Jordan Hassay

Ugh... better to have stayed silent. The more I look for support on this information, the stupider it seems :P 1000 seems more likely, if even that exists. In other news, I got the camera in, but I've got a shoot these next couple days and I won't have time to upload any photos. It is indeed double perf. I got some double perf kodak, but it's ASA 40... this will be difficult.

I think John Woo recently had photosonics make him a special 10000 fps claw camera... but that could be a gross muddling of my memory. And yeah, the words I heard used to describe it then were "engineering marvel." :)

That's what I'm thinking... cutting the amount of support in half for film moving at 8000 fps is putting a lot of strain on the remaining perf. Time lapse I can see as a good camera to convert because the physical demands on the film are much lower... but it could be a moot point! I'll see if it's a double perf camera when I get it, in which case I'll probably try some kind of mechanical chicanery. Will post again when the package is received!

So to convert a double perf camera to single perf, you've just got to grind down the extra sprockets on the wheel? I'd be afraid that the film would shred... just wanna make sure I'm not misunderstanding. I've never played with the guts on my cameras before, except to try and correct the pressure plate on one of my bolexes.

250D, and if you ever need a first or second AC for your SR3 I'm onboard. You've got my email now :) (if it helps, I've already got experience in those roles around an SR3)

I should add that I don't actually have it yet... still coming in the mail. So really all I've got to go on is the info in that auction and whatever else I've gleaned about the fairchild empire. There is a deafening silence out there regarding this camera, I haven't been able to find any information on it anywhere. I assume that it's a rotary prism camera, because a registration camera with an 8000 fps capability would be an engineering marvel for the 1960s. That the rotary prism would affect the f-stop is news to me, but I guess it makes sense. How does a rotary prism affect exposure? Again, thanks. I talked to my professor about this and he suggested I ask the community at cinematography.com, it felt good to tell him you guys were already on it. You guys are invaluable resources. :D Jordan

I'd be interested. I own a bolex myself, a very clean REX4 with a full set of Kern lenses and a Tobin crystal sync motor. I'm very familiar with the camera, and shoot with it whenever I can... in fact, I'll be shooting a project with it this thursday and friday. I'm a student, graduating this fall. I live in baltimore, but there's a bus that runs from here to Manhattan for $35 roundtrip. Below is my film II project. I shot on my bolex cameras instead of the Arriflex SR2 we were given; a cheaper camera with good prime lenses is way better than an expensive camera with a beat up zoom. I also do storyboards, so that aspect of your design collaboration would be covered. Send me some details on your project and I'l get back to you asap. jordanhassay@gmail.com

The camera is a Fairchild HS101A, recently nabbed on ebay. There is very little documentation I can find on it anywhere, but I figured it was worth a shot. ((Click for pictures of the beast)) The strongest lights I can get are 1k Lowells... I'll have three of them. I'll also have two 750s. I think at close range they'll pump out plenty of light. And by close I mean "one or two feet." I can't tell if the camera is single or double perf... this sequence might be hosed if it's a double perf camera. Thanks for the replies so far! Jordan

Preface: I'm a student. Problem: I just picked up a high speed camera that shoots 60-8000 fps. I'm shooting a sequence with it for my next project, but I'm thinking no higher than 1000 fps. It's an interior shoot. I'll be using three 750 or 1000 watt Lowells to light the frame from a close proximity. My question is, do I use kodak 200T vision 2 film, or 500T vision 3? I'm going to drop my lights very close to the action so I can get enough exposure to make up for the 1/2000s exposure time, and this will likely make for pretty high contrast. I can use the 200T if I can balance the lights correctly and have one act as fill... but I'm just not sure if I can diffuse/bounce one of these lights and keep it strong enough to impact exposure much. On the other hand, I might not have enough flexibility to get a good value range for the Vision 3. Thank you for your help!

I've got what seems to be an Ikelite underwater housing unit for my Rex4 Bolex. It came with a little Ikelite paraphernalia, anyways. I called, and they did produce a few units for the Bolex in the early 1970's. Unlike the black Paillard housing, this one is a large, rectangular, acrylic (.5") box that you can see through. It has knobs and handles for starting the motor via the button on the front, winding the camera, and adjusting the focus and aperture. Everything seems to fall right into place except for one hitch that I can't wrap my mind around: the two holes in the bottom of the housing unit line up perfectly with the 3/8" holes in the Bolex's base, but the holes in the housing unit are only 1/4". This means that any screws that will fit the holes will not be big enough to actually screw in to the base. My solution is that I'm planning to drill the holes wider to accommodate a 3/8" screw. The problem I have with this is that the housing unit has definitely been used before me extensively. It shows signs of wear and good maintainance. So before I start drilling holes in this poor, misunderstood housing unit, if anyone can help me figure out why it worked for the previous owner but doesn't for me, that would be grand. Thanks, Jordan

Thanks for the responses sofar, they led me to some good resources. I did some digging and found that something called barifoil would work well, it's some kind of foam with a lead liner... but I have no idea where to get it. I'm still on the lookout for alternative materials to make an effective barney out of. I did find some lead sheets, but they were... costly, and I doubted their effectiveness at stopping sound. Our biggest problem is cost. We're on such a shoestring budget at this point that we're digging for investors just to finance the cost of the film stock. The crystal sync motor came out of my own pocket, and I'm really feeling the sting from that. I have another semester to go on the pitiful remainders of my bank account. So I'm trying to make a barney on about $50, maybe a little more if there's no other way. This is a really ambitious project, but the story is so good that we are putting everything we can into making sure we do it right. We're just running into the brick wall of cost, at this point.

I own a Bolex Rex4 (exactly like a bolex Rex5, only without the 400' reel mount) and a Tobin Crystal Sinc Motor (TXM-20ba).The crystal sync motor is still in the mail, so I'm not exactly sure how loud it will be. Apparently it's quieter than the camera's spring motor, but the makers still recommend using a blimp or barney for sync sound. I will be working on a short in about two weeks that requires sync sound, but the budget is very stretched. We need a do-it-yourself solution for making a barney for this camera. Here's pictures of what we're working with... This is my camera. and it will have one of these bolted to the side: (image courtesy of Tobin Cinema Systems) for a total of this: (image courtesy of Tobin Cinema Systems)

Thank you very much :) If that is a bit expensive, do you know of a place/website which would have it for cheaper?

I have an 18-86 Vario Switar EE lens for my Bolex, but I have no lens cap for it. On an internet auction, I found a kern lens cap that is listed as being 65 mm in diameter. The front of my lens looks to be closer to 67 mm. Does anybody know if this is the correct lens cap? http://cgi.ebay.com/Kern-Paillard-65mm-Fro...1QQcmdZViewItem Thank you!

Thanks! Anybody know for sure what battery the V-S 18-86 uses?