A-Minima Vision 3 250D FRESH AS HE**

[Uli Meyer]

Hey Dennis, is this you?

https://www.techdirt.com/2019/05/13/scene-suburban-express-to-shut-down-mere-months/

[Dennis Toeppen]

So we're going to talk about things other than Cinematography here? I'm not sure that's what this forum is for, although moderator inaction over posts like yours suggests that anything goes. My website is http://toeppen.com. I don't allocate much time to working on it. I used to be in the bus business until I got tired of the stress associated with transporting 120,000 passengers/year and dealing with dishonesty on the part of a small percentage (but large number) of them. Shortly before I walked away from that business, I got into a rather monumental pissing match with an Illinois politician who sought to ingratiate certain voters. I also created an ISP in 1995 that I sold in 2000. The ISP brought Internet access to about 16 towns in rural IL and had about 5500 subscribers when I sold it to a rival for an attractive price. I am one of the seminal traders of domain names, having recognized their value before most people had Internet access. I am a commercial-instrument-multiengine pilot with banner towing experience. I took classes at Second City in Chicago. I have five degrees. I tend to do something right or not do it. As a result of my education and experience I tend not to suffer fools lightly. 

[Isaac Eastgate]

On 5/27/2023 at 9:12 PM, Uli Meyer said:

Hey Dennis, is this you?

https://www.techdirt.com/2019/05/13/scene-suburban-express-to-shut-down-mere-months/

Dennis is also the one who registered panavision.com and panaflex.com to try to get 13kusd out of them. Guy will spend his whole life fighting over every single dollar it seems..

https://www.loundy.com/CASES/Panavision_v_Toeppen.html

[Isaac Eastgate]

On 5/27/2023 at 8:47 AM, Robino Jones said:

Unless you're a rookie, in a DIY shag-carpeted darkroom with feline assistants, or chain-smoking through your spooling session, dust shouldn't be an issue.

Why go and make it sound so cool tho?

[Tyler Purcell]

On 5/27/2023 at 1:12 PM, Uli Meyer said:

Hey Dennis, is this you?

https://www.techdirt.com/2019/05/13/scene-suburban-express-to-shut-down-mere-months/

Yea, he's a super nice guy. 

[Kemalettin Sert]

 

Stupid miserable old grifter dont even have decency to write these on the actual thread..He can only DM you like this,

Imagine doing business with this pathetic guy..

 

Edited May 31, 2023 by Kemalettin Sert

[Tyler Purcell]

14 hours ago, Kemalettin Sert said:

Stupid miserable old grifter dont even have decency to write these on the actual thread..He can only DM you like this,

Imagine doing business with this pathetic guy..

Well yea and someone who doesn't know what he's talking about, as everyone above has confirmed. 

[Dennis Toeppen]

You fellows are hilarious, in an I'm a middle school teacher and you're a bunch of little middle school snots who amuse me kind of way.

Edited June 3, 2023 by Dennis Toeppen

[Dennis Toeppen]

On 5/29/2023 at 1:29 PM, Isaac said:

Dennis is also the one who registered panavision.com and panaflex.com to try to get 13kusd out of them. Guy will spend his whole life fighting over every single dollar it seems..

https://www.loundy.com/CASES/Panavision_v_Toeppen.html

Clearly, you know nothing about the history or purpose of the Panavision litigation. My goal was specifically to draw Panavision into litigation so that a case could be decided to determine if trademark owners had preemptive rights to domain names. You should read a little before you flap your jaw. I'd suggest you start your research at http://www.toeppen.com/domains.html 

[Dennis Toeppen]

I just discovered the best feature of this website - the "ignore" button, which filters specific users' messages. Life is good. 

Edited June 3, 2023 by Dennis Toeppen
clarify for tyler

[Jeremy Saltry]

The Minima community is pretty well..minimal and tight knit. 
 

While Tyler had trashed talked this cam for a number of years in many many ways including the “difficulty” of loading spools and at times dissuading people from purchasing Minimas, I’m  glad he is coming around to the benefits. He is 100% correct on spools. In regards to labs:

Kodak ATL will provide loaners to be used if needed and wound with fresh stock. 
Colorlab will provide loaners to be used if needed and wound with fresh stock. 
 

Both labs are very friendly to Minima users as they will b wind emulsion out at little to no cost if you provide your own spools and stock. Kodak ATL especially.

 

That being said, the minima community tends to take care of each other. You’re on a forum where 95% of that happens. Id advise you list your loads on eBay where anything minima related is usually a graveyard of insanely overpriced AKS. 

Edited June 4, 2023 by Jeremy Saltry

[David Sekanina]

Thank you Jeremy for the clarification, as I was confused about what's now true and what's outdated information. ?

[Jeremy Saltry]

On 5/25/2023 at 12:24 PM, Tyler Purcell said:

We've already designed a FAR better replacement spool, with less flex (a common issue with the OEM ones) and an actual slot for the film when loading. That's one of the biggest problems with the stock spools. 

Who is designing them? I was under the impression they were flexible for a reason and designed to be so. Is that not the case?

[Dennis Toeppen]

A-Minima spools are flexible by design. 

* Spool sides must exert pressure against film pancake to prevent light leaks when the spool is "closed", ie not in the camera with the sprocket tires prying them open.

* Spool sides must be able to be flexed open by the o-ring tires on sprockets which press against them. There is a ridge on the inside of each flange. Dragging the film through the ridges would wear/damage film edges, make noise, and potentially leave debris in film chamber. The sprockets/tires ride the chamfered flange of the spool sides and gently open the spool to allow film to exit/enter without contacting the ridges. 

If a spool is insufficiently flexible or insufficiently rigid, one of the above goals is not met. 

Spool sides seem to become more flexible the more they are used.

The tabs that latch spool side to core eventually fail. Rough handling can break them on the first re-use. 

Kodak and Aaton likely devoted substantial effort to designing flanges with the correct amount of flex.

Interesting that Kodak Atlanta and Colorlab loan spools. I'll have to check that out.

 

[Dennis Toeppen]

New to Me:

Kodak Film Lab Atlanta does loan A-Minima spools.

Spooling costs $15 per 400' roll of stock. There is a $10 rental charge per A-Minima spool and a $150 deposit is required per spool.

I confirmed this 6/4/23. 

This is a good move for them. Good work, Kodak.

Edited June 4, 2023 by Dennis Toeppen

[Jeremy Saltry]

44 minutes ago, Dennis Toeppen said:

New to Me:

Kodak Film Lab Atlanta does loan A-Minima spools.

Spooling costs $15 per 400' roll of stock. There is a $10 rental charge per A-Minima spool and a $150 deposit is required per spool.

I confirmed this 6/4/23. 

This is a good move for them. Good work, Kodak.

Edit. Too snarky.  

Edited June 4, 2023 by Jeremy Saltry

[Jeremy Saltry]

Mike Brown and Kodak ATL are legit and are top top notch with not only knowledge but quality. Just to double down or contribute. If anyone has recently purchased a Minima and needs a few cores for whatever reason. Please send me a DM and I’ll gladly give some spares I have. 

It’s a privilege to own one especially considering the low numbers they were produced in. As much as I appreciate the feat of engineering that went into them, I appreciate the community of people that own them. 
 

Mimina for life. Truly an amazing cam. 

[Tyler Purcell]

18 hours ago, Jeremy Saltry said:

Who is designing them? I was under the impression they were flexible for a reason and designed to be so. Is that not the case?

I mean we engineer a lot of things similar for other industries, building a spool will not be an issue. I also plan on changing the design slightly to make it a lot easier to load. I think the stock spools can be improved upon greatly. It'll take a while of course, need to do a lot of testing. 

FYI, we already solved the magazine gasket issue. We have a beautiful one piece gasket which replaces the stock one very nicely and won't be destroyed. We've installed a few of them, but we need to install more before I'm ready to "open market" sell them. We'll be working on other items for the A Minima and XTR"s in the future, mostly replacement parts like gaskets and seals. 

I still don't like the A Minima FYI. If I had my druthers, I'd build a new mag system for it, which took 100ft daylight spools. If only I had the time!  To me, the magazine is the biggest issue. Solving that, would make the camera better, but the convoluted belt drive system is more of my biggest issue seeing as I have to repair them for a living lol ?

Edited June 5, 2023 by Tyler Purcell

[Tyler Purcell]

Oh and Dennis has a new advert on the group. 

He's trying to sell nearly decade old film for .60 cents a foot + $79 for a spool and a "200ft" can. Ohhhhh fancy. 

FYI 

RETAIL pricing of Kodak Vision 3 is .55 cents per foot. That's direct from Kodak, just pick up the phone and call. 

Anyone with a modicum of effort can get lower than that. They have short ends and re-cans at The Film Shop in Hollywood. 

I'm sorry, but nearly decade old film is not "fresh". I don't consider anything over 6 months old fresh, frozen or not. Sealed in the can is not "fresh" just because it's sealed. 

[Dennis Toeppen]

You can have the last word, Tyler, because I know you'll never be quiet if you don't.