Aapo Lettinen

It has been used on DCPs the whole time so it is common. But on cameras has been rare, I think the main reason is it requiring lots of processing power to encode and the RED had patent for using it for onboard recorded raw video on cameras so manufacturers ended up using other codecs in-camera. Other codecs are more edit friendly as well, the reason why RED material plays back reasonably well is because it is debayered at fractional resolution instead of full res which makes it lighter to playback but needs even more processing power to encode in-camera and makes the whole thing complicated to do well

The 2-speed motor for ACL would look approximately like this (MIRRORED PHOTO FOR DEMONSTRATION. WILL MAKE THE FINAL FRONT PANEL WITH PROPER TEXT IF THERE IS ORDERS FOR THIS MODEL). this example has the experimental 2-digit display with additional base speeds and possibly a simple footage counter added. The basic version is of course with normal 24/48 and 25/50fps crystal speeds options

Nikon does not have expertise in making movie cameras and their stills cameras have very questionable video performance so I would expect the RED products to drop in image quality and reliability in the next years. After shooting a feature and other stuff with the Z6 I would not want to be in the same room with a Nikon branded camera again

we are doomed

I have still possibility to make the ACL version of the 2-speed motor. The deadline for orders is 15th March and delivery likely in May. I will need at least one order to move the ACL version forward, it is exactly similar than the normal 2speed motor but just everything mirrored to fit the different side of the camera, so I will just make the extral casing and front panel different and mount the circuit board differently, otherwise it is the same. That is why I did not make separate prototype of the ACL version because, well, it is the same motor, just buttons in different order https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tXR6ep1cC1o

bad cosmetic condetion cameras may have moisture and / or mold damage. one wants to be extra careful with those and prepare to send it back if it turns out to be unusable. the price of those cameras is very good so there may be something the seller does not tell... my non-working parts NPR body was this way, I can only use it for taking dimensions for motor projects because can't be near it without gas mask, would get bad symptoms if trying to use it for filming

I probably mentioned somewhere that I am working on a NPR crystal motor project which would be completed later this year if there is at least 3 orders so that I can get my own money back from the machining and parts costs and R&D work. I have narrowed down the specs of the new motor enough that wanted to post a new thread for it. As with my other current projects, I am making the development work in steps and advancing to a new steps necessitates that the orders come in time and pre payments are made as planned to finance my development work. The basics: - a completely new crystal motor for the Eclair NPR. not a modification of existing motor, I am making this out of scratch - possible to make if there is at least 3 pre paid orders to finance the materials and research. I can't use my own savings on this project right now because need every penny for move in the Summer - the motor has internal crystal speeds of at least 24fps and 25fps, user switchable. There may be additional speeds if there is room for the larger electronics and extra selectors additional speeds would need. prepare only for the two speeds because the main goal is to make the motor AS COMPACT AS POSSIBLE for handheld etc. use and every extra bell and whistle makes it larger and more cumbersome which is why I try to avoid adding any unnecessary extra features - will be smaller sized than the Alcan motor. the exact size will be determined in Summer when making 3d printing tests of the body of the motor - price is 1200usd + shipping. I won't try to make it cheaper if there is extra headroom, will try to instead make it better if there is extra budget left. it is affordable as a new motor already and cheaper does not make sense for products which are meant to last for years and years of use - Availability: needs to be ordered and paid for in March2024 or absolutely latest before April 20. The final motors will be delivered in late Autumn, likely in October or November. Prototype available to look at after the Summer. You will get a good working motor which has the promised specs or more and which looks as nice as was possible to make with the budget, it just takes lots of time and budget to finesse the exact outer shape of the body so this is why there is no photos or renders yet. - body will be either 3d printed or machined from solid aluminium depending on how many orders there is. I will make it as good as possible with the available budget. if there is minimal amount of orders then a sturdy print should be fine and on the other hand would be much lighter than aluminium body - integrated tripod mounting threads, does not need separate boot/support structure. the main use for this motor is handheld etc. use where the small weight and size has best benefits but tripod use of course possible as well - either 24v operating voltage OR 12v if I can arrange custom bldc motor drives made and there is enought orders and the 12v drives don't make the motor considerably larger and heavier. - no shutter parking because it would make the motor much larger, heavier and more expensive. the NPR has a manual inching integrated and the goal of the project is to make the smallest and lightest motor possible for it which contradicts with shutter parking systems

the cp16r has this weird ball-bearings-embedded-in-the-gate-holding-the-film-better thingy which works fine when it is in good condition and is pretty unusable if it is worn out. Additionally the soundproofing materials have often deteriorated and may need replacing if it hasn't been done already. the electronics may work or may not, often the originals can be repaired but there is no guarantee how long the repairs will hold. Mechanics are relatively simple and well working but again, 50 year old camera is not going to run properly without CLA and one can't expect that old electronics to be super reliable and long lasting anymore. overall great cameras and may be cost effective but CLA is mandatory with all old film gear and you will need to calculate it to the total price of the project, it is not just the camera body but it is mags, cla, batteries, lenses and support too. The same with Eclairs, Arris, Aatons etc

Breaks my heart to let this lens go as it took years to hunt one down with the wide angle but will need money for a move later this year and frankly speaking don't have time to shoot with it at the moment. I would prefer this lens over the boring 10-150 angeniuex I also got but what one can do... It is in very good condition and includes the sought-after original wide angle converter. Kinor16 mount and PL adapter included. it can be fitted to for example Aaton LTR with the PL adapter (tight fit but works correctly and looks super cool with the huge wide angle converter) if being careful and of course works with the original Kinor mount too. 1100usd + shipping. Can take photos if someone is seriously interested

No, i didnt have time to work on it and sold it to fund other projects. No idea how and it you motor could be repaired. I am likely making a batch of 24+25fps compact crystal motors this year, it is possible to order one if it is ok that it is paid for in Spring and you will get the motor in November with the prototype ready after Summer. Will have to move around June so cant finish the outer looks of the motor before it but need budget for the custom motor drives and other parts in April latest. Price is around 1200usd +shipping and will need 3 or more orders to be able to make it

COLLECTING THE FINAL ORDERS FOR THE AATON 50-SPEED CRYSTAL GENERATORS. I can still build couple of these devices (about 3 or 4) before running out of parts and then need to discontinue the device. Order before 15th March, price is 290usd + shipping a piece for these last devices.

I decided I could sell my CP16R camera too. have to move later this year and figured out I don't have time to shoot with the camera anymore so it has to go. N16, the ultra rare video optics with an angle prism (no tap but you can figure one out by yourself), one good mag and one in mediocre condition for repair or parts. new belts installed, will include additional spare motor belt and mag belt. it is a test camera I used for developing my 1-speed crystal sync electronics and has a 1-speed system installed which will be fine tuned before shipping. Single speed of either 24 or 25fps, no shutter parking but inching button is easy to use for shutter positioning and testing. additional speeds can be inputted via accessory connector. I can include a CP to Arri bayonet adapter for using most lenses with the camera, or alternatively can include a screw locked arri standard to cp adapter. Can sell a 10-150 Angenieux with it too if needed. The camera has the cool-and-sometimes-useful gelatine filter holder set for using in-gate gelatine filters. Butterfly shutter. the camera could use some CLA to make it run really nicely for large projects but it works pretty OK in current condition. Please note that the camera has all electronics updated to my 1-speed crystal sync system so it does not have internal battery leaks etc. issues, the only original electronic component is the motor drive itself. everything else is updated

The cp16r is actually pretty ok camera and the mechanics are relatively easy to diy service if only have basic expectations about the end result. The issue with them is the original electronics which have started detoriating and need difficult repairs. By my opinion it is wisest to replace the old crystal electronics with newly designed ones to make it reliable. I designed a 1-speed crystal sync update electronics for this camera which I can still make even when was thinking of discontinuing it for low demand. Will finally need some gear ratio information about the 24fps geared camera to complete the software though, otherwise would refuse to sell... The Eclairs have more active community but they are more difficult and more expensive to repair. And diy repairing the npr may not be possible, it is unnecessarily complicated camera mechanically. I would not expect the quality from a diy serviced camera to meet streaming service expectations. Would need to go with a rental camera or professionally serviced arri or aaton

I think the biggest potential risk would be using recycled materials for set construction as they would very likely have something potentially harmful like mold spores and chemicals which were not yet forbidden decades ago. Almost all old building materials have something harmful in them. Solvents from drying paint and glue are not very healthy but they are often easy to spot from the smell

Did i understand correctly that the motor starts to run continuously immediately when power switched on and cannot be stopped? Dont know that motor but sometimes the power transistor controlling the motor or the transistors control circuit may go bust on a motor and that may "lock it on" continuously. Just a guess what it could be, can really be anythi g...but it it would be in power electronics then the possible fault could be easier to find and repair. Start from the motor drive side and try to look for anything faulty in the parts closest to the actual motor drive in the circuit

it depends on the exact year and workflow they had available and what kind of equipment they had. For example it took quite long before it was possible to output fullhd422 or 444 from a file based workstation and at first it was common to record back to intermediate film first. When it was possible to output 25fps in real time from a dpx workstation it was possible to record the stream to d6/hdcam/hdcamsr directly for mastering which is how some of the higher quality masters were done. Some productions used linear colour grading suite based on hdcam-type system and timed on that digitally, then managed it one way or another to film and video tape. film scanner can record at whatever speed the workstation can output but a video tape deck needs real time full speed to work correctly and if that was not available at some point then a tv master might have been record to film - scan to video style for a brief period before better equipment became available. that is time consuming and expensive though so no one in their right mind would want to do that if there is an option to output the digitally graded image directly to hdcam sr tape without intermediate film steps. So it kind of changed all the time to sum it up. when I was doing these things starting from 2013 it was common to grade in dpx if in lustre or from combination of dpx and prores or redcode raw files if in baselight or similar system. after the grade the stuff meant for DCP was often exported to dpx and converted in other software to jpeg2000 for dcp, the tv masters I think were made with only different colour space conversion and maybe brightness just very slightly lifted for tv viewing (brighter viewing environment) or just the colour space conversion. I think they outputted separate dpx with rec709 or if the grading system allowed, prores422 or 444. but the grade was essentially the same, sometimes only slightly brigher like couple of % but that was only done like 50% of the time because it was rarely needed at all. completely separate grade on different releases is because the movie is remastered and regraded at some point OR someone has screwed up the conversion along the line and the otherwise similar looking grade was ruined because someone screwed up. Prores workflows can easily have these slight accidental gamma shifts and changes if not being careful or being in haste and skipping steps but completely different looking colours are either screw up or intentional ? here in Northern Europe the budgets have always been relatively small and there was usually only budget for one proper grade, that is why they streamlined the workflow to get the additional(and lower paid) tv-masters as economically as possible. so no different tv grade and direct output from file based to tape it was unless someone paid extra for slightly brighter tv grade which was fully optional and in most cases not necessary at all for the viewing experience

As for why old stuff may look better than new one, budget is a big factor and hastiness the other. Cheap and fast and basic and Led definitely shows. Good modern camera just shows it even better

Here the blu rays were normally made from hdcam/hdcamsr or proreshq tv masters because they were already in correct colour space, sound mix and framerate converted to 25fps. This applied to all films including the imported foreign ones. The quality difference compared to separate workflow is close to 0 but one saves thousands on costs so everyone did it this way

FIRST FINISHED 2-SPEED CRYSTAL MOTOR IN ACTION. explaining the basic features and how it is used. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tXR6ep1cC1o

Finishing the first motors now. the first couple of ones are already sold but I can make more in couple of weeks. just send me a DM here or on FB or IG

old SR electronics may break up too every now and then. I would probably get the SR3 because it is newer model so the electronics are not that old yet, just around 30 years or so and not 50 or 60 ? Mechanically the old cameras tend to be fine if they have been taken care for in the past. Electronics are just, they never last forever and are not even meant to. Electronic components age and eventually fail no matter what you do... well made ones and well kept ones will last longer but not forever. Electronics are MEANT TO BE replaced in regular intervals, at least couple of dozen years or so but normally sooner. It is just the current situation of film cameras being low demand collectibles that has lead to people trying to struggle with aging antique electronics which can fail anytime. It is not about the quality or design of the original product, it is just that they were never meant to be used for that long in the first place and people just try to manage with them even a day longer just to save on the costs of replacing everything with something completely new which would on the other hand last 15 years without issues. it is like never changing the oil in your car... you may be able to drive with it for very long time before it fails but eventually it WILL fail you and then you will finally have to get it serviced OR buy another car which still has original factory oil inside ?

there has been talk of the difficult servicing of original Aaton electronics and in general it makes more sense to replace all electronics in a device with completely new ones if there is enough aging and malfunctioning involved. everything electrical breaks up eventually, it just takes longer if it has been well made back then instead of being general consumer junk like cheaper 8mm cameras might be. So the idea is to replace EVERYTHING electrical including the motor drive itself. Makes no sense to save some part of the old system because it creates potential compatibility issues and that old original part would be the exact part breaking up next which is just asking for problems. Mechanics are too expensive to redesign and replace so camera mechanics need to be kept as is. Of course one could buy a new LTR if the old one breaks but how long the new one might manage before generating issues too? and it would still have the old boring features (only one built-in crystal speed of either 24 or 25 , no display, etc)

I can make new control electronics to the LTR sometime but someone has to donate me a mechanically working LTR body for free, I wont rip my own working camera apart to take dimensioms from it ? I just need a extra camera body, I have mags and other stuff here. Final update electronics would cost about from 3k to 4k per camera + installation work and would have better features than the original ones, making it closer to xtr prod in electronic features. Takes from 1 to 2 years to complete

Artistic struggle might be the correct term... but that is supposed to mean only the mental struggle to create new art out of thin air. People often take it like the artistic suffering is supposed to be physical torture instead, especially in the film industry where most of the struggles are real world physical issues anyway. Making life physically more tolerable leads to better art even if the greedy indie producers try to convince otherwise :D

I think nowadays that suffering does not lead to higher/better artistic value and is completely separate from normal artistic processes. Dedication and good resources, on the other hand, often DO lead to better artistic result and thus it is favorable if those can be arranged somehow to ease the process ? Doing creative things as one's main job is mainly just frustrating whereas doing them as hobbies can be arranged to be both fun and more rewarding. Another thing is that 99.9% of people working in film industry / other entertainment are mainly handling logistics and technical stuff and have absolutely no creative control over the end result. leading them just doing a "normal job", just less paid and more uncertain than some other person in some other industry would do.