mark leuchter

I really enjoyed the film, David. It was so different from the work of yours I've seen in the past, but consistent with that work insofar as your choices served the story at every turn. I saw it here in Boston on an AMC screen and did not find any problems with color or sharpness with the print. It was a great moviegoing experience on every level. Of course, it was also cool to see Morpheus spell stuff. ;-) Mark

You know the joke, Matt...what do coffee and Clapton have in common? They both need cream. Though I liked him with Blind Faith and Derek&The Dominos. There's an excellent documentary on Ton Dowd, the recording engineer/producer who worked with Clapton (in Cream and D&TD) and many other legendary names. It's beautifully put together and very enjoyable to watch. The colors on the new Cream DVD are pretty nice and saturated in some places, but this is, I suppose, because of dramatic stage lighting. My guess would be that 7218 was used, as I can't imagine the practical use of 35mm cameras in the concert environment where mobility and immediacy appear to be key.

Folks, THIS is an awesome example of music and image working together. The cameras really capture the spontaneous dimensions of the music and the imagery heightens the excitement. I would love to know the technical specs if anybody is privy to that info. And here's a neat little tidbit -- on the second DVD, in the middle of Clapton's solo on "White Room", there's a shot of the audience dancing, though ONE guy in the audience, shrouded a bit in shadow, is standing still. It's Tim Burton. Awesome. Mark

This is a Canon 12-120 zoom. I don't know a thing about it. Is it a quality lens on par with the more well known Canons (i.e., the 8-64 or 7-63)? I imagine that it doesn't cover S-16, would I be right?

John, I imagine that the contrast and saturation features of the Vision 2 stocks will be consistent with this new 50D stock, but what sort of distinction will we see in terms of sharpness and grain structure, in comparison with 7245? Will the new Vision 2 50D replace 7212 as the "sharpest" available stock?

I'm going to be putting a new but untested lens of mine on a lens projector. In the past, I've done this to get a sense of coverage and contrast, but I am this time interested in determining relative sharpness and resolution. What should I be looking for on the resulting image to help me assess these factors? Mark

Does anybody have information about where I might be able to obtain on-board batteries for the ACL? I've seen them before, both from old ads for the camera and as custom-made items, and the idea of a self-contained compact unit replete with its own power supply is very appealing. Mark

Hi folks, Does anybody have experience with the titular zoom lens? I would greatly appreciate any comments, criticisms, or comparisons. Mark

I'm glad Kubrick decided to make it a hedge maze instead of animals. Kubrick's film is intensely psychological and he did research intro Freud, Bettleheim, and others psychoanalytical theorists before making the film. The hedge maze becomes a metaphor for the mind, and Danny's ability to escape it signals his move into the next stage of psychological development (whereas Jack is trapped in the maze of his own relapse). Mark

Nathan, I can see how the micron measurement bend of the film would factor into focus calculations for the A-Minma, but if the Eclair ACL is using a pressure plate, wouldn't the film's nature bending be obviated anyway? In other words, while the film's bend works FOR the A-Minima, would not the pressure plate design of the ACL simply neutralize it? Mark

Hi all, How much would it typically run to recoat the rear element of a lens? The lens in question is a Zeiss 9.5 T1.3 Mk 1. Any speculations or more precise responses would be highly appreciated. Mark

Does anybody know what part of the zoom range on the Cooke 9-50 will cover S-16? Mark

Ah, a photo with so many great and talented minds in one room. It's very impressive to us screenwriter/directors who secretly want to be DPs. And I just have to say...Allen Daviau is one of the most generous, friendly people I've met in this field. He's like so many people on this board -- genuinely interested in sharing ideas, answering questions, imparting knowledge. A great guy with a really kind, gentle sense of humor and spirit. And his work is inspiring. Mark

Is anybody familiar with an f1.6 lens by Taylor Hobson called the "Monital", with a zoom range from 8-26? Is it crap or decent? Mark

Can anybody suggest or does anyone known on an alternative to the Optex conversions of zoom lenses to Super-16? Not only are they super expensive, but I've been told that the additional optical elements decrease the optical quality of the lens quite noticeably. One person has told me this is not the case, the but general consensus is that an Optex conversion of, say, a Cooke 9-50 into a 10.6-60 does not have nearly the same sharpness as the original lens. One of the ACL websites suggests that Les Bosher in the UK can do some magic work on a lens, converting it to S-16 and retaining the optical quality. How would this be done? I have a Kinor 10-100 (that I haven't tested, but I'm told it's very sharp) and a Cooke 9-50 in pristine condition. I'd love to have one of these adapted to S-16 if the optical quality can remain fairly consistent... Mark