Jean-Louis Seguin

You could have the aperture setting ring re-lubricated with a heavier damping grease by a camera tech. As for the clicks, modification could be possible depending on the design. Cheers, Jean-Louis

Sorry about the mis-spell Dom. Wasn't able to correct it in time. Cheers, Jean-Louis

Hi Don, I was curious about this myself so I did a little experiment; measuring the exposure at the film plane with the lens at maximum aperture. From 10mm to 20mm: no discernable variation from the max. Between 20mm and 25mm exposure starts to decrease. At 50mm, 1/3 stop is lost. At 100mm, 2/3 stop is lost. At 150mm, one full stop is lost. So it's pretty much a gradual decrease. Note that this only applies when the aperture is set to the maximum. At a middle aperture like f/5.6 or f/8, there is no exposure variation when zooming. This got me curious about the 12-120mm so I tested one too at maximum aperture. Pretty constant throughout, but there is a slight dip at the telephoto end starting gradually at between 70mm and 90mm and reaching 1/4 stop at 120mm. Cheers, Jean-Louis

Usually when a zoom has a range indicated as the maximum aperture, it's because these lenses do not a have constant maximum aperture throughout all focal lengths. The largest opening (in this case f/2) is for the wide angle focal length and the smaller opening (in this case f/2.8) is for the maximum telephoto focal length. Cheers, Jean-Louis

That the early version of the MST motor with 6-pin DIN type power socket. Later ones use a 7-pin DIN type socket. It will run the MM mag take-up motor fine through the connection at the top. You can power it from any 12VDC source. According to my notes: Pins 1 & 2 are joined and are 12V +. Pins 4 & 5 are joined and are 12V -. The connection near the power input socket is for remote on-off switch. Cheers, Jean-Louis

From what I remember, you don't have to take off the blimp each time; it stays on the camera. Just open the front, take out the blimp glass holder and exchange the lens. There were calibrated focus scales already made up for each lens but if you don't have them you have to make up your own, that would be tedious, or just forget about the scales and only focus using the groundglass. There was also an extension piece that would allow the use of slightly longer lenses like the first generation Zeiss superspeeds. Cheers, Jean-Louis

Yes but if you wedge it where I think you're wedging it, you may be putting excessive drag on the main wind shaft and it could give you inconsistent running speeds. When the camera is running, the winding handle should have a little bit of play. Cheers, Jean-Louis

My notes indicate that the flange focal distance for the 16 PRO is 75mm ± 0.01mm. That is quite deep. You might be able to have a custom adapter fabricated for some medium-format still camera lenses such as Pentax 6x7, Mamiys RB67 but that leaves you mainly with focal lengths that cover the telephoto range only. Anything else, such as PL, would require resigning the lens mount, if such a thing is possible at all. Prepare to dish out $$$$ Cheers, Jean-Louis

Some clues: very small D-mount lenses; very thin front plate; chrome-plated spill-over lever thingies only found on H8s; no loop restorer; etc... Cheers, Jean-Louis

It appears to me your trying to load 16mm film into a 8mm camera. That's your problem. Cheers, Jean-Louis

Hi Eugene, Have you actually shot any footage with the 10mm Switar? It could be just an issue with the groundglass screen. I've seen this in some cases were the groundglass surface has been polished up. It changes the light diffusing characteristic of the screen and can lead to what looks like a hot spot in the center with fall-off at the corners. Screens like this react differently to different lenses depending their optical characteristics such as exit pupil location and diameter. The image looks fine at the film plane. Only a film test will confirm for sure what is happening. If you're still looking for an alternate wide lens with abundant coverage for super-16, I can recommend the Kinoptik 9mm f/1.5. It will however have the usual loss of sharpness used wide open on a Bolex RX. Stopping down to f/2.8 will greatly improve the image. Cheers, Jean-Louis

Mount is for the Krasnogork K3 bayonet versions. Also found on Kinor 16SP. Check Olex's site: https://sites.google.com/site/olexserviceskinor/ Cheers, Jean-Louis

Yes, this is normal as the built-in filters are located behind the shutter / reflex mirror. Cheers, Jean-Louis

Thanks everyone about the B&H tip. I'll check this out. I don't have the camera in front of me but I believe it is gear driven. Cheers, Jean-Louis

Some Angenieux 12-120mm zooms in Cameflex mount were actually Arri standard mounts with a removable Cameflex adapter fitted. Cheers, Jean-Louis

The 10mm switar is not known to vignette. There is a slight fall-off in density in the extreme corners no intrusion normally. If you have one of the preset 10mm Switars with a black filter retaining ring at the front, try removing the ring. I can't really recommend other lenses because none of them are designed for the Bolex reflex system. Cheers, Jean-Louis

I have a Maurer but no mags. If anyone has an extra mag they are willing to part with, please contact me. Thanks. Cheers, Jean-Louis

The 28mm Xenon is for 35mm. Will also work with 16mm of course. Cheers, Jean-Louis

Without them, stray light reflected off the groundglass would reach the film with all sorts of undesirable effects. Cheers, Jean-Louis

What do you want to know? Jean-Louis

Great work. Excellently described! Cheers, Jean-Louis

Unfortunately, it is more complicated than a simple parts swap. The Angenieux 15-150 has a longer back-focus distance than the 12-120mm, so the adapter mount has to be correspondingly longer. To my knowledge, there are no off-the-shelf mounts for the 15-150mm other than C-mount. It would have to be custom machined. As to your question: How does the cameflex mount attach to the actual lens? Inside the cameflex mount there is a retaining ring with two notchs that must be unscrewed with a spanner wrench. As to your other comment: "it feels like it is tight, but then I can tighten it a little more" this is common with these lenses as the C-mount thread does rotate to allow proper positioning of the index marks when attached to the camera. It is supposed to be stiff enough to withstand loosening but wear allows it to slip. There is a solution but involves a slight modification: Setcrews can be added to lock the C thread in position. Cheers, Jean-Louis

I recently converted an Eiki SL-II to super-16 and found that lens mount re-centering is unnecessary. I tested the standard 50mm lens and the 38mm lens and they both have a huge image circle with more than enough coverage. Cheers, Jean-Louis

Yes, the manual control is probably defective. This is a common problem on these cameras. Cheers, Jean-Louis

Looks in very bad condition. No doubt, it will be quite costly to restore. Plus, you know the expression: "rust never sleeps".... I'm sure you could find a much nicer Bolex than this on eBay. Cheers, Jean-Louis