Ernie Zahn

I found an old (perhaps 1930's) DeVry box camera at my parents house. Very simple design: a viewer finder on top, footage counter, c-mount lens thread, with a 100 ft capacity. I was thinking of taking it for a spin just for the fun of it. I was wondering if anyone has an idea or a best guess on what the shutter is on it? Close to 180? I wanted to get a sense when metering. I know it's a basic camera I just don't want to be so far off with my exposure that I get washed out footage or something too murky. Thanks!

Interesting. Thanks for the input. I guess I'm curious because whenever I start a new project I wonder if I'm working fast, taking too much time, etc. I'm surprised sometimes when some films manage to get their shooting done on such a tight timetable and others work on much larger ones. I know that every film is different and genre or even director can't be an indicator of how long it takes to make a given film but it's the first question in my head when I start planning a new project.

Is there a "ShotOnWhat" equivalent that serves as a database of how long films took to make? I only ever hear how many shooting days there were for given film based on commentary track, it gets mentioned in an interview and like. Trying to google it doesn't seem to help unless I'm not using the right search terms.

Hi Michael. Thanks for the input. I guess I can see where some purists are coming from. I ask because I was going to shoot an upcoming project in anamorphic but I was debating between that and just cropping. I've been composing a lot of shots with that framing. And Phil, I believe it was shot on the Alexa XT Plus. I saw it in IMAX. But I guess the 2D showings were cropped to 2.39 or 2.35?

So, I know there are many ways to achieve a 2:35 aspect ratio but I'm particulatly curious how many major motion pictures shoot at 1.78/1.85 or some other aspect ratio and then crop to 2.35. Further I've met some DPs who roll their eyes at that method vs using an anamorphic system. Why is that? I know it means shooting more information in your frame and then cropping out some information but isn't using lenses, camera movement, angles and other things intended as a means to show the audience what they need to be looking at? Isn't the frame you compose your picture just as important? Is it because its looked at as the poor man's version of a true cinema wide experience?

Cool! I'll give Warp Stabilizer a try. Looking forward to seeing how it turns out. And David, would love to see those comparisons!

So, I know you can't totally stabilize the image, but I was wondering if anyone had experience with a post solution to stabilize the jumps that can happen in Super 8 footage. I just want to fix the pronounced ones - the ones that distract from the viewing experience. Any suggestions? I tried smoothcam in FCP 7 and it has a hard time analyzing them. I'm going to try DaVinci and After Effects next. But if ya'll have a good idea to save time, that would be much appreciated.

They said one shipment arrived yesterday and another arrives on the 1st. They also said, they can't be sure how many are coming in or in what condition. "What condition"? Perhaps suggesting that they are so severely rushed that they might be defective? Or perhaps Blackmagic will be so desperate to get them in on time that they will literally throw the cameras through the plate glass window from a speeding van like a newspaper delivery. :rolleyes: In either case, the customer service at B&H said don't bank on my order being processed with yesterday's or Friday's shipments. He didn't say it was impossible, he said he just didn't want to get my hopes up. So I guess he needed crush them just to be on the safe side. :P

I first ordered it at the sale price from a 3rd party on Amazon and they canceled our order because they decided they took more orders than they cared to handle. Then I jumped to the next place I could think of which was B&H photo. As soon as my Amazon order was canceled I immediately ordered one with B&H. They first said 2-3 days, a week later it was 2-4 weeks, as of this week it is 4-8 weeks! Production starts Sept. 3rd which is why I'm thinking of canceling and just investing more in the BMCC I already have. I'm a little disappointed. B&H has said I'm still secure with my place in line but as the days pass, it doesn't feel like it. Did Adorama give you an ETA?

Thanks for all the helpful info, I'm definitely going to invest in a metabones speedbooster. Just as an update I ended up ordering the BMCC, I have a family of excellent condition and fast Rokkor lenses with an MD to EF adapter. And I just bought an old 16mm cine lens. As well as a few other things for the rig. I'm going to get an external battery soon. I've been messing around with it and it's looking very nice. I also ordered the BMPCC on that $495 sale, pretty much on the first day of the sale but I'm back ordered to September, which will make things tricky for my project. I may just stick with one camera and put that $495 toward a speedbooster for the BMCC. Again, thank you all. This has really helped the research and decision making process.

I just got a Schneider - Kreuznach Optivaron f/1.4 6-70mm. I tested it out, it's very clean, appears to be fungus and oil free. Aperture opens and closes BUT the aperture ring is very loose. I believe this lens came off of a Beaulieu 4008 camera and it's ring loose because when mounted on the correct camera features auto exposure. Is that about right? I was wondering if there was a way to make the ring more secure. I like that it doesn't click and that it's smooth, but I'm worried if I set it to like f2.8 the slightest movement will knock it out of place. Anyone have experience using these old lenses on cameras they weren't built for? Btw, I'm using this on my BMCC.

I'd love some feedback on this. Does anyone know what the general sense is of filming guerilla in Paris? Would I be able to have a full rig with me let's say on Pont Neuf or in front of Notre Same without getting hassled if my team is around 4 people using a clearly non-tourist camera? Or should I save the rig for more discreet locales and stick with something smaller for the higher profile places?

Awesome! Thanks for all this help info folks. My budget just got an $800 increase. Now I'm wondering if it would be good to aim for the regular 2.5k cinema camera. I already own EF lenses as well as an EF to T-mount adapter for some old manual T-mount lenses. I'm wondering if this might be better move to get to a working kit rather than investing in a whole new lens family with MFT?

Hi all, I have a project coming up and I want to upgrade my equipment. I'm looking at the BMD Pocket Cinema Camera. I'm liking the reviews and videos I've seen on YouTube. I'm new to the world of MFT, I have a budget of around $1600. I'm going to get an adapter for my EF lenses but I was thinking about getting an MFT as well. Something with image stabilization would be great. Will mostly be using the lens for medium-close ups.

Still available.