Patrick Neary

Hi Guys- FWIW I just did a small batch of handcranked tests with my GC and what I noticed was more of a subtle, medium-slow pulsing in the exposure if I purposefully tried to mess with the speed. John is right about the inertia, that big flywheel actually makes it hard to change speeds rapidly and does keep the movement rolling along quite smoothly. I haven't tried cranking without the flywheel, maybe that would make it easier to get erratic speeds. I have an eyemo with no spring motor guts and no governor of any kind left inside and that seems a better candidate for erratic hand-cranking.

Hey Nathan- If you find out anything cost/availability wise I hope you post back here- seems like something cool to have and probably could make back $$ easily with kit rentals. Saul, apologies, but what you said was: "...the 40D isn't a full sized 35mm sensor, so you will have a 1.6x magnification with your full sized EOS and PL mount 35 mm lenses" Which not only is wrong, but makes less sense every time I re-read it. 1.6 magnification of what? A DLSR sensor like the 40D gives you essentially the same FOV as Academy 35. And sorry to hammer at this stuff, but this idea of measuring from the rear element of the lens is also wrong. PL FFD is 52mm, Canon is 44mm, there's your measurement. The adapter wouldn't stick out "a good inch or so" from the eos mount, it would be 8mm as discussed in the thread.

Exactly, because they're not. They vary quite widely especially if you look at different makes and focal lengths.

Hi- It adjusts the pitch of the pulldown (you dial it back and forth while the camera is running) so that the filmstock runs through the camera smoother and more quietly. Smooth is good (especially if you're shooting hi-speed) quiet doesn't really matter that much if you're already shooting with a 435! :)

Hi- To be clear, the critical number here would be the flange focal distance. Where the rear (glass) element of the lens sits isn't an issue other than whether it hits the mirror or not. Canon EF FFD is 44mm, PL is 52mm, and the diameters of each are about the same so it seems an adapter would be possible. Probably a very tiny market for that sort of thing though! The 40d (and many other DSLRs) have a sensor size around 22mm × 15mm, just a bit smaller than the S-35 frame of 24.89 mm × 18.66 mm, and very close to academy's 21.95mm × 16.00mm, so mounting a PL lens (if it can be done) would give you a good estimation of the field of view of your 35mm MP camera. I used my 10D (with EF primes) shooting "Calvin Marshall" (Academy 1.85) as a director's finder/light meter/pre-vis tool/snapshot-cam/etc. and it was indispensable. Finally, there is no such thing as 1.6 "conversion" Honestly, how many times does someone have to say "a 50mm lens is a 50mm lens is a 50mm lens" before that sinks in around here! :blink:

Hi- You might also look at 138mm round or even a series 9 filter/hood combo if you want to go very simple and lightweight.

Having shot with both UltraSpeed MkIIs and Cooke Speed Panchros (series IIs) I would disagree. While I never shot with them side by side, it seemed to me they were remarkably similar in look and feel. The Ultras even flaring and veiling a little more than the cookes.

Hi Paul- I think you might have an issue with the f-stop ring, as in there isn't one. I believe some of the wider Nikon DSLR lenses that look so tempting are the same way, with no manual control of the iris.

Hi- You can make your own in Freehand/photoshop/illustrator- the bottom row of numbers correspond to different shades of gray you can create in any of those programs (just make a row of boxes and fill with those shades of gray, from black -0- to white -255-) and make any size you like.

right on- I'm curious- did you guys produce this with/through/for SciFi or was it an independent production picked up by them? The trailer looks quite a lot better than the usual movies they produce. Is the DVD 1.78 as well? I'll watch for it!

MOS has nothing to do with crystal sync, if we're talking about here and now. 435s, 235s, Arri 3s and most 2Cs you'd rent are crystal and MOS. I've shot plenty of MOS with Panaflex G-IIs and Moviecam Compacts and Arri BLs as well, so I'd toss that in practical terms, MOS is a type of shooting (mit out sound, of course!) rather than type of camera, although if you ask any rental house for an MOS camera you're going to get a machine that makes a lot of noise.

Hi- I'd thought about doing that very thing, rehousing a geneva movement from an automax camera into a nice wood box and somehow adding a gear set so I could get 8:1 with a hand crank. So now I have the pieces, including the nikon mount, but need to be retired and have a workshop :) So if you need a 35mm movement and gears....

A friend had access to a pile of leftover 65mm stock (from "The Patriot") that we thought of using for a short he wanted to do. What we discovered was that we could get a killer deal on a 65mm camera (Panavision) but as soon as you took the film to the lab, all of the post costs were epic. And then what do you do with it, make a 70mm print? To show where?

ha ha ha. try to talk any producer into buying 65mm filmstock. :)

Hi- Couldn't you just adapt a high quality loupe (like those for checking 35mm and medium format slides)? You just need to see/magnify the image on the ground glass, right? Seems like messing with the camera eyepiece is making it more complicated than it needs to be.

Somebody selling one on ebay right now thinks it's worth $25,000. I wish I lived in that same fantasy world, good god! :)

Hi- Here's a Celtx question, how do you get it to start up full-screen instead of as a little tiny box in the upper corner of the screen? Or is mine just buggy?

Just not. You can shoot 16 or 35 with minimal care and one-light a beautiful print, no cc.

Not.

We had one on "Calvin Marshall", mostly the crew took turns riding on it!

Hi- don't forget about just shooting and developing your own stills too. get your hands wet with smelly chemistry, it all applies to cinematography more than you might think.

Thanks for the compliment! Shooting pinhole on my DSLR gives a pretty similar look as far as sharpness (or lack of it) goes. Shooting with a Zero-Image pinhole camera (on 120 film) however often gives me an image that's too sharp, so that it sometimes doesn't have a distinctive "pinhole look" to it. The Zero Image I believe is about f138, I have no idea what the Nikon cap-pinhole I used on the Mitchell is. I don't know about the practicality of shooting a pinhole feature but it's certainly one more tool in the box! The next time I drag the Mitchell out I'll have to try shooting something more substantial and interesting with the pinhole. The other thing I'd like to do is adapt one of these Meniscus lenses from a box camera to the Mitchell, they can give such a great, vignetted look.

It's in the technical manual, not a publication known for rampant silliness... I worked for a photo editor once who had watched dozens of brand new Nikon-F cameras and lenses get bulldozed into a mud pit right before he left Vietnam.

OK, with some embarrassment, here is a very short, not very interesting clip of pinhole cinematography: Shot at 8fps with a Hand-Cranked Mitchell GC, Fuji 8553, 1k open-face light 15 inches or so from the flowers, full spot (sorry I didn't measure the FC, but it was so burning bright that you could barely look at it! This was shot as an afterthought as part of a series of other lens tests, but I believe that shooting 500 stock (and maybe pushing a stop) in bright sun, about 12 fps, should produce pretty interesting results.

Hi Everyone- Riffing on a previous post: Here, provided as a public service, are verbatim instructions on how to destroy your gear (what was in this case probably a really nice Mitchell GC) War Department Technical Manual TM 11-2386 CAMERA PH-274 [Mitchell GC] DESTRUCTION NOTICE WHY- To prevent the enemy from using or salvaging this equipment for his benefit. WHEN- When ordered by your commander. HOW- 1. Smash- Use sledges, axes, handaxes, pickaxes, hammers, crowbars,heavy tools. 2. Cut- Use axes, handaxes, machetes. 3. Burn- Use gasoline, kerosene, oil, flame throwers, incendiary grenades. 4. Explosives- Use firearms, grenades, TNT. 5. Disposal- Bury in slit trenches, fox holes, other holes. Throw in streams, scatter. USE ANYTHING IMMEDIATELY AVAILABLE FOR DESTRUCTION OF THIS EQUIPMENT. WHAT- 1. Smash- All lenses, batteries, sunshade and matte box, viewfinder, cases, magazines, and the motor. 2. Cut- All cords and connections, straps, and belts. 3. Burn- All film, tripods, triangle, barney, fabric cover, changing bag, and this manual. 4. Bend- All reels and cans. 5. Bury or scatter- All that remains. DESTROY EVERYTHING OK now go to it!