Jean-Louis Seguin

Hi Andy, My guess is that the other marks that you blacked out indicate where to set the aperture for when the camera's variable shutter is closed to the 1 or the 2 position. So the white line that's still there is the good one. It's been my experience that the aperture presetting feature on this kind of lens just doesn't work very well. Not just yours but a lot of them. There's an identical system in the 18-86mm non-EE version and it also behaves badly. Something to do with the balance of spring tensions inside the mechanism. I guess you will have to assume that the correct aperture is the one when you are pressing the trigger all the way and the diaphragm closes to the set aperture. Forget where the aperture ends up when you are not depressing the trigger. Cheers, Jean-Louis

I just found this on vimeo: http://vimeo.com/11023577 It is a promotional film shot at the Paillard plant in Ste-Croix. Looks like it was shot in the 1960s. It shows fascinating images of the process of fabrication of their cameras. Cheers, Jean-Louis

This is incorrect. Nikon lenses (46.50mm) cannot be used once the camera is PL-mount (52.00mm). And to Bruce: while probably not a stock item, the Nikon to CP adapter is easily manufactured (46.50 to 1.5"). Cheers, Jean-Louis

Hi Cory, Nikon lenses will work OK on the CP-16R as long as you have the proper adapter or have the camera's mount permanently changed to accommodate Nikon. Nikon lenses will also work with adapters on nearly all 16mm cameras that I can think of except Arriflex. Cheers, Jean-Louis

I have heard this focus wide open rule many times and i used to believe it too but it is essentially a mistake since virtually all lenses, especially fast ones, have some degree of focus-shift. For a good explanation of focus-shift, I recommend this article: http://diglloyd.com/articles/Focus/FocusShift.html Quoted from this article, the key rules are: 1) Shoot wide open — what you see is what you get. 2) Focus at the shooting aperture — focus and shoot at f/1.4, focus and shoot at f/2, focus at f/2.8 to shoot at f/2.8, f/4, etc (by f/2.8 spherical aberration is all but eliminated). Focusing at the shooting aperture is the only option for optimal results. Cheers, Jean-Louis

I just tried a Angenieux 8-64mm on a R16. It definitely gives you a looking-through-a-porthole effect at 8mm. Even at 64mm, there is still darkening of the corners. Unusable. I would assume any zoom designed for a super8 camera would give a similar effect. Cheers, Jean-Louis

Hi everyone, I am resurrecting this old thread because I never did get it and I would still like to get my hands on this manual to complete my collection. Cheers, Jean-Louis

Hi Steve, You'll get better results with lenses that are not RX. Most presets are RX except the 75mm Macro and 150 Macro. The RX lenses were designed to work with the Bolex camera's beamsplitter reflex system. Cheers, Jean-Louis

For some reason, I cannot upload the second picture of the tool even though it's only 47Kb. I don't understand. . . Cheers, Jean-Louis

Here are some pictures of the tool mentioned previously. It bears a part number: 900064 Cheers, Jean-Louis

You should be fine as long as they are not super fast lenses like f/1.2. At these apertures, quality would be affected. Cheers, Jean-Louis

You hold an anamorphic lens in front and rotate it during the shot. Cheers, Jean-Louis

When the 10mm preset is used for super16, all filter retaining rings must be removed or it will be visible in the frame as vignetting. Unfortunately, I have found that the 5.5 Aspheron on the 10mm preset gives a vignetted image. However, the Century adapter works well. Cheers, Jean-Louis

Precisely what I said. Cheers, Jean-Louis

Chris is right. The regular 10mm and the 10mm RX are different lenses with different optical formulas. Re-collimation changes nothing. Those who say they get nice results are not shooting wide open. Loss of sharpness and contrast is the result. I have seen enough of these on the collimator to attest to the difference. Why would Bolex have manufactured these RX lenses in the first place if the regular lenses could achieve acceptable results by re-adjustement only? Cheers, Jean-Louis

Use a piece of hard rubber like a lab bottle stopper or a hockey puck to push down and turn the C-mount thread. As far as I know, there is no optical difference between a 12-120 marked H16RX and one that is not. The markings indicate only that the optics were collimated properly to the Bolex standard when the lens was manufactured. Any 12-120 can be used on a Bolex if it is collimated properly. Cheers, Jean-Louis

Those rental guys are probably confusing the Arriflex bayonet (B) mount with some other video camera bayonet mount. Many cameras with a 2/3" chip use a known as the B4 mount. Cheers, Jean-Louis

Does anyone know why Lowel uses a single pole switch on their 120V style cables and a much nicer double pole switch on their European 220V style cables? I would think they could easily use the double pole on the 120V cables or is there something I'm missing here? The Kino-Flo Diva-Lite for 120V has an identical double pole switch to the Lowel European cables. Cheers, Jean-Louis

Cine 60 has these two for sale but i believe they are for the 24fps governor controlled motor. It has one wide pin and one thinner pin. http://www.cine60ny.com/arri-2c-shorty-coiled-cabl2.html http://www.cine60ny.com/arri-openended-cable.html Cheers, Jean-Louis

For best results, your first choice should be the H16RX series of Kern Switars. They are designed specifically to take the prism into account and will give you the best results at all aperture settings. For focal lengths over 50mm, the effect of the prism becomes negligable and pretty much any good quality lens will work fine. Cheers, Jean-Louis

If you are loading the mag while it is attached to the camera you can use the auto-threading feature but if you're loading mags by themselves you can't really use the auto-threading as the head leader will already have been anchored to the mag's take-up core. The loop must be set manually. You can use the loop formers as a way to measure the size of the loop however. A full instruction booklet is available for download at: http://www.apecity.com/manuals/ Just click on Bolex 400ft Magazine Cheers, Jean-Louis

Hi Amanda, Your camera's original battery pack supplies both 12V and 6V. There is something in the camera, possibly the exposure meter, that requires 6V to run. If you were to power the camera from a standard 12V battery, the circuits needing 6V will not be powered. In addition, the connectors used for the external power in those early Scoopics is extremely difficult to find. However, there are some solutions I can think of: 1) Have the connector changed to something more universal and a use a specially wired power pack that will supply both voltages. 2) Recell the existing battery you have and locate an appropriate charger. 3) Use regular disposable alkaline cells in a battery holder. In this case 8 cells will do with a center tap between cells 4 and 5. Good luck! Cheers, Jean-Louis

The lens bares the Soviet era logo of the Zavod Ar­se­nal company based in Ukraine. The were/are the makers of the Kiev line of medium format still cameras (Hasselblad clones). It was obviously adapted to PL-mount (I love the beautiful epoxy resin holding everything together). Caveat emptor on this one! Cheers, Jean-Louis

Hi Kevin, I've done one transformation like this in the past. Starting with a H8RX converted to DS8, you will need to acquire a complete front plate assembly from a H16RX. There are then two options, use the H8RX turret or the H16RX one. Using the H16RX is simplest but the optical axis of the lens will no longer be centered in the film frame. Using the H8RX turret is better but will require some adaptation to work on the H16RX front. The gate and spacer shim from the H8RX/DS8 is transferred to the H16RX front plate. A new groundglass mask will have to be fabricated to give you the S8 framing. The 90 degree prism in the viewfinder assembly will have to be adjusted to recenter the image. The light baffle located in the eyepiece may need to be enlarged. Top cover of viewfinder assembly may need to be modified. Of course, once this modification is complete, you will no longer be able to use H8RX lenses. As far as obtaining parts, the problem is there really is no such thing as a dead Bolex because they can always be repaired. To get a front plate you will be sacrificing a potentially useful camera. PM me for prices on parts. Cheers, Jean-Louis