Tom Hepburn

I have an Eclair ACL. I also copied this from a manual: "Should the operating speed of the motor fall below the working level, then a warning light on the side will come on indicating loss of synchronisation. This condition applies if the output power of the battery is low." Tom

I wanted to also point out that once you get a few roles of Black and White under your belt (should you choose to go in that direction), there are really nice and unique looks that you can achieve with a Red, Orange, or Yellow filter and Black and White stock. I always found the grain in double-x to be a little much for my taste, but you may like it. Orwo may have a version of Plus-x (my fav B&W). Tom

Hi Gautam, I've always used orange stick to keep the gate clean then compressed air with the can held absolutely level. The sticks won't scratch anything and work well, particularly on build up in the gate. Love black and white film and really miss 7231. Good luck, Tom

a bit OT here, but Kip, do you have any frames you could share of that stock?

Hi Francis, "switchable between regular and super 16" You wouldn't even need a regular mag if the ones you have are S16. If you want R16 you would shoot for that by looking through the ground glass (if 4:3 R16 marks are there). Otherwise you could just scan/transfer the S16 and crop it when you edit. Tom

Hey Christopher, As Will mentioned, I printed one out myself. I glued it to the back on my clapboard. Where it helps me is when I'm filming a person and I want there face to in crisp focus and I don't feel completely sure I'm getting it, I flip the clapboard and take advantage of the visual aid it provides for focus. Tom

Hi Alec, I'm not sure about the polyester question, but just make sure you double check the filter factor when setting your exposure. Good luck. Tom

Hi George, I have not used that film stock, but it sounds interesting. Plus X was my Fav. I would love to see some results when you get them of the UN54. I may be able to use my Black and White filters after all. This makes me a little nervous though. I didn't know this was possible and am wondering what it does to the quality of the image. "ORWO Instruction 4185 the UN 54 film can be processed as black and white reversal film and be used to produce direct positives." Thanks, Tom

"Today I timed a 100' roll at the 24 fps setting on the motor and it came out to approximately 3 minutes and 15 seconds, which is, I gather, 30 seconds longer than what 100' of film should last at 24 fps. " Hey John Paul, Welcome. How did you "time" it? Running in a projector? I'm not that familiar with that model but others here are. Tom

It'll probably be footage of the "staging" of the moon landing :D Definitely post if something comes out.

Wow, my curiosity is really beating. Probably nothing (or too old), but you never know. I love a good garage sale though- so consider the source. Tom

Is that right 10K for a conversion? Anyway, I bought some film from Fuji a few months back that was at a discount. I believe it was slightly older and I have yet to see the results. Transfer costs again, so I can't comment on the quality yet. It might be worth giving them a call. Also, I believe Kodak offers student discounts if you're a student. Good luck, Tom

I'd second the Eclair ACL II. As was mentioned though, a video tap is probably out of your budget. Also, I would make sure you service it to make sure it's working as it should. OR, see if what is being sold has documentation on when it was last serviced. One other think that affects the look is the colorist when being transferred and any post production adjustments one makes on the clips. Tom

Hi David, I've done it before, but with short shots-no longer than 10 seconds. The longer ones will drift and it is frustrating. It depends on how your feel about things being "close" as far as sync. Some people can tell and others can't. It was more of a test for me and even though I got close with it, I still opted to get a crystal sync camera when I had the money. I did it by changing the clip speed with the software. Good luck, Tom

You're right Will. I have mine (w Turret) and there is no "port" for the cable. You do in fact push the lever up for single frame exposure. Tom