If you were going to go SR2 vs LTR vs early XTR, what would you choose?

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1 hour ago, Tyler Purcell said:

There is no comparison between an SR2 and ACLII, the ACL is a very old camera, it's not something you can use professionally. An SR II well setup, can be used to shoot professional productions.

Well, Arriflex SR2 was introduced in 1982, ACL2 1979. There really isn't much difference in their age.

What features is it missing Tyler?

One can even get HD video tap for it at AZ Spectrum and motor modifications.

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12 hours ago, Nehemiah Stark said:

Copy. I’m not opposed to an LTR, but as I recall, the loops are a little more volatile and strenuous on the film on the LTR mags compared to XTR. I’ve been offered an early XTR package in the budget that I’ve described  

Super 16 mags are all the same, you're thinking non-super 16 mags. I haven't seen many over the years, nearly everything has been converted these days. 

Be careful of early XTR packages, I service them constantly and we've been finding lots of systemic issues that aren't easy to fix. Same goes for SR1/SR2's, it's going to be difficult to service them in the near future. 

12 hours ago, Nehemiah Stark said:

If you were going to go SR2 vs LTR vs early XTR, what would you choose?

SR2 over LTR for sure. 

Edited by Tyler Purcell
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10 hours ago, Heikki Repo said:

Well, Arriflex SR2 was introduced in 1982, ACL2 1979. There really isn't much difference in their age.

I mean the ACL is a very old school design, it has nothing to do with release date, it has to do with the over-all design of the camera. 

10 hours ago, Heikki Repo said:

What features is it missing Tyler?

If you need a list, then you don't know what professional cameras are like to use. 

For the record, I'm the only guy on the west coast who services Eclair's and I fix them all the time. I'm constantly working on ACL's, it's the #1 Eclair I work on. They are a well made camera, very robust and for sure as a beginner camera ($500 - $1000) they are pretty unbeatable, but they aren't $1000 anymore. They are grossly expensive for what they are, which is a complete toy in the modern world.

I don't want to argue. I've shot thousands of feet through them, I rather like them personally, but I would never in a million years consider them anything close to a professional camera and neither would anyone else. 

10 hours ago, Heikki Repo said:

One can even get HD video tap for it at AZ Spectrum and motor modifications.

HD tap doesn't make a camera professional. Neither does the motor they can run. 

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5 hours ago, Tyler Purcell said:

For the record, I'm the only guy on the west coast who services Eclair's and I fix them all the time. I'm constantly working on ACL's, it's the #1 Eclair I work on.

 

5 hours ago, Tyler Purcell said:

Be careful of early XTR packages, I service them constantly and we've been finding lots of systemic issues that aren't easy to fix. Same goes for SR1/SR2's, it's going to be difficult to service them in the near future. 

Lol so now you’re a professional Eclair/Aaton/Arriflex camera technician? “Constantly” working on ACLs and XTRs and SRs?  

I thought you were a filmmaker/editor/cinematographer/colorist/educator? 

Used to be that a camera tech for pro gear like that trained for years under master technicians, would have all the factory tools and lubricants and was usually pretty humble in the knowledge of how much he still didn’t know. 

Paul Scaglione from Visual Products is a camera tech who knows Eclairs. 

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For a non-professional camera those ACLs sure were used a lot in the 1970s and 1980s by European TV-stations and documentary filmmakers. Its competitors were Arriflex SR and Aaton LTR. Calling it a beginner camera really makes me smile. Granted, it's easy to load and use. But a toy? ?

That you refer to it being a toy in the modern world really makes me even more interested what features it is missing in your opinion. Please tell, I'm actually curious!

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5 hours ago, Heikki Repo said:

For a non-professional camera those ACLs sure were used a lot in the 1970s and 1980s by European TV-stations and documentary filmmakers. Its competitors were Arriflex SR and Aaton LTR. Calling it a beginner camera really makes me smile. Granted, it's easy to load and use. But a toy? ?

Where I wish it was still the 70's, it's not anymore. Times have changed an in 2022, it's considered a toy. 

Why is nobody using on professional productions? It moves film perfectly fine, that's the point of a film camera anyway right? 

5 hours ago, Heikki Repo said:

That you refer to it being a toy in the modern world really makes me even more interested what features it is missing in your opinion. Please tell, I'm actually curious!

I don't want to get into a 20 page argument about it. Thanks, but again if you can't tell the difference between a SR/XTR and an Eclair ACL, I don't know how I can help. 

Edited by Tyler Purcell
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7 hours ago, Dom Jaeger said:

Used to be that a camera tech for pro gear like that trained for years under master technicians, would have all the factory tools and lubricants and was usually pretty humble in the knowledge of how much he still didn’t know. 

You really think I don't have a mentor? lol 

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1 hour ago, Tyler Purcell said:

I don't want to get into a 20 page argument about it. Thanks, but again if you can't tell the difference between a SR/XTR and an Eclair ACL, I don't know how I can help. 

Nobody asked for twenty pages, two sentences would have been sufficient but in typical Tyler fashion you couldn’t do that so in typical Tyler fashion you just moved the goalposts and told everybody you’re too busy. Glad to know in 2022 some things never change.

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