Michael Mitchell

Hello everyone,

 

I recently picked up a used arriflex 16 s/b, cleaned her up and ordered a roll of Kodak vision 200T (and telecine) in order to test the camera and test my exposure skills before I order film for a real project.

 

Any ideas come to mind as what to shoot in my limited stock time?

 

I'm thinking to test the lens sharpness, (and in relation to what I see in the viewfinder) by shooting a sharpness chart and also determining if the focus distance markers on the lens are accurate.

 

Testing the motor speed by filming a person talking (and recording audio on a seperate recorder) and later see how it matches up.

 

For exposure I'll probably do basic light exposure tests like a daylight (got a 85 filter) lit room, outside, tungsten lit room, maybe some evening outside shots. Also shoot various shots against the sun/light and behind the sun/light.

 

On top of it, I will film a grayscale chart/kodak color chart at the beginning of each shot, and all audio will be recorded seperately so I know what I was doing.

 

How does this sound? any ideas?

 

thanks!

I have a question, how much does the ArriS or SB weigh?? I'm curious because weight is the only factor between me buying a bolex sbm or a arri 16s. Also, is it possible to find an underwater housing for the arri16s? thanks.

I second the notion that the 10mm Switar is a great lens.

 

Curious though why are you locked into Bolex. Look around these days you can probably find a super 16 Arri SR I for a good deal and that would have some serious advantages over the Bolex (although I do love Bolex cameras)

I've heard the ARRI's are heavy. But what kind of advantages are you talking about?

Bolex 16mm cameras like the SBM use a prism to deflect I think its about %17 of the light through to the viewfinder (as opposed to a spinning mirror shutter) - this prism affects the path of light as it reaches the film, especially for wide angle lenses you will have a certain amount of loss of clarity/focus if the lenses haven't been optically adjusted for this prism (it is not just a back focus problem, its a 'shape of the glass' problem i.e. you cant fix it) - lenses which have been designed with the prism in mind have been marked 'rx' - as far as I know there are no PL mount 'rx' lenses...

 

12.5-100 - quality is good, try to get the standard one, not the PTL which has a funky two blade iris - and of the two standard versions try to get the one with the aspheron knob and not the iris preset version - the aspheron knob means you can use the 6.5mm aspheron adaptor (i.e. no more Kinoptic needed) and it also works as an excellent macro function when used without the adaptor - if you find one on ebay PM me and I'll tell you which one it is ... The ones pictured at www.bolex.ch (in switzerland... do a search) are the auto/PTL

Do Bayonet-mount, Rx lenses even exist? Or are they just hard to find, cause I havent seen any yet online. And do they make the 16-100 POE or Vario Switar 12.5-100 in Bayonet Mount?

Ok so if the 10mm Preset vignettes, are there any other similar quality/focal length lenses that don't vignette? Also, does every lens I buy have to be an RX because of that prism issue? That doesn't leave me with many options. If the prism effects the Zeiss and Kinoptic, then wouldn't it effect the standard Bolex C-mount lenses as well? I'm confused about the RX/ Prism thing.

Also, how much should I expect to pay to get the SBM converted to Super 16?

Thanks a lot, you guys are awesome. Now I have a few more questions. ;)

I think im 99% set on the SBM, but I'm still confused about the whole bayonet mount thing. So there are Bayonet-to-cmount and Bayonet-to-PL mount converters/adaptors? Also, is there any quality control to look out for? Obviously it can't effect lens quality, but if you don't get the right one, couldn't there possibly be focus issues?

I don't mind too much if the 10mm Switar vignettes, but I'd rather not have to deal with cropping. I have heard good things about the Kinoptic 5.7mm, Zeiss 16mm, and many other PL mount lenses. Is there any vignetting issues with any of these lenses? Any other suggestions for good super-16 PL or bayonet mount Lenses?

Nick Mulder:

"Another option is the 12.5-100 Vario-Switar (three variants, each with different set-ups) it vignettes even more than the POE in the wide range but can be sent to Bolex to be modified for full coverage/zero vignetting"

-That sounds awesome. How is the quality on that baby? Also, is there a website or something I could look at to read more about that modification? I mean, when you say send it to Bolex, where exactly is that? haha.

thanks a lot guys, you're big ballin' in the mix. :ph34r:

Hi everyone. This is my first post here, I have been lurking around these forums for a couple days, and finally decided to post. I'm producing and directing a surf movie project in super 16mm this summer, and I had a bunch of questions.

1. The camera I want to get is either the Bolex SBM, Bolex REX5, or Arri 16 S. Right now, I'm leaning more towards the SBM because I like the bayonet mount (for PL mount lenses, with a converter), and I feel that overall it's a better camera (I'm not 100% set on this, though, if you have suggestions to another camera, I would love to hear them). Also, I need suggestions on where to get this camera converted to Super 16, and the cost I should expect to pay.

Noob question: Is bayonet mount the same size as C mount? Can you put a C mount lens on a bayonet mount camera and vice versa? If not, can C mount accept PL mount lenses with a converter?

Also, what do you all think of a Bayonet-to-PL converter, is there any quality control to look out for? Obviously it can't effect lens quality, but if you don't get the right one, couldn't there possibly be focus issues?

OK, so if I do go with the REX5, with C mount lenses, what kind of quality can I expect from such lenses as the Switar 10mm and the POE 16-100? Is the quality anywhere near what I could expect from a PL mount Cooke/Century prime? If someone could fill me in about any reviews on either of these two lenses, that would be great. (Or just give me your own personal review, haha) For the SBM, I am aware that Super 16mm cameras are not compatible with many regular16mm lenses. I have heard good things about the Kinoptic 5.7mm, Zeiss 16mm, and many other PL mount lenses, but I'm not sure if a $3000+ lens is in my budget. Any other suggestions for good super-16 PL, bayonet, or C-mount Lenses? thank you.

ELECTRIC MOTORS: OK, I really don't know anything about these, so what is the most reliable, best quality Bolex motor? I've been looking at the ESM and MST, but I've heard things about reliability issues. I would hate to be far away from civilization and have a motor just die on me. Are there any non-Bolex brand motors that I could look into? Is it correct that, in order to use the 400ft magazines, you must have a motor on the camera, plus a motor on the magazine?

Underwater housings for a Bolex 16mm camera....Suggestions, prices, etc. are helpful

Thank you, I know we have some bolex experts on board, hopefully you guys can help me out!!

Michael Mitchell