Gareth Blackstock

Well since you are giving it away.... Just joking. If you put it on eBay you might get a few nibbles... Or take a file to it and sell it as a super16mm upgrade kit.

Well down in Australia we do not have a lot of the volume benefits offered by many labs, but the businesses down here offer very competitive pricing. A quick research: 50ft Super8 costs: around $130 100ft 16mm costs: around $195 Bear in mind, postage costs feature 3 times with each transaction. Even then, Super8 remains a pretty viable and attractive alternative to 16mm. And if shot and scanned well, can look so sweet. And: maintenance costs, super8: $0, 16mm? Exponential to what you can afford,

The camera is definetly heavy, most kits come with a chest support for this adventurous enough to go hand held. For mine I had to buy a heavy duty fluid head enough to take 15kg. I find the noise no worse than a K3. I think modifying it to super16 would be prohibitive due to the magazine system. Might be easier to crop the footage in post. Randy, how did you come across your spare? It looks new?

Fair points, but all I had to do was type the camera into google and the first hit was: http://super8wiki.com/index.php/Pentacon_Pentaflex_16 which contains heaps of info, all about the camera, accessories, technical info, links to English manuals, etc. And it runs double and single perf film... I think a key attraction could be affordability of quality lenses. Sure, anyone can pick up a sweet 16mm camera body affordably for less than $500 give or take, but getting the lens can be a lot more money. With the Pentaflex you can get a quality zoom lens for around $150. Still pretty competitive...

https://www.ebay.com.au/itm/Movie-Camera-Pentaflex-AKA-16-Cinema-Flektogon-12-5mm-F-2-8-Biotar-25mm-F-1-4-T/173495922770?hash=item286529b052:g:2jEAAOSwUl5bAS-s It actually looks to be in decent condition, all you need is a 12volt motorcycle battery and you have a running kit. I don't imagine a budding film maker could find a better deal outside a spring driven kit. A third zoom lens could be picked up for around $150, a Pentovar. There are English manuals available free online, and the camera's are built like tanks.... Any takers?

Hello, This site has a copy, it should meet your needs. There are lots of copies on the net https://www.mediafire.com/file/nfq4j0dtzb2yz8y/arriflex16bl.pdf Also this site has almost everything! http://www.apecity.com/ have fun shooting with it. Gareth

When I got into super8 I looked into getting more out of film, more resolution, but 16mm cameras back then were still quite expensive, I could shoot quite a few short films to completion for the price of one camera. There were cheaper cameras, but the super8 cameras had comparatively better lenses, and, if super8 is exposed well, shot on a tripod, and transferred well, it is simply stunning on the smaller screen. And when you think about it, big screen film making is no longer the ultimate goal for film makers, the small screen, ie computer monitor, seems to be the exhibition medium for the future, so 35mm or 16mm resolution is no longer the most sought after originating format for small screen. Modern transfer facilities are finally capturing the magic that a projectionist See's, and modern affordable software is assisting the amateur film maker to do high quality post work. Super8 enables the film maker huge amounts of freedom, to take a shot, and keep moving, chuck in a cart and keep shooting, no reliance on a big crew with all the inherent delays. As always, the small formats are showing the way back to where film making started, creativity without being constrained by staffing issues, producers, budgets, lighting, set design, talent releases, focus pullers, boom operators, dolly warmers, wheel greasers, electrical cord straighteners, and catering. Point, shoot, print, enjoy.

Hello, I just today saw an interesting camera come up on ebay: https://www.ebay.com.au/itm/Movie-Camera-Pentaflex-AKA-16-Cinema-Flektogon-12-5mm-F-2-8-Biotar-25mm-F-1-4-T/173326793288?hash=item285b14fa48:g:2jEAAOSwUl5bAS-s Although it may not be as well known as many of the usual cameras suggested, the camera has a respectable history of being used professionally and by starting film makers, and for the price, it is hard to beat, comes with a motor, spare mags, two lenses, and with free postage thrown in! If I didn't already have one, I'd buy it...

Don't forget the staple tools of every film maker... Duct tape, plastic ties, and heaps loads of Velcro...

Great to see some cameras coming back on line without too much expense or pain. I imagine a few hundred spent giving them a good service would be a good idea, but I reckon spending that money on shooting film is a better idea. People love watching YouTube clips of recent super8 being shot, people aren't as excitable about service receipts.

I wouldn't laugh, I copied the design from a soviet era "hidden hat camera" design. Apparently Russians had strong neck muscles... Just imagine some of the early endoscopy camera designs... You want to fit a film camera where?

Gday, I blimped an 814 years ago and was very happy with the results. It took a bit of working out, and a couple of trips to the local shops, but it was cheap and worked great. Recently I had a few queries if I wanted to sell it, but with the lead lined material in it, too costly to post anywhere. http://www.mishkin.yolasite.com/super8-camera-blimp.php

If the spring is wound up all the way, maybe its over wound? Try a couple of swift knocks with the heel of your palm on the side of the camera.... Not too hard though...

Hello, Check on this page, there is a link that might be what you need. http://www.mishkin.yolasite.com/using-16mm-film.php Cheers

Although I may be the only person in here these days using a Pentaflex, I reckon they might be a good alternative, if one wants more than a K3 and less than Arri, Aaton or similar. I have found using one to be very good, aside from the shutter timing I am yet to fix, I am loving mine. They are built well, so far pretty darn reliable, easy to service, very nice lenses are easily available and cheap, the camera runs off 12volt bike battery, hell, I even found a cheap kit in Ukraine: https://www.ebay.com.au/itm/Pentaflex-16mm-Carl-Zeiss-Jena-movie-camera-for-parts-or-to-be-restored/122936059080?hash=item1c9f8f64c8:g:BIgAAOSw2GlXGmrp I think an old saying is well placed here: Buying an old camera cheap may soon cost in servicing and fixing similar to a modern one that needs less servicing and fixing. If you are happy to keep a camera that is potentially 40 to 60 years old in service, then try to accept the high costs of employing another person to keep the camera running. I am happy to work with older stuff, and maybe when I feel ready to justify the cost I'll go and buy an old Arriflex, sexy damn camera! Below is a link to some work I did on my Pentaflex, there're ugly and heavy, but easy to work on... http://canon-s8-repair.yolasite.com/pentaflex-16.php

Hello, thanks for the quick reply. I will ask the person who does the developing if they can do 50ft lengths. That might help the results. Cheers

Tyler, You mention pulsing being caused by developer not touching the film perfectly, can you view some below footage and offer a suggestion on the cause? Sorry to hijack the thread Jan, just a quick question... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WtmHX84aqnQ

I recently bought a similar adapter, upon attaching it to the camera it was a very nice secure fit. The adapter appeared to be well made. I bought it for a Bolex and M42 super takumar I have. It cost me $22AUD, I figure sometimes it is bad economy to go the cheapest, although when I shoot some test footage with it and the focus is buggered or the film plane out, then I will know I have to get a better adapter, and it did not cost the earth. Not all cheap stuff is poor quality I have found. https://www.ebay.com.au/itm/Pixco-Lens-Adapter-Ring-For-M42-Screw-Mount-To-16mm-C-Mount-Film-Movie-Camera/401222713920?ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT&_trksid=p2060353.m2749.l2649

Years ago I made a blimp for my super8 camera that worked great. It was easy to make, parts are available from your average electronics store, and I used a run switch to run the camera. for that camera I used a makeup case, but for a k3 just use a bigger case. The reason I used a case was so that when I needed to change a cart, I could just open the side, swap carts and re-seal the case. Easy. http://www.mishkin.yolasite.com/super8-camera-blimp.php If you did'nt want to use a box, just buy some heavy duty zippers, and make it out of material with the same sound deadening materials.

I reckon the bell & Howell 240 series 16mm might fit the bill, each wind lasts over a minute, nice indicator to show how much to wind, and pretty quiet. Just don't get the EE model, can't remove the lens, the other 240s take a C mount. I like using this one!

Hello, You don't sound like a very happy K3 owner! You do know you are meant to carry vodka while shooting? It eases the pain. I shot some test footage recently trying out a camera mount, and I thought the K3 footage was great, taking into account the expired film and hand processing, honestly the more I use the K3 the more I like it. https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=zpkhTULIsek Cheap to buy, easy to fix, simple to run, and if it falls over? It still runs!

Thanks for the replies, it has also been suggested to me the claw may not be engaging all sprockets leading to a weave effect. Looks like I better pull her down and adjust. Cheers

Hello, I was hoping to get some thoughts on a strange affect on some footage I recently got back. During most parts of the 100ft there is a ghosting or double exposure affect, initially I thought it was just the bright parts of the image, but it seems throughout to be the same, and it fluctuates a little. The stock is 7293, hand processed and pro scanned. I had the same stock processed that I had used in 2 other cameras that same day, and that came back fine. One person I already asked suggested lens but was not entirely sure. Anyone see this before?

Well I got the footage back, all scanned and I must say I am pretty happy with the results. The film used was expired Kodak 7293, which is tungsten stock, and i used it in daylight without any correction. The film was hand processed too. The samples I have uploaded are uncorrected entirely. I quickly edited them using the editor that comes with Win7, just so I could reduce the size of the file. The bike footage seems sped up, I was afterall doing around 120kmph. The B&H is best for the bike mount mostly due to having a full minute per wind, K3 only manages 27 seconds. The Pentaflex footage I am pretty happy with, a few tweeks here and there and I will confidently start a project using this camera. B&H 240 https://youtu.be/WtmHX84aqnQ k3 https://youtu.be/zpkhTULIsek Pentaflex 16 https://youtu.be/wC-C5XScJdo

Oops