New Eclair NPR crystal motor by ALCS

Aapo Lettinen · July 13, 2023

I purchased a non-working NPR body recently which I will try to restore to working condition. It has a non working single speed Alcan motor but I think I will make a new multi speed crystal motor for it which would be optimized for handheld shooting and likely would be smaller than the Alcan motor.

So I am planning on making a completely new multi crystal speed Eclair NPR motor which is smaller or at most similar size than the Alcan motor. Some kind of display, either 10 or 12 crystal speeds, likely works at 20v or 24v. Optimized for handheld but tripod mounting possible. Price range would likely be from 1200 to 1400usd per motor depending on how many paid orders there would be. One motor possible to trade for Eclair camera bodies and/or accessories (acl, npr, cameflex).

I am busy working on another project at the moment but can likely have the npr motor finished in Spring or Summer 2024 if preordered in Autumn/Winter 2023.

In the meantime we can discuss about the most useful framerates and what kind of features would be mandatory for a motor like this. I am always trying to optimize the feature set to fit certain proce range and form factor so I don't want to make timelapse feature for it (makes the motor larger and doubles the price) and electronic shutter parking is not guaranteed (limits motor drice and controller choices and makes the system larger sized and more expensive)

Aapo Lettinen · July 18, 2023

I made some plans and will likely build some kind of motor for the npr in winter.

I would prefer having at least one preorderer and the first motor traded for a working Eclair NPR camera body(no motor), viewfinder and magazine so that I can use that camera for running my prototype tests instead of using my own moldy camera which does not have a working mag.

So if there is someone wanting to trade a spare npr body for a new crystal motor, let me know and we can discuss about the details and schedule.

John Krawlzik · March 11

Hello Aapo,

Did you ever embark on this project? I have an NPR body to trade if your still interested.

Regards,

John K.

Aapo Lettinen · March 11

20 minutes ago, John Krawlzik said:

Hello Aapo,

Did you ever embark on this project? I have an NPR body to trade if your still interested.

Regards,

John K.

Yes I am still working on the NPR motor project but changed the goal to making super-compact 2-speed model for handheld use and having only 24 and 25fps crystal speeds. I asked around and it seemed that most users would want to have a similar style motor than the rare-ish Alcan but something that works reliably as most Alcans are broken and no one seems to be able to repair them. I am trying to make the new motor smaller than the Alcan is and it is completely new design made from new parts so that I can make my own design choices using modern components and technologies (including 3d printing when needed).

the targeted price range of the compact motor is about 1200usd + shipping. so no extra speeds but instead traded them for smaller size and weight. I will try to make it 12v if it does not compromise the size and price. The current goal is to have the motor finished in October or November 2024 if I can collect at least two paid orders this Spring to finance the r&d work.

It is still possible to trade a NPR camera body, mags or other Eclair cameras for a motor if the 2-speed compact design is something you are after 🙂

here is the new thread for the 2-speed Eclair NPR motor I am working on: https://cinematography.com/index.php?/forums/topic/101530-new-alcs-compact-crystal-motor-for-eclair-npr/

John Krawlzik · March 11

Yes, 24 crystal speed is all I would require. Would there be a way to tripod mount? Also, how quiet would the motor be?

Edited March 11 by John Krawlzik

Aapo Lettinen · March 11

42 minutes ago, John Krawlzik said:

Yes, 24 crystal speed is all I would require. Would there be a way to tripod mount? Also, how quiet would the motor be?

yes it will have tripod threads and some kind of flat bottom surface to allow tripod mounting. all the considered motor drives are very quiet and the camera body would make lots more noise in any case than the motor

John Krawlzik · March 13

Okay. I could trade an NPR body and mag if you're open to that. Right now I have at least 2 with broken motors, and I'm a bit cash poor. Let me know how things proceed.

Aapo Lettinen · March 14

9 hours ago, John Krawlzik said:

Okay. I could trade an NPR body and mag if you're open to that. Right now I have at least 2 with broken motors, and I'm a bit cash poor. Let me know how things proceed.

Great! we can arrange the shipping next month. I will need try to collect couple of other orders to ensure that the motor body can be properly machined (expensive) though it is possible to make single ones too, they would just look ugly 😄