Aapo Lettinen

normally the Bolex uses the same winding than most other cameras, EIB (emulsion in, B-wind) . if wanting to load the camera "the wrong way" but still get an image like I do then you would need EOA (emulsion out, A-wind) . If having the normal 2R (two side perforations) film with normal EIB winding and loading it the wrong way you would have similar condition to EIA (emulsion in, A-wind) which does not work in any case because the backing of the film (remjet in this case) would then face the lens and not the emulsion side where the image would form.

bolex h16 can be loaded "the wrong way" meaning that the film would unspool counterclockwise from the feed spool instead of the normal clockwise direction (the film coming to the feed side sprocket from the top instead of from the right) . I actually like to load one of my Bolexes like this because the feed side friction is too high on that camera and the image would be unstable if the film would be fed from the "right" direction. However, I use the normal single perforated film so I have to intentionally spool the film differently and load it this way. With 2R film it is possible to load the film the wrong way by accident just like you described if not checking how the emulsion side is positioned on the film roll and how the film unspools from the feed roll. it is very easy to differentiate the emulsion side from the remjet side (emulsion is matte brownish or greyish depending on the emulsion type and the remjet side is completely black and can be a little shiny depending on the film type) . Emulsion side towards the lens and you are good to go

sometimes if it's a small and narrow river you can get a rope hanged across the river and use it as a reference point when trying to stay on balance and to get the gear around more easily. If it's a steel wire or similar which does not flex much you can try to tie the camera to it too and hope that if you fall over the camera would stay high enough on the rope to stay out of water. the splash bag would be good too if it's possible to use them

you can lose your footing very easily because you can't see clearly what is under the water and will easily step on uneven surface. In addition, all the underwater surfaces tend to be extremely slippery due to algae etc. on them. I like to have a tripod with me when shooting in shallow water so that I have some kind of reliable reference point to lean on so that I don't fall over when shooting... when moving around I use the tripod as a "walking stick" when finding my way around the rocks and other stuff which may lie under the surface. Couple of times I had close calls with this tripod method when the river was very shallow like 1.5ft on the shore/edges but deepened very suddenly to like 5 ft or so in just like two steps ? very easy to lose your balance even if using the camera and tripod as a walking stick

a good rule of thumb is to start with the rough generic time suitable for any other "normal" film type and check out what the outcome is, then adjust from there. most available b/w films create a perfectly usable image if developed something around 5 to 6 minutes in a fresh developer so I would consider it as a generic base if handling unknown film type. there is basic developing suggestions in the datasheet of this film type... you should always check the datasheets first when trying out new film types. Seems that they suggested 4 minutes in D97 so I would try 4 or 5 minutes in coffenol and would adjust according to the first results

I would definitely test the flare trick first to see where to optical axis of each lens is located on the ground glass (shine a bright flashlight to the lens and move the camera a little to all directions to see from the flare moves where the optical axis is situated on the gg image. The flare always goes from side to side via the optical center ) . after finding it for each lens, you can compare if the 20mm has different centering or not. If the optical center is on the same spot on the gg for all the lenses, then the issue is the camera and not the lenses and the 20mm just shows the issue more clearly because it has smaller image circle than the rest of the lens set (which don't show any issue until they flare or you move the camera a lot so that you see the off-center issue from the parallax )

do the other lenses have the image circle centered on the ground glass and video tap? if so, then the mount on the lens side would be the problem. If the other lenses have similar style off center vignette, then there would be something wrong with the camera's gg setup. I did not get the photo working previously but now when looking at it, it definitely seems something is off center. if the image has flat focus plane across the frame then it is more likely to be a camera gg centering problem I think. If the focus plane is tilted, then I would suspect the lens's mount to be the issue. the other lenses likely have larger image circle and thus it is more challenging to see if they are centered or not. A trick I like to use is to use a very bright flashlight to create flares with the taking lens and I can see from the flares where the optical axis of the lens is located on the groundglass image. I would test that with the other lenses if you have time, it is easy to see this way if the issue affects all the lenses (so that it would be a camera issue, not a lens issue) or just this 20mm one (which tells you that the lens has mount issues which can be corrected by collimating)

yes it seems they did all kinds of mods and stuff. My LTR7 has the video tap port added (end the beamsplitter adjustment screw on the side too though the pellicle itself is broken) . it is S16 with hard PL mount but the speeds, viewfinder etc. are original Note how the battery connector and battery lock, etc. is reversed to make room for the video tap port

did you test the lens also on actual film negative or just the viewfinder and video tap? sometimes lenses may vignette more in the viewfinder than on the actual film if the rear element protrudes a lot (is close to the film plane) so that the light rays (image) on the edges of the frame come from a lower angle than with other lenses (for example retrofocus ones where the rear element is further away from the film plane) . this may show differently on the viewfinder than on the actual film depending on the ground glass design etc. So I would definitely test it with actual film in the camera... if the lens was fine on the Amira then it will most likely be fine on the film too even if the viewfinder image has darker edges (typically film is fine with lower angle rays and they tend to be more of an issue with digital sensors which may reflect the edge rays more than film does if the ray angle is low. But optical finders can be anything and especially the older ones may be picky about the ray angle)

it is likely an early Ltr7. my C4XX is still an 7 but it has the video tap port so the xlr power connector is moved down to make room for the video port. the gate looks the same except mine is S16 modified. the speed selector and the light meter selector on the bottom look the same as well as the lights and 4pin connector. So I would say it is a very early ltr7

people are afraid of ruining half of their footage by accidentally changing the film side one extra time. additionally some people are seriously afraid of threading film to a projector or a camera and they are too conscious how expensive even that short film spool is. So I think the main reason is the fear of losing footage and money by making a mistake. To them it seems much easier to use a Super8 cassette which does not need threading and the actual film does not need to be touched when preparing the camera for filming. Personally I am only shooting Double8 in black and white reversal and developing by myself because it is the cheapest option to get any kind of film footage. The 8mm colour negative is relatively expensive so if wanting to shoot colour film I am instantly switching to 16mm for it having much better price-quality ratio and more reliable results. Personally I would be very interested to get very inexpensive black and white negative in Dual8 format. That is a product which is not currently available and it would be super affordable to shoot because negative b/w developing is very easy and fast compared to the reversal process and the chemicals cost much less and the process is more reliable (the diy b/w reversal process can easily fail resulting you losing all the footage in the batch. the negative process is very difficult to accidentally ruin so completely that you would not get any kind of image on the film)

for example here seems to be some ex-rental Video30 heads for sale https://elokuvakonepaja.com/product/fluid-head-sachtler-video-30-ii/

something like the old sachtler video25 or 30 should be great for this and can be purchased used. that should give you a good mid-range kit without costing a fortune and for bigger productions you can always rent if needed

I thought it was still commenting on the print film jamming issue because no one uses polyester based BH negative in movie cameras ( so polyester film jamming = polyester KS long pitch film jamming)

if it has register pins it will definitely jam unless one is specifically modifying the camera to tolerate both the wrong perforation shape AND the too long pitch between perforations. They are both a serious problem. There is, though, the possibility to use a Soviet 35mm camera like Kinor35N in its original state because Soviets actually used the KS perf and long pitch negative film in their cameras and the Kinors were originally built for "print stock" specifications

print stock has KS perfs and long pitch when the normal camera negative has BH perfs and short pitch. If your camera has register pins it may damage the camera a lot if trying to run this type of stock through it, especially if it's polyester base stuff (the reg pins not landing on the perf holes and the holes being of wrong shape so that the pins can't actually fit into the perf holes without tearing the film and damaging the pins. may cause so much resistance that you can't even run the camera at all for the motor not being powerful enough) I am regularly shooting sound negative and stills b/w stocks on Konvas cameras and they work fine with them. A camera like this which has a simple pulldown and enough tolerances can handle multiple types of stocks and the wrong pitch does not matter that much either because the camera can compensate for it a little. I am sure that cameras like Arri2c and Cameflex can handle KS long pitch just as well

personally I like to re-use dummy rolls by using a rewinder and cleaning the film when winding it back for reuse. for loading practicing this works perfectly well and you will only need one dummy roll (until you use it enough times that it needs to be replaced because of the film base cracking or perforations damage etc). I would use a shorter rolls like between 50ft and 200ft for loading practicing and then have another full 400ft roll which is only used for pre-shoot mag tests to see that the takeup works correctly with full loads and the speed is accurate all the time etc. Then couple of short unused rolls for scratch tests.

it is true that in-gate filter gels easily show dust which can go undetected on the set because it does not show in the viewfinder. additionally keeping the filter perfectly flat to avoid distortions needs care. But in-gate ND filtering is definitely possible with 35mm movie cameras, it is just rare because people are afraid of the dust buildup on the filter

the Cameflex has some kind of slot too though I don't remember if it was for in-gate gels or behind the lens gels

Some cameras DO have in-gate gel filter possibility. I remember the Arricam ST and LT having it and maybe the 435 too. If I remember correctly, the CP16R has some kind of filter possibility in the gate too if one is handy enough

the current state of the system looks like this. I will improve the design a lot but the basic idea is the same, having a external box with speed selectors and xlr power , a basic display and so on

I will need to change the 15EPSS crystal design a little which will take couple of months. Will post images in November latest

multiple small smoke machines and foggers is often a better choice than one big unit. You need to spread them around to get multiple layers of fog to get it look nice. Sometimes you just need the big machine if it is for example windy... but I would go with the smallest units which can produce continuous smoke / fog and then get one bigger one just in case you may need it for one shot

it is pretty common here that the crew contact info is a compeletely separate one page / two page document and the call sheet may only list the crew names and the cast names of the day but nothing more. Often the sheet has the crew contact info on the second page / backside of the sheet or at least the HOD phone numbers. Well, you MUST give out at least some contact info to the crew anyway. it is a living hell to try to work on a set where you can't contact the Location Manager for example

and yes, if you are working on the set you should get at least some kind of call sheet either via email or on paper. If they have unnecessary information printed on the sheet which they don't want you to see, then they should change the sheet. It is meant to be the work schedule of the day and it is pretty challenging to do one's job if you don't know anything about what should be done and when. It is also very necessary document if the days go overtime and you need to fight for your overtime compensations because the call sheet shows what hours were agreed on and when the day was supposed to start and end