Pavan Deep

I have said this in a Facebook group. This new camera sounds very exciting and I really want to see it, but at the same time I think it will be very expensive, and as such won’t be used by film teaching institutions who are extremely important as they teach tomorrows filmmakers, but on the bright side this might bring down prices of existing S16 cameras like the Arri 416 as most institutions work with older more affordable and durable equipment. I hope this camera appeals to professionals in film and broadcasting, but this is a big ask as many of them will want something better than the Arri 416. Looking at the website I don’t think this camera will appeal to younger filmmakers, students, colleges and universities, many of who are used to smaller and cheaper digital gear, but I hope I'm wrong. I know from my own experience of teaching; youngsters want a smaller camera, something that’s easier to use and ideally want to use smaller and cheaper lenses. I think here a simpler version of the ACL will be popular, a camera that is small and can accept different sized magazines and that can take c mount or Micro 4/3 lenses Pav

It is one of my favourite cameras too. If you can sense the tension in the spring as you wind and the spring meter is moving as you wind then the problem is most likely the shutter getting stuck. Look for signs if the camera has been opened before, the front plate slides out once the screws are removed, there is usually a sealant too that you have to cut. As we take the front plate off the shutter can 'accidentally' bend very easily, I have found that a bent shutter is the main reason if the camera winds but wont run, the shutter can be easily straightened out. Pav

While there are some who love their K-3's and have no issues, their are just too too many horror stories, jumpy film, light leaks, film scratching and flickering. I don't think there is anyone here in the UK who'd repair them for a decent price, it's probably cheaper to buy another camera, but you could try www.cinefix.co.uk . Pav

I know this camera is popular among collectors, but I would like to hear from anyone who has actually used this camera to film with so they can share their experiences and what kind of images it produce. Pav

I will take some photos and start a new thread, it's just been hectic keeping track of things. Recently I have been working on multiple projects; the 100ft magazine for the ACL, reflexing a K100 to and have been building a 16mm scanner too. Pav

It sounds like a simple job to move the parts over to a new housing, but it isn’t and things aren’t cheap, I have been making a small magazine for my Éclair ACL that accepts 100ft spools of film, like many I like using the small 200ft magazine, I normally use 100ft spools in mine, because it’s a lot easier than getting film on 200ft spools or cores. I have been working out how much my 100ft magazine has cost me and have realised it’s been quite expensive. First; I bought an old magazine, it didn’t matter if it worked I just needed it’s front that clicks into the camera, it was an old 400ft English magazine, I have looked around and when they come up for sale they are between £100-£200, I cut the magazine down, this took a lot of time as I had to disassemble it, once cut I cleaned all the components and reassembled them this took a lot of time. Second; I made a new metal frame, because this frame is one piece it had to be strong and had to be made to precision, it cost me a lot, I drilled holes in the magazine front and attached the frame. Third; to make the new magazine light tight I made side panels again out of metal, because of the precision for making panels for both sides and front and ensuring they’d be light tight again they cost a lot. Fourth; I used nylon spacers for the rollers and long screws - these were cheap, I created a thin wall inside [like the earlier Kodak K cameras] and made two chambers and attached a take up spool to it, the wall is made of tin and again it cost hardly nothing, but the take up spindle cost a lot as I had made it out of light plastic via 3D printing, this is linked to large sprocket by a commonly found [Ebay] tape player belt. In total the magazine has cost me just upwards of £700 and I haven’t accounted for my time, or for my research, or the parts that I made which couldn’t be used because they were not right or slightly out of tolerance and then there were other costs for many miscellaneous items, tools and postage, so really the costs are probably nearer to the £1000 mark. Pav

You mean to have a magazine that can use the common 100ft spools in the Minima? It can be done I did it, but as I discovered it’s not easy, I built a magazine, that was the easy part, but my attempt wasn’t entirely successful, there were two reasons; firstly, I couldn’t create a reliable mechanism to drive the take up spool and secondly I think a crucial factor that I overlooked is the camera’s mechanism design, the way the film travels through the rollers, the claw and the loops these are all optimised for film is coming from the Minima spools which is emulsion out that has the right film curl for emulsion out film.. As far as I know Kodak doesn’t do the film anymore; apparently it's all about the 'natural curl of the film', in the original Kodak Minima spools the film was loaded emulsion out and this film curled in particular way. People often get Minima spools and load with normal film loading it emulsion out this film curls in a different way, but to get excellent results the film has to curl right, for normal [emulsion in] film it can take a while to get the to film curl right so that it behaves like film on the emulsion out and therefore the image may not always be perfectly steady. Pav

Does anyone know how to build a new motor for the ACL? Pav

Yes the CP-16 and Eclair NPR and ACL viewfinders are all interchangeable. I use a CP-16 viewfinder with my ACL because it's smaller. Talk and discussions about a new S16 camera have come up often. If we look at the new Super 8 camera, this has been great publicity as for the format making it current and relevant to younger generations. I think it has been a great publicity stunt which has been all about promoting the format and creating a buzz. In fact virtually everyone using Super 8 are using older cameras, if and when this new camera comes out I think it will be far too expensive for many and people will still continue using older cameras. In the same way a new camera in S16 will definitely create a much needed hype, but at the same time I can see the complexity and the expense of making one, especially since the 16mm market is more complex than Super 8. Since there are hundreds of thousands of 16mm cameras out there in many ways it makes more sense to invest in rebuilding parts to make existing cameras more relevant for today’s users. In my workshops older 16mm cameras from the 1950’s, like the Bell and Howell 240 and the Revere 101 are very popular this is because they are small, simple and easy to use, after all they weren’t really designed for trained camera operators. There re a few disadvantages for the modern users; firstly they are regular 16mm, I can say Super 16 is more favoured than regular 16mm, so I have widened camera gates to Super 16 and I have been able to re-centre the lens mounts especially on the Bell and Howells, secondly they are non-reflex, to combat this there are two solutions; one is to use a ‘dogleg’ lens and the other is to install a pellicle - I have used both. These older cameras are noisy, to quieten them down I use a sound barney, To their advantage they are fully mechanical, this means they are easier to repair and rebuild. Comparing them to modern professional sync cameras is just silly, but their simplicity means they are ideal to introduce new filmmakers to 16mm. Pav

As a bit of an Ikonoskop 16mm camera expert I thought I'd chip in, I think the Ikonoskop proved that making a decent 16mm camera was difficult and expensive; for a market which is constantly changing and is very small, while their camera looks great and I love it, I must admit that it’s not a very practical tool. They decided not to have a reflex viewfinder [probably to keep costs down] and a lot of people were put off by this fact, the camera does have a variety of filming speeds, but one has to ask whether this was necessary and while the camera has sync speeds, it is quite noisy and not ideal for filming dialogue. A lot of my students prefer using older cameras rather than the Ikonoskop because they are easier to thread film and work with. As far as I know Ikonoskop 16mm cameras that have a reflex viewfinder modification have a pellicle mirror and a rather cumbersome Angenieux viewfinder for their reflex system. Pav

I have tested it out of the camera, with a lens mounted on a camera front the slide as a mirror and a ground glass screen to focus the image, I am surprised that the image is very clear. Now I need to figure out how to cut the slide to permanently fit into the camera and test it with film. I’m not using a Webo I need to cut to fit my reflex unit; Pav

I think I’ll say it here, the pellicle mirror is fragile and can break and is almost impossible to get. I just tried a microscope slide cover and it works, the microscope slide covers are incredibly cheap.

I think all that is needed is a simple camera, with precision mechanics rather than electronics, most older 16mm cameras are mainly mechanical and can be worked on and made to work as new because they have little or no electrical circuitry, understanding and servicing mechanics is much easier than dealing with bespoke electronics. An ideal camera is modular where the battery, motor and magazines are external and can be easily swapped, to start off with a simple motor with a single speed is all that’s needed, for the magazines to start off there could be one for 100ft, I am not sure about 200ft as no one supplies film in 200ft cores or spools, I find when I use my Éclair ACL I was always using 100ft spools in the 200ft magazine until I made a smaller 100ft magazine. I think the Éclair ACL is a good example of a modular camera, I know many don’t like it’s odd reflex system, but I do know some people have removed the original ‘Pendulum’ reflex system and have replaced with it with a fixed pellicle mirror. I know from personal experience that almost all Ikonoskop 16mm cameras that have a reflex viewfinder modification have a pellicle mirror for their reflex system. Pav

Apologies I didn't read all the posts thoroughly, my question was based on your original post where you say you were disappointed with the K100. As for a reflex option I believe with all these cameras we can use dogleg lenses like the Angeniuex 17-68 or the Som Bertiot lenses. Pav

Can I ask what issues did you have with the Kodak K100? Pav

Most of the Murray's on sale seem to have the Super 8 head on. Are you still looking for one?

I have 5 sealed rolls of FujiFilm 64D in 35mm, this is the very last batch of film that Fujifilm that was ever made and I bought in March 2013, it has been refrigerated since. I also have 7 cans of Kodak 35mm film re-cans 300ft and 200ft. I don’t have a 35mm motion picture camera anymore and so I want to sell. All films have been refrigerated and stored well, though apparently because of their age I've been told that they should be over exposed a little. Pav

I have been out taking photos with it using my digital camera and I can't see a yellow tint I would love to have it sorted. How much would it be and is it worth it? Pav

I have the f1.9. Is this not as good? Pav

I recently got a Kodak 16mm camera and with it came a 25mm Kodak Cine Ektar II lens, at first I didn't think of using this lens as it didn't look great, but I discovered that he optics are very clean so I used it and and have been impressed with it as it's incredibly sharp as good as or perhaps even more than my Switar, my issue is that the focus is quite stiff. Can this be fixed? Thanks Pav

I know what your saying, I had an older Som Berthiot 'Dogleg' lens and there was nothing in the frame for focusing. I now have an Angenuiex 17-68 lens, it's smaller and it fortunately allows for critical focusing, in the centre it has ground glass circle. Pav

Thank you for your comments. For me it all started when I got hold of a Kodak Model BB Junior 16mm from the 1930's and I was very surprised how quiet and smooth this camera ran. In a way this started a sort of chain reaction as I started looking at other Kodak 16mm cameras; and learned that most of them run smoothly. I got a Kodak K100 16mm camera, it is heavy, 'built like a tank' as you say, but surprisingly its not awkward to hold or difficult to wind like so many others, it’s incredibly easy to thread and use. The wind is brilliant as you say the camera has a very long run with a single wind and there’s a very useful indicator telling you how much ‘juice ‘is left in the spring motor. So far I have been quite impressed with it, though I haven’t exposed any film it yet, the camera also has a port to attach an electric motor. The viewfinder’s, although ‘parallax’ is much better than other 16mm cameras of that era, for accurate reflex viewing and focusing I have an 16-17mm ‘dog leg’ lens. Pav

Does anyone want to share their thoughts and experiences of the Kodak K100, like; has anyone used an external motor or a hand crank with this camera. I have searched the forums and a lot of online posts about this camera seem to be a few years old. Thanks Pav

Great stuff! At 24fps how long does it run? Have you got any results to share? Pav

Late to the party, this thread is 15 years old, the links don’t work, and I don’t think most of those members are around. It's a very good camera and I can second that there is no critical focus screen like the 70-DR. All models [I believe there are four models] have a very simple viewfinder that took individual finder objectives, later models have an adjustable zoom or variable finder. A popular combination of the 240 was with the addition of the Angenieux 17mm to 68mm zoom lens. B&H was the 1st company in the states to introduce this lens.