paul gustavson

Hello Goran, I saw your post and was hoping you could answer a few questions for me if it is not too much trouble. I use regular 8 and super 8 cameras and was curious about the 16:9 aspect ratio of this camera. Has both the film gate and the viewfinder been modified? Is there any vignetting at any point using this lens with the 16:9 aspect ratio? Also, where is the camera located and what is the price you would like to get for it? I live in Portland Oregon in the US. thanks so much for your time and have a great new Year, Paul; pablogustav@gmail.com

There prices are very reasonable and fair I think.

I have purchased 400ft batches of 100D DS8 from Spectra films. With a minimum 400' order they take 16mm stock, reperforate it and put it on 100' spools. I do not see any reason why they would stop this service, but I will call them to confirm this. I have a Pathe DS8 and do not want to stop using it!

Thanks for that Andy! I used to frolic around there in the mid 80's; really brings back memories....We used to take shrooms and climb up in the canopies of the Cypress trees up on the bluff with "Dead Can Dance" or some other nonsense blaring on the portable cassette player "walkman" that were all the rage then. If you pick the right ones, you can actually lay up in those trees like a bed! There used to be a wonderful mechanical toy museum at the top with a camera obscura that was beautiful. It was a dark room you walked into with a huge white convex dish you would look down into that would be reflecting the outside view from this periscope above in the roof... quite magical. I don't think it is still there is it? Well it is great to see that folks still know how to enjoy themselves. It is funny, I thought I was king s**t with a new Nizo Integral 7 camera at the time and now over 25 years later I use wind up cameras from the 50s and 60s....go figure. take care, Paul

Hey there, I have a Bolex Multimatic that may be the type of projector you are looking for. You can load up to six 50' reels in it at a time and it projects each reel, rewinds it and then automatically threads and starts projecting the next one in line. It is not an endless loop, but you can keep taking out the cartridges as they are done and putting them in the back of the line. The cassettes are kind of a pain in the ass to load, as the end of each film needs a small plastic clamp to be attached to it so that it will not get separated from the reel when it is done, and then the machine can rewind it back. Bizarre fun machine though for those psychedelic/peyote/strobe light parties every other day that I have by myself! Good luck

Hey Tony; sent you a pm

Yes Marty, We are living in great times! I believe you are right, on the 12.5 Angular, the rear element is about 1/2 the diameter of the other two lenses, so that is probably the case. They all show vignetting, so they must just not be the right set up for this camera. I have a test roll to be mailed out for processing. I will try to find a zoom for it and maybe sell off the 3 primes, as these seem to very popular lenses for digital 4/3 cameras. I cannot resist these old cameras though, as I have a Eumig C16R I'm playing around with as well and it is super fun. These times are wonderful, as I am so impressed with these machines that with a modest initial investment and spending another $200-$300 for a complete servicing, they are good to go for the rest of my lifetime. It is hard to be bitter when faced with such a predicament.

Hey Marty, Yes, I spoke with Bernie @ super 16 and he thought that these lenses were not made for the Pathe, but just to give a roll of film a try and if it comes out well with the Angular lens, I know I will have to just shoot with a lot of guesstimation. The Angular really has extreme vignetting though, where you can't even really see the frame at all, just a little circle in the center. So, maybe I will not be able to use the wide angle at all; they are gorgeous lenses though. Jean, I am lover of old mechanical cameras and by no means a cinematographer. I am probably a 1/2 step above an annoying father chasing his kids around. My results are usually junk, but when something comes out nice, it makes it all worthwhile. I have had my Pathe DS8, serviced by Andrew Hayden with the pellicle replaced and the viewfinder cleaned and I have no problem at all looking through it and think it is living high on the hog compared to looking through my Heliomatic or old Keystone! I guess my reference point is so much lower than most folks on this site and if I was doing this for my livelihood, I would probably throw the Pathe away as well; but it sure is a helluva lot of fun. I certainly learned much by reading info. from your posts and many others on this site and I thank you all for that. take care, Paul

Thankyou Jean, I am very happy and glad for you that you no longer have a Pathe, for I would not want for you to be unhappy! Hey John, It's funny, because I have a Bolex reflex double 8 and the Pathe viewfinder seems to be of equal brightness to me; they both divert light to the viewfinder, anyway; I will take your advice and shoot a roll and see what happens. Thanks so much and take care.

Hello there folks, I have been having fun shooting in double 8 and super 8 for many years and just received a Pathe PR16-AT/BTL in gorgeous condition which I am very excited about to try the 16mm format. The camera came with 3 prime lenses attached; All Kinoptik Apochromats. A 12.5 angular, 25mm and 75mm. The literature that came with the camera shows the original bill of sale with these lenses when the camera was first purchased. My problem is mainly with the 12.5. When I look through the viewfinder and progressively stop down the lens, it seems to be vignetting severely. When I have reached the minimum aperture, I am looking through what looks like a small porthole with most of the frame blacked out! This also happens slightly around the edges of the frame with the 25mm as well. Can these lenses not be compatible with this camera? They are standard C-mount lenses so I am kind of baffled why this is happening. The lenses mount snugly to the camera with the recesses flush with the body. I have the DS8 version of this camera, so I am quite familiar with how it works. Any insight would be greatly appreciated!

Hello Jacob, Just ran across this thread; I do not know if you have it already but Andrew Hayden's email is: doubleopen32@uwclub.net. He repaired the pellicle viewfinder and meter in my Pathe DS8. I absolutely love the camera, but unfortunately I cannot give you logical reasons for that! I have many old cameras and enjoy and love mechanical beasts. When I wind it up it makes me smile; pretty ridiculous I know, but this camera buzzes when the variable shutter closes, bells ring when the wind is complete or almost runs down, performs ridiculous slow motion @ 80fps, is beautiful to look at and is great for a weight for tricep pulldowns. I shoot a lot in regular 8 with a bolex H8 reflex with prime lenses and will never get into a debate as to what looks better. I am just a hack filming my kids and annoying everyone around me! It all looks great if you had your act together that day or like poop if you didn't. I have gotten beautiful images on a Nizo heliomatic, Nikkorex-8 or Canon cine8 so who knows? Just enjoy yourself and revel in old machines that were built to last.

thanks for your help. I have used Dieter to repair my pocket bolexs; but unfortunately he no longer has them. I do have an email to JK camera; I hope this works as I can only use 25' rolls in the camera at the moment.

Hello folks, I recently purchased a bolex H8 rex double 8mm camera that uses 100' spools. I have purchased film for it but it is on a standard square hub spool. The spool stems inside the film chamber do not accept this standard spool. Does anyone know of adapters that are made to accommodate the standard square hub spools on these cameras? Any info would be greatly appreciated. thanks so much for your time. Paul