Jean-Louis Seguin

Assuming your camera's groundglass is correctly set to equal the film plane focus and that the diopter is set correctly,you can rely on what you see in the viewfinder. With non-RX lenses, do not pay any attention to the distance scale setting, it will likely be a little off. However, you must remember that even if it looks sharp in the viewfinder, you may still get soft images with these non-RX lenses at wide apertures. To be safe, never use an aperture larger than two stops down from the maximum. Cheers, Jean-Louis

I would never use a brush with bristles or hair to clean a camera's gate. Just use a good orangewood stick to remove emulsion deposits and use compressed air to remove the dust. Same thing for the mags. Jean-Louis

Hi Annie, I repair motion picture lenses and I would be interested in anything you might have. Thanks. Please send me a personal message if they are still available. Cheers, Jean-Louis

Hi James, The end cap is glued on and it's the hardest part to remove without damaging it. Try some alcool, in order to soften the glue. The rest is pretty easy. There are 3 screws hidden underneath a decorative plate that hold the contact assembly together. Good luck. Jean-Louis

The problems I find with Heaven's Gate are not so much length but: 1) It's hard to care about the main characters. The "hero" is too passive. 2) Many roles were miscast in my opinion, especially Hurt, Huppert and Walken. 3) The exaggerated use of diffusion, smoke and dust to the point where you can't see anything. In the climactic battle, it's very hard to follow what's happening, there is too much dust and smoke. It may have been realistic, but I still think it was too much. Jean-Louis

I couldn't find it on the Wittner site but I seem to remember it was around ?250 !! Like I said, hopefully just having the viewing system cleaned might solve or at least improve your problem. This is a common problem on really old cameras. Jean-Louis

Sounds to me like you need at the very least a thorough cleanng of all the internal viewfinder optics. Worst case scenario is that the silver coating on the image rectifying prism is oxydized and the prism will have to be replaced. This part should be available from Wittner in Germany but it's very expensive. Jean-Louis

Hi Damien, That adapter was designed to fit a super8 camera. The threads are not the same as a Switar 10mm. It might work if you can find a way to adapt it. If the Aspheron is 49mm you can get a nice adapter from brentfinley.com Cheers, Jean-Louis

Wish I could help but I know nothing of the K3, but I have to ask you one thing: How can you call that conversion a "great job" when you don't know what you're framing? You should have a proper, accurate viewfinder if the job was done properly. Cheers, Jean-Louis

Hi Ray, Please be careful: of course C-mount adapters are available for the EBM, but I repeat you cannot use them with the 18-86 or 16-100 Vario-Switar zoom lens. It just won't fit. Cheers, Jean-Louis

Hi Ray, The EBM has the Bolex bayonet mount. The C-mount Vario-Switar zooms do not fit. Some, like the 16-100 or the 12.5-100 are available in the bayonet version. Justin is one of my customers. I did the super16 conversion on his Bolex. I have a couple of EBMs right now, if you're interested. If your RX-4 is in good shape, I could offer you a trade-in allowance. Cheers, Jean-Louis

Hi Ray, Despite what the item description says, the eBay item you refer to is not a crystal control motor. It can be made to run crystal with an accessory that must be purchased separately. As is, it runs at fairly constant speed but it is not crystal controlled. An EBM will have a bigger, brighter viewfinder than your RX-4 and will take the 400 foot mags but will lack the single-frame capability and the variable shutter. Top speed is 50fps instead of 64fps on your camera. Both systems will perform the same. Another thing: your zoom lens will not fit the EBM. Hope this helps. Jean-Louis

Thanks Jim. Have the 56 already. I think I finally found an 801. Just have to close the deal. Jean-Louis

One that comes to mind is the last shot of Sergio Leone's Once upon a time in America (the unbutchered version). Robert deNiro is lying on a cot in the opium den totally drugged up. He turns towards the camera which is high above the cot looking down at him and almost looks straight at the viewer and grins; the image freezes on his expression. This is like a wink at the audience that some have interpreted as meaning that everything we have seen beforehand might just have been a opium-fueled dream. Quite unforgettable. Jean-Louis

Merci Jean, mais c'est un manuel de service que je cherche , pas un livret d'instruction. Jean-Louis

Hi everyone, Does anybody know where I can obtain this information? Thanks. Jean-Louis

You really need a crank keyed to the protuding mechanism shaft. Simply turning the outer ring with fingers only resets the frame counter dial Otherwise, with your two thumbs pressed firmly against the two sprockets, try to see if you can rock the sprockets back and forth. Cheers, JL

Have no fear: there is no danger of flying springs going anywhere. The main spring is enclosed in a barrel-type shell. However, the recommendation about not opening the camera if you do not know what you are doing is a good one. Cheers, Jean-Louis

If you have a rewind crank handy, use it to advance the mechanism by hand forwards and reverse. This might unjam the mechanism. Check in the area under the claws to see if there might be a piece of broken film jamming the claws. If this fails, I guess you should have it looked at by a Bolex tech. Cheers, Jean-Louis

In the 70s, Century Precision Optics offered both a 3.5mm and a 2.5mm specially designed for super8. I don't think they sold a lot, so they are pretty rare nowadays. I can only remember ever seeing one on eBay a couple of years ago. Jean-Louis

Hi Benjamin, The servo-motor assembly is attached to the lens via 4 screws located at the base of the servo-motor assembly, close to the lens mount. Loosen all the screws and the whole thing will just slide off. As far as focusing is concerned, the lens will have been collimated to the Beaulieu flange focal depth which is a hair deeper than the true C-mount depth to account for the gelatin filter in the light path. So when you use the lens on your ZC1000, there might be a slight loss of sharpness on the wide end and at fully open aperture. if this is the case, a lens technician could recollimate the lens for you to improve performance. Cheers, Jean-Louis

Thank you Bjorn, that is exactly the information I needed. I would like to obtain some. Please contact me by private message to give me information on ordering. Thanks. Jean-Louis Seguin

For sale: Nice BOLEX H8 RX4 converted to double super8. See it on ebay: Item # 130213111520 Thanks. Jean-Louis

Hi Jim, The ones I'm talking about use an actual bulb and I think the bulb might have something to do with the current regulation. That's why I need the exact value. Besides, I want to restore the unit to it's original functioning. Cheers, Jean-Louis

Does anyone know what is the specification of the pilot bulb inside the original Beaulieu 5008 charger rated at 50mA. You know the square grey box type. I also wouldn't mind finding out the specs for the 4008 (30mA) and the R16 (90mA) chargers. Thanks! Jean-Louis