Tim Carroll

I agree with Tyler, just shoot in standard 16 and crop in post. Have shot a number of projects this way. I usually tape off the fibre optics screen or lightly mark it with pencil to guide framing. Axel Broda used to do a really nice Super 16 conversion on Arriflex 16SR and 16SRII cameras, but it ran about $8000. He no longer does this work, and the cameras are no longer worth the investment.

Just to throw in a different perspective. Always been a big fan of the Arriflex 16S/B. Have owned the Bolex, and Aaton LTR. The Arriflex is really nice and simple, and I found it easier to hand hold compared to the Bolex, and a lot more compact and maneuverable compared to the Aaton. And with one of the periscope finders attached, you can shoot the Arriflex from many different angles. If I were doing what you're talking about doing, I'd find a good Arriflex 16S/B (which should not cost you $2K) and a Zeiss 8mm T* lens, and just have at it. Had this combination a decade ago and although I still have the 16S/B, I stupidly sold the Zeiss lens. Because it is 8mm (and make sure you get one with the T* coating) camera movement is not an issue. And you can get in really close and make some really wonderful footage with it. Just my 2¢ worth. Good luck with whatever you choose.

Haven't serviced a 16S, S/B, M or BL in over eight years. For a thorough CLA, back in the 2000's, it was near $1000. And as Dom mentioned, we stripped the movement down completely (his image shows some bearings still installed, all of those came out and went into the ultrasonic cleaner). Then we would rebuild them exactly as they had at the factory. The thing with those cameras is that each one was hand made, so each camera was rebuilt "hand made" with multiple adjustment points along the way. Very time consuming. But when the camera was completely rebuilt, it would "sing". For about four years, then you had to redo everything again. That's one of the drawbacks of "wet" cameras. Best, -Tim

Sorry not to get back to you. Definitely 16BL port cover, and you are right, 16BL and 16M mags are different and not interchangeable but the port covers are. Best, -Tim

I believe it is also compatible with the Arriflex 16BL. Definitely not the Arriflex 16S or 16S/B. Best, -Tim

OK, Thanks. There is supposed to be a plastic cover over those, and that means the camera is set up for European 25fps, as opposed to American 24fps. Best, -Tim

What gear set is in the camera? If you open the door on the camera body, there a two gears under a clear plastic cover in the center of the film chamber (behind the door) that should each be numbered. One will probably say 25 or 24 on it. Can you post what those numbers are? Thanks. Best, -Tim

The Arriflex SR2 is a much more refined camera when compared to the Arriflex 16BL. If choosing between the two, I'd go with the SR2. It's very difficult to tell, from your description, what is the issue with the 16BL. Visual Products in Ohio might be able to service it for you. Best, -Tim

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3Nh9BTMWj9M I'm a bit confused, when I look at the Logmar footage that is posted on YouTube, it looks great. But then when I really study it, and notice the sprocket holes that are projected on the left side of the image, the sprocket hole is moving around all over the place. If that is actually a projection of the sprocket hole in the film (and not some artifact from the telecine or some other process), that image is not registered well at all. The whole point of a registration pin (and the side rail and pressure plate) in a motion picture camera is to place the captured image in the exact same location, frame after frame, relative to the edges of the film and the sprocket hole. The fact that the sprocket holes on that test footage, seem to be moving all over the place, tells me that the registration is off. You can lay one frame on top of the next, frame by frame, in a very tedious, time consuming process, after the film is scanned, and you will get what looks like perfect registration. That is what it looks like was done with that test footage. Having proper registration, proper tension of the side rail, and proper tension on the pressure plate all adds up to having each frame on the film landing in the exact same spot, in relation to the sprocket hole/film edge, thereby negating the need for tedious, time consuming frame alignment. If that truly is a projected image of the sprocket holes on that piece of Super 8 footage, that film is not registered properly at all. Best, -Tim

I must apologize, little screw up on my part. Had an issue with the web site address, it is supposed to be: http://www.analogcams.com/Arri16S.htm The number one after the "S" was not supposed to be in there. Best, -Tim

Sweet package. GLWS

If your script has much dialog, an Aaton LTR or XTR of ARRIFLEX 16SR or SRII might be the way to go. That or plan on doing some creative ADR in post. If you don't mind using an MOS camera, or your film has little dialog, you might go with a Bolex, but again, the 400ft mags make a tripod almost a necessity. Another good choice would be an ARRIFLEX 16S or 16S/B, not too unwieldy even with the 400ft mags, or even an ARRIFLEX 16M or M/B, which is primarily a 400ft mag camera. Lots of options out there. Might also be dependent on what glass you can find. Best, -Tim

It depends on what you want to do. If you just want to slap a different turret on your 16St, yeah, maybe the ground glass and film plane will line up. But they will probably both be out of spec. So let's say your 16S/B turret is a little "longer" than the stock turret (and this is assuming your current 16ST is still at factory spec, which is a huge assumption on cameras of this age and with this many miles on them). And again, by a little longer, we're talking thousandths of a millimeter. If your 16St was exactly at factory spec, then the image you see on the ground glass with the longer 16S/B turret will match the image the film sees at the film plane, but both images will not reach infinity. If your 16S/B turret is a little "shorter" than the stock turret, then the image you see on the ground glass will match the image the film sees at the film plane, but both images will come up short for close focus. This is why, the proper way to set up a turret swap on a 16St is to change the turret, then set the FFD (film plane) to factory spec (again, within 5/1000s of a millimeter, about 1/10th the diameter of a human hair), and then set the ground glass to match the FFD. Then you know that any correctly collimated lens you attach to the 16S/B turret will focus at infinity, close focus to spec, and the image you see in the ground glass will be the same image projected on the motion picture film at the gate. Best, -Tim

Someone, maybe ARRI themselves, made a service manual for the Arriflex IIC. You used to be able to find them on eBay all the time (this was back in like 2006). But I would check around, there's got to be a few of them out there floating around somewhere. Best, -Tim

In the old days ARRI could convert your 16S to a 16S/B by replacing the lens turret. Not the individual socket, but the whole turret. Finding an S/B turret may be a bit difficult these days, and buying a 16S/B camera just to salvage the turret would cost as much as just buying a 16S/B camera, so it may not be too practical. As far as doing it yourself, I wouldn't recommend it unless you have all the ARRI service tools, especially a FFD gauge as you would need to reset that, and then reset the ground glass once you installed the S/B turret. Best, -Tim

I never ran across one of those little Schneiders that didn't fit my 16SR, but I didn't deal with Schneider lenses much so there could have been versions that wouldn't have fit. I mostly used Cooke Kinetal and Zeiss. Best, -Tim

You could put an ARRI Standard to PL mount adapter on those and use them with your 16SR. Not sure the 16mm will cover Super 16, but I believe the 25mm and the 50mm should be no problem. Those old Schneider lenses aren't the sharpest or highest contrast, but that price is pretty low and they will make images for you. Best, -Tim

If you can get a good later production Aaton LTR or a good Aaton XTR, I've found both of those, when properly serviced can be very quiet. As far as the ARRI cameras go, the quietest I've ever used was the 416, but I don't know how reliable they are as I got out of the business just a couple years after the 416 was introduced. But the 416 I used was even quieter than my LTR & XTR.

Mendes, What Dom is saying, if you get an Arriflex 16S/B and can get a set of Zeiss Super Speed primes in ARRI bayonet mount, I think that will give you very good image quality. If you can only get an Arriflex 16S, then try to find a set of Cooke Kinetal primes in ARRI standard mount. With the Zeiss Super Speed primes, if they are properly serviced and have no defects (cleaning marks, scratches, haze, fungus) you should be fine. With the Cooke Kinetals, even though I've always loved those lenses, a lot will depend on the samples you acquire. I've seen them in "all over the map" condition (remember these were made Sixty plus years ago). The ones that are in good shape produce fantastically sharp and contrasty images (better than the Zeiss, but that's just my personal taste), but I've seen ones in not so good shape and the images are not terribly sharp and the contrast is not so good. So check them out first before shooting an important project with them. Best, -Tim

Got to disagree with you there Dom. When an Arriflex 16S is serviced PROPERLY, you make sure all three turrets are set to the proper dimension. In my years servicing the cameras I've very rarely came across a camera (aside from one that has suffered physical damage) where the lens sockets were not all the same. In a case where one wasn't, I had a special tool that I could use to remove a fraction of material from any "High" turret so they all matched (you used the lowest turret for the control). And, aside from a camera that has suffered physical damage, in the amount of time someone could "wear down" an Arriflex 16S socket, the camera would be in need of an overhaul anyway, and the sockets would again be set back to factory spec. Also remember that ARRI instructed users to use the ARRI grease (supplied with the original cameras), or a spot of Vaseline to lubricate the lens sockets for use with Cooke Kinetals, Zeiss, and the early Schneider lenses (the one's where the lens barrel rotated in the socket). A properly service Arriflex 16S will produce images of equal quality to a properly serviced Arriflex 16SR, given the same lens and same film stock, and the Arriflex 16S footage will not exhibit image weave (that is possible with the Arriflex 16SR). Best, -Tim

That is TOTAL BULLS**T!!! I serviced those cameras for years, and any trained ARRI technician can set a 16S to factory specs where every socket in the three socket turret is SPOT ON!!! We set those cameras up so we knew exactly where the focus plain was (on each socket) to a spec that was less than one tenth the diameter of a human hair. We would even set the focus plain to be slightly inside the thin layer of film emulsion on the surface of the film stock when a DP asked for that. Anyone who says they can't set the perfect flange focal distance for a 16S should never be allowed to take one apart. And to your second point, it is critical, if you "focus by eye" that not only is the flange focal distance spot on, but the setting of the ground glass must also be spot on. Again, no problem for any trained ARRI service technician. If you have a property serviced Arriflex 16S and a properly serviced Arriflex 16SR, and the same film stock, and the same lens, you will get the exact same image quality from what you shoot. Best, -Tim PS: The one advantage to shooting with the Arriflex 16S over the 16SR (besides hand held being easier) is that you can get a bit of weave with a 16SR, where as the 16S has a spring running along the film gate to make sure weave doesn't occur.

Michael, That's a governor controlled motor, 24fps, that you have pictured there. It is controlled by a mechanical governor. Been years since I rebuild and calibrated one, but if memory servers (and at this age that's questionable) the adjustment on them is about 1fps, so you could probably adjust it as low as 23fps or as high as 25fps. There would be no way to adjust it as slow as 18fps. Best, -Tim

Only way I know to do that is with a Tobin.

Hey Charlie, Shoot me a PM and let me know what you have. I've got crates of ARRI paper and was going through some of it today. I might have some already, but would be interested in seeing what you have. Best, -Tim

Hey Charlie, was digging through crates of old ARRI literature, and piles of data DVD's that I kept for years when I was originally doing the site, and I stumbled across this image from 2006. Made me think of you and your "fetish" for 200 ft mags. ;) Have a good weekend. Best, -Tim