Nicholas Kovats

What do you mean by "...looking at"? As in purchase? I was under the impression that the Bolex SBM comes with a stock 13x viewfinder. Sorry, but those tests will not be happening for awhile. My email is nkovats@gmail.com if you wish to remain in touch.

Hi John, The Arri 416 apparently emulates the design of the Aaton 16mm cameras and also their lack of internal motorized reverse coupled to a frame counter. However, there are motorized reverse alternatives available, i.e. 1. Internal motorized reverse coupled to frame counter re: 35mm cams,e.g. Arri 235, 435, 535, Moviecam, Mitchell, etc. 2. External motorized reverse coupled to frame counter re: 16mm , e.g. Arri 16S/ST/M, Bolex w/ Revolution motor, Mitchell, etc. 3. Internal motorized reverse coupled to frame counter re: Super8/Single8, e.g. Fujica ZC1000 w/ C-Mount - entire 50ft of Single 8 cart can be back wound or reverse filmed. Excellent flat registration at the gate due to the 50ft vertical displacement mag/cart design. Cheers! Nicholas

I assume that the Bolex SBM has an PL Mount adapter. Do you have the 10x or 13x viewfinder? Would are your expectations regarding performance? The prism issues you are generally referring to are related to RX designated Switar c-mounts regarding the FFD and the chromatic optimization of the prism for RX lenses. Your Zeiss lenses should be fine. The 9.5mm may be a bit soft. I would advise lens tests by actually shooting a small roll of film. I have recently invested in a PL to BBM adapter but have yet to shoot some tests.

Beautiful simple execution. Well done. I loved the look of your footage and the resulting scan. Bravo!

Simon. That is a fascinating idea. However, I would love to use this technique to burn timecode preferably at the gate but I would be willing to live with an offset of 'n' frames. This could be applicable many cameras.

My work colleague put together an external Lithium pack for this camera but I have not shot film with it. My interest is primarily the 200ft magnesium magazine.

That is impressive that Les can build a PL hard front for the older Aatons. I know he offered something similar for the Bolex but he advised me that the PL adapter was better for the Bolex. The adapter also retained the use of C mount lenses. I stand corrected on the PL specs. Thanks everyone. ”Flange focal distance: 52.00 mm (51.97 mm for the Arri SR high speed models) (73.5 mm for Arriflex 765, that mount is known as "Maxi PL-mount")(60.00 mm for XPL-mount on ALEXA65) (44 mm for the LPL-mount on ALEXA LF) Diameter: 54.00 mm (64.00 mm for Maxi PL-mount) (72.00 mm for XPL-mount on ALEXA65) (62 mm for the LPL-mount on ALEXA LF)”

Thanks, Dom.

Steve, Les Bosher in the UK just machined a specialized PL to Bolex Bayonet Mount for me. He does superb work. Do you have an Aaton LTR? There should be sufficient Flange Focal Depth (FFD) in order manufacture one, i.e. Aaton FFD --> 40mm (Throat diameter = 50mm) PL FFD -----> 52MM (Throat diameter = 60mm) Expect to pay around 350+ GBP. web = http://www.lesbosher.co.uk/ email = les@lesbosher.co.uk Cheers! Nicholas Toronto

Great documentation and work, Don!

The Apollo 11 lunar video camera, ie https://www.hq.nasa.gov/alsj/WEC-Engineer-3-1968.pdf

The custom Mauer 16mm data aquisition camera was beyond awesome. What a beauty, eg https://airandspace.si.edu/collection-objects/camera-data-acquisition-command-module-16mm-apollo-11 https://history.nasa.gov/afj/ap16fj/02photoequip.html

Superb and fascinating 35mm machines.

Understood, David. But you might be surprised by the hardcore. Rental has deeper pockets but there are a few well heeled Super 8 filmmakers out there. But just look at the number of buyers for current Arri cameras. Where there is a will there is financing. :)

Congratulations, David! Looks fantastic. And interest in expanding beyond a few cameras?