Samuel Berger

I confess I'm fairly confused as to the cost of these cameras. I've seen all sorts of prices for them. So maybe it's not as expensive as I had thought. Who's got one for sale and for how much? I briefly considered an Arri SR3 but they're supposedly too noisy.

Dom, I want to finish my film in 2.35:1 and I feel that U16 would work better for this, because I would need to crop the top and bottom of S16 anyway. The one thing that prevents me from shooting 35mm is the low availability of 2-Perf cameras. For 16mm, I think my Eclair NPR is a GREAT camera, even though I could use a couple new mags. For places where I'd get kicked out from if I tried taking in a huge film camera, there's always my K3. I imagine that if I were to save for it, in a matter of 10 months or so I could afford an Aaton XTR Prod but they are grotesquely expensive and if I had that kind of money I'd buy a Techniscope/2-perf camera. The other thing is, I hear people don't finish in 35mm anymore. I heard cinemas are projecting digital files. That's a shame. But if that's true I don't have to worry about blowing up from U16 to 35mm if I ever make anything worth trying to distribute. ;-)

Bryan, The Eclair NPR loaded and with zoom mounted weighs about 21 pounds. Any thoughts regarding using that on a 75mm bowl?

Jon, I don't know the specifics but for years I used a Bogen Manfrotto 3036 Tripod with 3063 Fluid Head with my Bolexes. It didn't have a leveling bowl that I recall, but I've always liked it. Hope that helps someone some day.

Aapo, I had no idea you could put a Konvas on a Ronin. I've often wanted to get a 2M but the price of Oct-19 lenses put me off. It's a side effect of the "democratisation" of cinema, every lens for everything is now overpriced compared to even 2010. Pav, nice ACL 2. What lens? Here's my NPR.

I found that this particular set of legs holds up to a 120Lbs rig. https://www.amazon.com/ProAm-USA-Heavy-Duty-Tripod/dp/B002ZDQN2E However for this one I imagine I'd have to bypass the ball altogether and just use the Mitchell base on the O'Connor 50. But, it's only like $120 for the tripod legs.

It was also the cast. They used a multinational cast that didn't all speak the same language. Plus, if you ever look at an Italian film set, it's like a cartoon. The director does use a megaphone and he does bark orders all the time.

David, thanks a lot for the pictures. I was a bit worried I wouldn't be able to use the head with a non-O'Connor set of legs but now I know I can. Still looking for the least expensive sticks out there, but 100mm isn't going to come cheap. https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1335987-REG/benro_a674tm_dual_stage_100mm.html The Benro over here is $399. I wonder if I could use a 75mm adapter instead of the 100mm so I could buy cheaper legs?

David, would it be possible for you to post a picture? Thanks

Thanks Dom. So you don't see U16 as a path to professional productions? I'm still on the fence so let me know. I have a drama to shoot next Spring and need to take all this into consideration.

Wow that Manfrotto 500BALLSH looks even simpler than I expected! Thank you! Hopefully it will work out. The head is on its way to me, should be here in a week or so. Going to see if I can find a compatible Davis and Sanford set of legs, they're good and cheap.

Thanks David! I hope I can locate an adapter like that.

I just got an O'Connor 50 fluid head and now it needs legs. Thing is, I don't know the bowl size and Googling isn't helping much. I was hoping to find an inexpensive set of legs for this. Any suggestions? Thanks

All of them. 100% of them, no exceptions.

Ended up buying the Sekonic LiteMaster Pro L-478D-U to take advantage of the shutter angle feature. Good to see the L-398 working for you. I'm just tired of my ISO slides disappearing.

I have the Spectra Cine P-251 but lost all the slides and they want to charge $20 per slide. I might as well buy a Sekonic L-308DC-U DigiCineMate for the price of those slides. I'm not getting the L-398 because it requires calibration and I don't want to send it in every year.

I'm always late for these things. Dangit!

Someone please post that conversion equation again. Nick, the clip by Red Cat looks very underexposed and the colours are off. I'm not sure I'd point at it as a measure of success. Anyway, right before I came on to this topic I was looking into buying an external light meter to avoid frustration. I have the Spectra Cine P-251 but lost all the slides and they want to charge $20 per slide. I might as well buy a Sekonic L-308DC-U DigiCineMate for the price of those slides. What are your feelings regarding external meters for S8? I know it's less convenient but those built in meters are hard to trust after 40 years...

LOVE your camera, Stephen. Here's mine, hehe. And it still produces better images than even an Alexa.

Jon, yes I've talked to him and those prices are beyond my means.

But it's not film. And it will never look anywhere as good as the stuff from your Aaton. In the end, digital is just glorified VHS.

Yeah, stupidest thing I did lately was to get talked by a friend into buying a fully rigged new-in-the-box BMPCC with lenses and accessories from someone else. That was just idiotic. If I hadn't made that mistake I would now own a 2-Perf Arri IIc. I spent $2500 on something that couldn't be given away now, and that was just two months ago. I only use it for family home movies and it doesn't look near as good as the stuff shot on my Fujica ZC-1000 or Canon 814XL-S. If I were to sell it now I think I'd lose about $1500. Nobody is under the Black Magic spell anymore, unless you're talking Ursa Mini Pro, but that too will go away.

I know a guy here selling it for $4000. I'll just wait till it goes down. I would love to own the thing, I'm just not made out of money.

That's definitely a good thing. A lot of us suffer from Gear Acquisition Syndrome and just obsess over equipment like madmen. And then suddenly we have all this crap that we've spent a fortune on and that doesn't make us better cinematographers. It's hoarding.

Would love to buy a well cared for 2-Perf Arriflex IIC Looking for a good deal, not to get fleeced. ;-)