Gareth Blackstock

Well I had a look at the camera terminals, I will post the pic tomorrow, but the positive is the top, negative below if you are looking at the camera side on.

I will take a pic of my terminals tomorrow night, I marked my battery box so I would remember which was which.

How do you mean polarity? Which poles of the terminal on the camera body are positive and negative?

Hello, I did look into using rechargeable hand tool batteries but the cost was still high, in Aussie anyway. For all the AA batteries I am using the CP charger. Have had no issues yet, I figure that as the charger originally had to charge 500ma nimh batteries, my ones are also NiMH and should not be an issue. If the little buggers explode this board will be the first to know!

G'day, Regarding the battery set up, you might be better off purchasing 17 or 18 AA rechargeable batteries with solder tabs and connecting them in series, this will add up to the required voltage. They are pretty cheap and easy to solder together. The below link is an example of what I mean, you should find cheaper closer to you. Finding a decent battery pack thats almost 30 years old would be a fruitless search I reckon. https://www.ebay.com.au/itm/1-2V-AA-2000mAH-Rechargeable-Ni-MH-Battery-Tag/254140098566?epid=1363746036&hash=item3b2bee2806:g:cLQAAOSwxS9cniaJ The only trouble is fitting all the batteries into the little plastic box once you have finished. I am going to just cut a large hole in the side of my plastic box so I can fit all the batteries in, I do not care about making the plastic box look perfect, rather it just functioned. If you can fit all the batteries into the little box you are better than me.. see how you go, gareth

perhaps try these people too? I have used them many times are find their service to be reliable and professional. They are based in Melbourne, Australia. https://www.memorylabfilm.com/

Hello, I must say I am keen on having a look, although considering the money I spent on the batteries I will try to get my money's worth. I tried to find the wall charger but it seems either already gone or too hard for me to find. Any chance you have a link? Cheers, Gareth

Hello, I too am going through the motions of discovering what works and so forth on my CP16. I bought a belt replacement kit from Whitehouse Av and replaced the camera's belt, very easy to do. Here is the ebay site: https://www.ebay.com.au/sch/whitehouseav/m.html?_nkw=&_armrs=1&_ipg=&_from= There are also numerous instructional videos on youtube about the belt replacement process: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c-bP0NwX9-E https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dC5eBfLlIm8 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wKlRoavqqQM This video relates to inspecting the camera's circuit board: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mor9zlzvSag This link takes you to a youtube page with several videos on acquainting yourself with the CP16 operation and use, very handy videos. https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=60+SECOND+TUTORIAL+CP16R For manuals and the like, I do not have the links handy at the moment but there are lots floating around the web and available for download. Here is a link to the user manual I just found: http://operationalportal.com/wp-content/uploads/Cinema_Products_CP-16r_User_and_Maintenance_Manual.pdf Good luck and keep us posted, Cheers, Gareth

There are definitely some good suggestions here, I considered the drill battery solution but considered it expensive. Maybe I should have gone the AAA route, like they say, hind sight is 20/20. The batteries I bought already have the tab soldered on and they were expensive too so I gotta use them now. The battery pack should work well, I will be using a multi meter to check them, but using them in the past i reckon the connections are pretty good, and I think the CP slows its start for a second or two before reaching full speed. I will experiment a little either way, but I usually focus on practicality over looks, but I will try to avoid using meters of duct tape...

Hello, Thankfully in Australia there are still some highly skilled camera tech's. Cameraquip in Melbourne is probably the first stop. Dom is one of the technicians there, he has made up some very good blogs on camera repair and maintenance. Depending how I go with money and time, the CP might need a service later. At the moment I am just firing it up to see how the board is working. The battery packs came with the camera were ruined, all the batteries were oxidised. I bought some replacement solder tab batteries, but after soldering all the batteries into series, I could not fit the batteries back into the box, my soldering was too thick! Really tight fit. So, I am considering just buying some battery holders from an electronics store for around $2.80 each and velcro the buggers to the side of the camera. I intend on using the camera and am not too worried about keeping everything "original" I will be taking pictures and add some of the manuals I found online to my website, cheers, Gareth

Well it turns out the CP-16R I bought has a fair bit of history in it's previous owners. While taking things apart I noticed a name written on the inside of the cover, John-Blackett Smith. I did some google research and sent off an email, unsure if I would get a reply. Soon after I received this: What a surprise! I am so happy that my old “best friend” has found a good home. And, even better, will go to work again. The camera has quite a history. It was imported into Australia by a guy in Perth ... Alex someone, who was the Australian agent. The camera was then bought by the late John Bowring who used it as a freelance news cameraman at GTV-9. I bought the camera from John because I liked the 16:1 Angenieux lense ... one of the few that had no problems. The camera was used as my personal machine while working in Lebanon during the civil war and saw plenty of action and even spent 10 days as a "guest" of Hezbollah. There are not many countries it hasn’t been to. It never, ever missed a beat. The last that I used it for was when I packaged a current affairs program for SBS. Since then it lived in a storage unit. Eventually, it showed some corrosion so I felt it should get a good home. I offered it to many different organisations. No one was interested so I advertised it. A guy who collected film-based equipment bought it about 3 years ago. After that, I have no knowledge. I am so happy it found a good home. I know many people in the industry see the CP cameras as the Holdens of the industry, but My experience is that it is a true Rolls-Royce. I hope you enjoy it. Thank you so much for letting me know that you have it. Warm regards, John I did some research and it seems both John's were very active in the film industry, the original owner later became a famous cinematographer who helped establish, foster and pioneer the film industry in Australia, the second owner had long been active as a producer. So, needless to say the CP fired up straight away and quickly shredded a belt, so knowing the circuit board is mostly o.k I ordered some replacement belts from Whitehouse AV, ken was very helpful, letting me know they have lots of spares for the CP-16. I am very happy to get hold of a camera that has been used and enjoyed, as I imagine many cameras spend the years slowly decaying out of lack of use, or tortured by film students or delegated to the dungeon by rental houses. I imagine there are quite a few photo journalism 16mm cameras out there with quite a history... Nothing sadder than an old book that has never been read, nothing better than finding a book that is well worn, one can merely imagine the number of people who explored it's pages. Still haven't got the Auricon working yet.... I can't wait to do some shooting with the CP, and as it is a silent camera I can use it next to my Pentaflex 16. The Auricon might have to wait....

Thanks for the feedback, I should have under exposed a stop, but I will enjoy altering the footage on fcp and virtualdub. I also have to test shoot some old Ektachrome to see if its fit for a project, got about 2000 feet sitting waiting... Stil, I am pretty happy with the images from my pentaflex.. Cheers, Gareth

Hello, I don't suppose you took any pictures of the work you did while working on your camera? It seems that while there are quite a few Russian kits around, due to the lack of instruction manuals or "how to" books, and that there are not many being used, most people are probably scared off getting Russian equipment. If it was not for Olex being able to service the cameras and offering know how on the sorts of things one cannot find in books, perhaps no one would shoot with Konvas or Kinor. For instance the varieties of Russian mounts probably scares off a few people, but then again, there is plenty of room for confusion with western mounts and lenses. I hope more people use them, even take pictures and describe in detail how to maintain and fix bits, after all, film makers were fixing cameras themselves long before service shops emerged. cheers, Gareth

G'day, After recently buggering up my camera's shutter timing and shooting some ghosting footage, I finally got around to correcting the issue and after shooting some Kodak 50D with it I am pretty impressed. The scanned footage has not been stabilsed or colourised, basically straight off the scanner with ProRes 444. The footage was hand processed, one can tell here and there, but still a great job I reckon. The lens is a 12.5mm Carl Zeiss, the shots are around 10 seconds. I had to use VirtualDub2 to even play the footage. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6xsfx0hifG0 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HJzIg7PBgIM https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5YV3Zc0-zgI https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FL2pvfpOgJE Aside from the weight of the camera, I am liking it more and more, great registration, no torn film, easy to load, and cheap to buy. I am looking forward to shooting a bigger project soon. Gareth

Hello all, I recently bought a CP-16R off a popular auction site for a steal, less then $250! I thought it would go for much more, sweet lens but no battery or charger , and as I am yet to collect and inspect the camera, no idea if it works, but for less than $250 a wee bit of TLC might solve any issues. I have do e a little research and it seems the camera certainly may have some foibles, but I love to tinker, and I have a mate who is a borderline genius who loves old electronics and solving problems, seems a match made in heaven. Seems every CP-16 should have an electronics guru in their support crew. Can't wait to collect camera and test it out. I also bought an Auricon pro 600 from the same seller a week later, full kit for less than $200! Can't wait to play with my new toys, just have to work out how to smuggle them into the house without my wife finding out.... The auricon pic is off the net, mine looks exactly the same

Hello, You bought the camera I was almost tempted to buy, but I figured I have enough camera projects on the boil. From what I understand, using lithium grease is the way to go, unless your service manual states specific lubricants. For instance I think arriflex use a specific arriflex lube. Take lots of photos, and wait for someone to jump on the chat who knows more... Gareth

Thanks for such an informative write up Aapo, some really good info for potential camera buyers. It is hard to get such info, Olex is another forum user with a breadth of knowledge on Russian cameras. The things that most potential users are wary of are just the things you have offered, lens availability, correct mounts, tips about motors, magazines and specific camera foibles. I suppose with the internet auctions the same old dictum's are very applicable, do your research or risk getting stung accidentally, and if a camera seems too cheap to pass up, there's probably a very good reason... which is the same for all camera's to differing degrees.

G'day, Well I had a look around on a popular auction site, and I must say I was not able to find any cameras within the price range you suggested, I did find some that were in very good condition and ready to shoot: Bolex EBM $1990USD Canon Scoopic $999 USD Krasnogorsk 3 $750 USD Arriflex 16BL $3250 USD Beaulieu R16 $2222 USD CP-16A $1900 USD Compared to these prices, a cheaper kit from Russia remains pretty attractive. I understand that from the point of view of someone who is earning money from shooting film, buying the best you can because when you're paid to shoot you don't want your camera breaking down is logical. If I could charge for filming for people I reckon I could buy one of the above kits and even afford to get it serviced. But I am an amateur, I still try to keep good equipment and shoot professionally, but I don't get paid. And considering the number of members of this forum, I would be very surprised if more than 15% or 20% could state they earned their living entirely from film work, maybe 10 years ago, definitely 15 years ago perhaps, but I am inclined to think that the future of film shooting will be done mostly by amateurs, not paid. And I think the majority of those film shooters will be happy to put extra effort into fixing or maintaining cameras or shoot according to equipment limitations, if it means getting to shoot film. A fairly simple equation, $500 on kit, $1000 on film = short film master piece. or $1500 on kit, and delay shooting film while saving for more money. Just my thought, probably wrong..... Gareth

I had a look over Olex's Russian camera page, interesting reading about the work he does to improve and update/repair some of the camera's weak points. https://sites.google.com/site/olexserviceskinor/home The cameras I think will remain attractive to a few people as they offer a cheap way into 16mm and many old Russian lenses are becoming quite sought after. A few people out there do not mind putting a bit of effort into making their camera work well. I suppose not many cameras were able to replicate the B&H Filmo "bomb proof" reliability and durability....

G'day, what about Kinor, there seems to be many positive remarks about Kinor, Konvas info is quite hard to find. What experiences have you come across? Are there any inherent faults that you know of for future buyers to be wary of? cheers, Gareht

Here is a great example of quality 16mm gear going cheap, if postage was not such a killer to Oz, I would buy it myself! https://www.ebay.com.au/itm/16mm-Soviet-movie-camera-SP-16-magazine-Konvas-Kinor-Arriflex-Eyemo-AKS-AKC-CP/192738101731?ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT&_trksid=p2060353.m1438.l2649 https://www.ebay.com.au/itm/KMZ-Kinor-16-SP-Soviet-Russian-1961-Professional-16mm-Cine-camera/183615491213?ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT&_trksid=p2060353.m1438.l2649 https://www.ebay.com.au/itm/Movie-camera-Konvas-KSR-2M-with-Crystal-Synchro-motor-17EP-16APK-Mattebox-5-Mags/323397686825?ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT&_trksid=p2060353.m1438.l2649 For those that want to try 35mm! https://www.ebay.com.au/itm/KONVAS-1KCP-movie-film-camera-w-25M-8M-motor-28mm-50mm-135mm-lens-woody-box-grip/312149938239?ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT&_trksid=p2060353.m1438.l2649 There are some seriously nice kits coming up very cheap, and although most have unique lens mounts, lenses for these cameras are very cheap considering the alternatives. All it takes for the adventurous film maker is a daring heart, a touch of confidence, and thanks to Google translate, an English user manual!

[quote name="Tyler Purcell" post="505885" timestamp="1546545503" The Bolex has a very similar auto loading mechanism. You slide a lever, the auto loop positioners go into place, you push the film into the first sprocket and it auto threads. It's a very fast camera to load, unlike the K3... uggg. https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=pYPiKeoh0BA I reckon the K3 is sweet to load, you want a complex and convoluted film path? Try the Pentaflex.... Punishing, thank god for its magazines

Hello Luigi, PM sent.

https://www.ebay.com.au/itm/Pentacon-Pentaflex-AK16-Filmkamera-Carl-Zeiss-Biotar-cinema-movie-GERMANY-16mm-/323584478652

G'day, I have posted the camera for sale on the following pages, I can offer preferential treatment for forum members, will be on postage destination not price sorry, I like the camera so much I might even keep it. Cheers, Gareth https://www.ebay.com.au/itm/283302785596?ul_noapp=true https://www.gumtree.com.au/s-ad/ararat/other-cameras/canon-1218-super8-camera/1203912698?utm_source=transactional&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=manage_ad