Scott Bullock

I've been shooting with a Z7 for a while now and I love it. Oddly enough, I wish it had 720p capabilities though. I like the fact that it records onto CF cards and to tape. The lens is sharp and the camera performs well in low-light; much better than the Z1 or the V1. My only complaint is that it doesn't have an HD-SDI output; only HDMI and Firewire. It will record in DVCAM mode, which is more of a blessing than you'd think, plus it'll shoot both 1080i and 1080p. All in all, I think it's a great camera for the price.

Hi Bernie! That plastic bag idea is a good one. Living in Colorado, I've shot a lot of cold weather stuff - I wish I'd known about that plastic bag concept a long time ago. Out of curiosity, what is the temperature range on the (factory) lubricants in an Eclair (ACL and NPR) camera? There are special lubricants for extreme cold and extreme heat, correct?

When was the last time the camera had a CLA? One risk you are taking is having the lubricants in the camera gumming up. If that happens, the camera might start running sluggishly, may not get to speed, or may stop running altogether. The other problem you'll face is decreased battery life, so have some spare batteries on hand. If possible, keep the camera in a warmer environment between setups. If you have a barney for the magazines, use it. I'd have your NPR on hand just in case the ACL fails. If your camera has been properly maintained and if you've had a CLA not too long ago, you shouldn't experience any problems if you take the proper precautions. Keep the camera warm between setups, use the barney and/or drape it with a wool blanket during takes, and keep your batteries wrapped, as well. Good luck!

Still looking. Anyone have a line on someone who might have one? Thanks!

Hello all, My partners and I recently acquired a Canon Scoopic 16. The internal batteries don't last as long as we'd like, so we're having a power cable made for it in order to use an external power supply. Anyway, we really like the camera, so we'd like to add an "M" model Scoopic to our arsenal because of its ability to shoot single frame, 64 fps, and because of its macro lens. If you have one that you are looking to sell, please contact me via PM or through my personal email: phantasm0401@comcast.net. The camera needs to be in good working order and fairly complete in terms of accessories. Thanks! Scott

Thanks for the links and information, Sir Alvin. Jean-Louis, thanks for helping me out with the cable. Once again, you've proven yourself to be most gracious and helpful!

Hello, At one time there used to be a spot where one could download a PDF file for various camera manuals. I can't seem to find it. Does it still exist somewhere on this site? If so, can someone direct me to it? Thanks in advance. Scott

Hello, Does anyone know where I can get a battery cable that will run from the external outlet on a Canon Scoopic to a 12V battery configured with 4-pin XLR? Any help is greatly appreciated. Thanks, Scott

Hi Jason, Yes, I'll definitely get some footage up when I have some. I actually just received the camera today and everything seems to be functioning normally. Pretty quiet camera, too, which will only improve once it's had a CLA. I'm going to tinker with it until the end of the week and then it's heading off to Bernie for an Ultra 16 conversion. I'm still really excited about the possibilities that Ultra 16 presents. Worse case scenario - if everyone stops supporting the U16 format, let's say - the camera can still be used for regular 16mm work or upgraded to Super 16. It seems like a win-win proposition to me, especially when you start throwing all those older but good/great 16mm lenses into the equation that were inadequate for Super 16. It'll be interesting to see what happens with my Angenieux lenses in the U16 format, especially my 9.5 - 57 and my 16 - 44. I also have an older Zeiss 10 - 100 that just didn't cut it with Super 16 coverage but should be much more suitable in Ultra 16. What I lose at the wide end of things, if anything, will be gained by using my Kinoptik 9.5mm lens that is already suitable for Super 16. Don't get me wrong, I have nothing against using high-end Super 16 lenses but I can't afford to buy them and sometimes even renting them is too much on the pocketbook, so being able to work with the lenses I have is a huge plus to Ultra 16, in my opinion.

Many thanks Jean-Louis for helping facilitate this transaction! I definitely respect your opinion, so hearing that the ACL I purchased on eBay has a pretty clean bill of health is good news indeed. Okay, I'm going to tinker with it a bit when it arrives and then it is off to Bernie for an Ultra 16 conversion. Seriously, a synch and silently running camera this small when configured with a 200' magazine and a prime or compact zoom that shoots native widescreen 16mm film is pretty much unheard of in an investment this small. Excluding the lenses, I'll only have about 2K invested into this package. I find that pretty amazing. I love Super 16 but I think Ultra 16 has the potential to make a greater impact on the 16mm film world, especially since it will allow for the dusting off of a lot of good 16mm lenses that wouldn't cover Super 16.

Hello Jean-Louis and Gregory, I thank both of you for the information. Yes, this should definitely be the Heavy Duty motor. We shall see. Fortunately enough, the seller lives is the same city as Jean-Louis, who has agreed to do some preliminary checks on the camera for me. What a stroke of luck to have someone as nice as Mr. Seguin and a seller that's willing to go through the hassle. Hopefully everything is working as it should be. If so, this is going to become my Ultra 16 camera. If not, I'll keep looking as I am anxious to start shooting the Ultra 16 format. I'm excited by the possibility of putting my Angenieux 9.5 - 57 lens back to work again. Putting this compact and fast lens on an ACL with a 200' magazine and shooting widescreen 16mm is a wonderful proposition!

Eclair ACL I just purchased the camera in the link provided above on ebay. I've purchased stuff from this guy before and it has always been clean and as described, so my concern level isn't too high since A] he's giving me 7 days to inspect it with a money back guarantee if it's not as described, even though the listing says "no returns" and B] it's going to be overhauled and converted to Ultra 16 by our pal Bernie at Super 16 Inc. anyway, so if the movement is dry, etc., all of that will be taken care of during the CLA. What did strike me as curious, however, was when I was corresponding with the seller prior to the sale. I asked him if the synch speeds were performing properly and he responded by saying it wasn't a synch motor, that it was a variable speed motor. I then asked him if the pictures were of the actual item being sold and he told me that they were. So, in my mind, I simply figured that he isn't all that familiar with ACLs since the pictures clearly show a synch motor. Anyway, in hindsight, these correspondences got me to thinking about whether I was being too confident or not. This motor looks exactly like the one on my ACL 2 but the paranoid side of me started wondering if there was an earlier version of this motor that wasn't crystal controlled and was indeed strictly a variable speed motor. Can anyone with more ACL knowledge than me shed any light on this situation by looking at the photos in the link I provided? I'm still pretty confident that it's a crystal motor but I'm not the end-all-be-all expert on ACL cameras. Also, with regard to this motor, is it possible for the motor to still operate at all speeds but not at crystal synch? I should be able to tell right away if the synch alarm continues flashing, correct? Is it even possible for this motor (assuming it IS a crystal motor) to run at 24/25 fps if the crystal is somehow damaged? Sorry for the lengthy post; I'm just trying to be as detailed as possible. Any and all comments are greatly appreciated. By the way, yes, I do have an ACL 2 which the previous owner had converted to Super 16 by Bernie. It's a great camera! However, I've been interested in dabbling with Ultra 16 and this seemed like the perfect opportunity to do it since the price was so reasonable and because I've been compiling tons of ACL components in anticipation of eventually buying a second ACL. I'm going to go with the Ultra 16 conversion on this new camera since A] it can always be converted to Super 16 later B] because it's a less expensive conversion and C] because it opens up a ton of new lens options that aren't available for Super 16. Thanks again. Let's talk ACLs and Ultra 16!

Thanks for all of the information, folks! Hey Bernie, how are you? Haven't spoken to you in a while. I hope all is going well. Scott

Thanks for the information, folks! You've been very helpful. The camera I was looking at is an SB. It belongs to a friend of mine and I've considered purchasing it. I have a REX 4 that's been modified to S16 and if I snag this SB, I will probably have it modified too. It's hard to believe how expensive the modifications are though, especially on an SB where the bayonet mount can be so easily moved (though I've never done this). I suppose it's worth the $$ to have it done professionally, especially if you want the ground glass remarked for S16. Meritex (JK Optics) did the conversion on my REX 4 and it is a spectacular job. The viewfinder was modified from 10X to 13X. On another note, my friend's SB has gaffer tape and camera tape residue all around the outer edge of the camera door. It's caked on so thick that it can't be removed simply by rubbing it off with a finger. Any suggestions on what to use to remove this stuff without jacking up the leatherette finish? The camera runs like a dream but has been put to extensive use. Other than the aperture/gate situation (thanks again for the replies about this), my only concerns are the gunk on the door and the eyepiece that needs to be repaired - the diopter won't focus properly when turning the ring; it has to be manually pushed in and out. The locking nut still holds it in place and it is functional but I prefer things to work as they were intended. Chris Millar, have you modified your own cameras to S16?

It's the strangest thing, I was looking at a Bolex the other day and, for the life of me, it looked as if the aperture/gate was plastic. I don't know for sure if it was but it looked that way; kind of a light brown or tan color. Anyone ever see anything like this before? It wasn't a S16 modified camera, so that wasn't the reason, but I swear, it looked like hard plastic. The anodized aluminum plates look like stainless steel, right? Any thoughts on this?

Can anyone tell me if Bolex ever used materials other than stainless steel to manufacture apertures/gates in their camera bodies? And, if so, when did they start doing that? All comments are appreciated. Thanks in advance.

You are right, Oliver. But that is in one of the "progressive scan modes" on the Z7U. What you are talking about is taking the Z7U's captured 1080p image and separating it into a 60i stream. However, you don't have to do that. You can shoot 1080 30p and have it maintain its native progressive mode throughout post and delivery. People talk about the inefficiency of MPEG-2 compression, and a few years ago it was sort of tricky to work with, but it seems that most of those problems have been ironed out in recent NLE software. By the way, the EX1 and EX3 use the exact same compression that the Z7U does, only slightly faster; 35 bps on the EX cameras compared to 25 bps on the Z series cameras. All that being said and considering the sensor size in the Canon 5D Mark II, I'd be surprised if any 1080p footage from a 1/3" or 1/2" camera would cut seamlessly with it. I work with someone who owns a 5D Mark II and we are trying to schedule some time to make some comparisons. The biggest obstacle to working with him, however, is getting him to put the camera into video mode because he's such a tremendous still photographer. He ordered his camera several months before it was available, so he was one of the first people to own one and to this day he still hasn't shot a single frame of video with it! He just got back from Moab, UT and took some stunning still images though.

I'm not sure how you are defining the word "fake" but with the Sony Z7U you can capture, record, edit and deliver 1080p. It also has 24p/30p progressive scan modes, which records the captured 1080p images into a 60i stream, 24p via 2-3 pull-down. Whichever way you go, the Z7U is capturing 1080p, which makes sense since its CMOS sensors are natively progressive.

Well, I can tell you this, I've been shooting with a Sony Z7U for almost a year now and I love it. Of course, you aren't going to get the shallow DOF with it like you will with the 5D MarkII but I can personally attest to the quality of the Z7U. Maybe the answer for what you are looking for is to buy a DAT recorder to be used in conjunction with the 5D camera that will allow you to use XLR microphones, mixers, etc.

I'm kind of waiting for Nikon to do the same thing. I almost purchased a Nikon D90 but when Canon came out with their DSLR that will do 1080p I figured it would only be a matter of time before Nikon came out with one. This may have happened already with the Nikon D3X but I haven't really checked the features on it too closely as its $8,000 price tag is forcing me to keep it at arm's length.

The latest version of Final Cut might be your best bet since you are able to put various formats into the same timeline and it has a number of different codecs to choose from.

I like the rig but it looks like Moises has the right answer in using the Century Optics adapter. With Moy's rig, the portability advantage of shooting Super 8 would remain intact. Also, since the Century lens is designed for 1/3" video cameras, it would seem that you'd retain most if not all of your shorter focal lengths. Then again, the Century adapter would only allow for an aspect ratio of 1.78:1 while Will's will allow you to stretch to 2.33:1. Both are very interesting concepts. It might be time for me to dig out my 1014 E again....

Hi Peter, Check your message box. Thanks, Scott

I'm interested. How much are you asking? You can PM me if you want.

Buy the Sony Z7 instead. It's much better in low-light and its hybrid recording method (without having to buy an additional memory unit) make it a better choice than the V1 or Z1, in my opinion.