Looking for Arri sr’s or any super 16mm cameras

[Boris bruno]

Hi I’m interested purchasing a film camera preferably super 16mm I’m located in Albany NY. My price range is up to $1500

[Dave Keen]

23 hours ago, Boris bruno said:

Hi I’m interested purchasing a film camera preferably super 16mm I’m located in Albany NY. My price range is up to $1500

DuAll Cameras sells film movie cameras:

http://www.duallcamera.com/

 

They're in Westfield, NJ. It's a trip from Albany but I think they're one of the few if not the only ones, and their reputation precedes them, which counts for a ton if buying an old film camera, unless you also fix and restore them. 

 

 

[Tyler Purcell]

On 12/2/2022 at 8:51 AM, Boris bruno said:

Hi I’m interested purchasing a film camera preferably super 16mm I’m located in Albany NY. My price range is up to $1500

Super 16mm will run you 3 - 5k to start and that will be most likely a MOS camera, like a Bolex. 

A crystal sync S16 camera with PL mount (industry standard) and quiet reflex operation, is $8k + today. I just sold one for $19k. So yea $1500 bux ain't gonna get you much in the world of S16. 

Also, a good modern crystal sync modern standard 16mm camera, will also run you in the $3 - 5k range as well. 

[Aapo Lettinen]

Yes it is more likely to get a OK condition not-recently-serviced older N16 camera for that price. The closest candidates would probably be the Eclair NPR and Eclair ACL. If you need a new motor or something repaired or full cla then it likely goes over the budget.

If you are willing to make repairs to the camera by yourself then it might be possible to get something not fully serviced and manage with it with relatively low costs. But if in any way possible it would be wise to up your budget to at least 3k so that even if choosing a older camera you can still afford getting it serviced and maybe even S16 converted if budget allows.

Eclairs have pretty good price-performance ratio and quite perfect for low budget indie use. Are noisier than Arri SR or Aatons but much cheaper and mechanically well made and are possible to convert to S16 with good results

Edited December 3, 2022 by aapo lettinen

[Dom Jaeger]

You’re not getting any Arri SRs for $1500, let alone a S16 one. 

The only S16 option in that price range is a K3. Might work ok, might not:

https://www.ebay.com/itm/155280694620

[Isaac Eastgate]

Max Karpenko does some upgrades to krasno K3s, might be your sort of thing. https://www.instagram.com/k3super16/?hl=en

But please don't buy anything from Shtrihfilm in Russia, Ivan has publicly demanded the genocide of Ukrainians and Europeans multiple times and actively supports the occupation of Ukraine.

[Aapo Lettinen]

Kinor 16CX-2M is pretty rare find nowadays but sometimes they still surface for OK price. Not on par with Eclairs or other Western stuff in any sense but can be cheaper and is relatively easy to service and has a reg pin. Should be easy enough to convert to S16 (possibly even "ghetto S16 conversion" possible to do) because of the very simple mag design and the relative simplicity of opening the camera and getting the gate out for machining.

Just an idea if you manage to find one for good price and the S16 is mandatory so that you are willing to trade off some of the  features to get the larger negative area on a budget. There is one on ebay at the moment but might be a bit overpriced I think, probably the current real value for such a kit would be something like from 1100 to 1300usd or so https://www.ebay.com/itm/185687609571?hash=item2b3bd810e3:g:TAYAAOSwEh1jj4Xr&amdata=enc%3AAQAHAAAAoJJEPjKZvLftBHg4znViCXInIq0OAK%2FX%2BuxHtrLpXG75IJC%2FxaSEjgkzvkyg1YRXUhSiL1awLe7bHAVNh4JXK3j2BTJaQUWXsVkOCufgWn%2FsOe3hQlTUKAb07%2Fp9UEytADUy61au3dLGYeY6zqmYYUgkUZN4xrjSrvDelMnHp4Mxz9FxbplmmLEtkH3ROcNVa5zpPCXXqlLnvdrNm8Nf4j8%3D|tkp%3ABk9SR5S4suWdYQ

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The motors are the weakness of these cameras but I can make a new motor for them if needed or convert the original motors to crystal sync or sell a crystal converted original motor (have two spare ones waiting for conversion at the moment). All my motor work takes at least half a year at the moment but it is still possible so wanted to mention it just in case