Eric Johns

Yeah, I haven't had the best luck in finding the less problematic ACLs. Especially with 400' French mags. I was about to ask that ebayer about the service history, until I told my dad about this and he said he knows a guy (ex army technician and filmmaker) who has a bunch of cameras in storage (and they're definitely well cared for), so before I make any final decision, I'm gonna see if he wants to sell or can give me any leads. Given the option, I think I'd choose an ACL II kit over an NPR just because it's so much lighter, but I dunno for sure about anything else.

I'm currently looking to get a 16mm crystal-sync camera within the next few months, on a budget of probably $1500 max... Most likely I'll get the NPR, actually I thought I was certain, but now I'm not. One of the sales I've been looking at is this ebay listing, though with only one mag, no handgrip, no eyecup, and having only used Super-8 and a Bolex before, I'm cautious, don't want to get screwed by my naïveté and end up with a camera that needs a thousand-dollar overhaul. Obviously I'm not buying anything without asking some questions (e.g. film test) first. I expect to be doing at least a little bit of run-and-gun shooting, so coaxial magazines would be nice, but being able to afford a tripod that can support my camera is a must. I've heard that the NPR's mags are hard to load, and tend to fall off easily. Of course, I've also heard that the ACL's mags fall off easily, so maybe I should just go with a CP-16. If I go with an ACL, I don't want to have to deal with the problems (weak motor, etc). I can't actually remember what it was I read that made me feel an NPR would be better for me than a good ACL II though. I know the CP-16 has its quirks too, and it seems so far like I might have more trouble finding a CP kit that I won't get frustrated with. So. Thoughts? Offers? Critiques? I've looked at posts like mine and none of the resulting threads had me making a conclusive decision, so here I am.

I got the screw off (it suddenly decided to move - I must have loosened it up over several attempts), but my overall problem with doing this procedure is my unfortunate clumsiness, so I'm going to try to get someone I know to do it or send it off to a repair shop. ~ Eric Johns

Hello, I have an H16 RX-1 model, and after getting a (Plus-X reversal) roll back from the lab, I noticed some ghosting. [Note: I'm sorry, but I can't post any frames because a.) My HP scanner flat-out refuses to accept anything other than 35mm still negatives and slides and b.) I'm not about to spend money on a transfer of messed-up footage.] After running the test mentioned in the forum post here (also, the ghosting in the first poster's footage is very similar to mine, only mine is much more drastic), I noticed that the claw on my camera is out of sync with the shutter. When I try to perform the self-fix outlined in that same post, I can't "undo" the plastic gear mentioned and lift it up to spin freely. When I try to unscrew it, it just turns the gear, and I can't figure out for the life of me any other way to lift it up. If anyone can help clarify what I'm doing wrong, please do. If I should just go ahead and take it to a repair shop, I'm prepared to do that. Thanks in advance, ~ Eric Johns