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Dom Jaeger

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  1. Dom Jaeger
    If the method you use with your particular camera and lightmeter works then stick to it. I'm just explaining the physics. Super 8 was an amateur format, manufacturers virtually never marked T stops on the lenses or explained about viewfinder light loss probably because it complicated things. Manual mode was most likely intended to be used in conjunction with the built-in meter needle, to overcome certain lighting conditions that auto-exposure doesn't handle very well, like strong back light, snow scenes etc. With your own findings, there are variables that can affect your results when using an external meter, as mentioned, which is why testing is the only way to really be sure. Once you move up to 16mm, lenses (particularly zooms) were often marked with T stops and if a reflex system used a prism that ate up some light, it was mentioned in the manual. The Bolex "compensated" shutter speeds confuse the hell out of a lot of people, but it's just trying to include the prism light loss in the exposure table. The Canon Scoopic is probably the closest thing mechanically to a Super 8 camera, its manual mentions that the lens is marked in T stops which accommodate light lost to the CdS cell and the viewfinder, taking it from an f/1.8 lens to T2.5.
  2. Dom Jaeger
    One of my (now retired) camera technician mentors used to say he hated working on Pathes. From your description Simon I can see why! Where would you get a new reflex pellicle by the way? Another old timer I know told me he used the thinnest microscope slide cover plates he could find and cut them to size, which I thought was an interesting solution.
  3. Dom Jaeger
    I'll have to check to make sure, but from memory they only just cover a Regular 16mm frame, so the vignetting is pretty noticeable in S16.
  4. Dom Jaeger
    In my experience this kind of issue is invariably due to either a short in one of the motor windings or occasionally a problem with the brushes, like a stiff pivot. Stopped at a particular point in its rotation the motor won't run, but inched on a bit it starts up again, and once running it seems OK. I've never worked on an NPR, but I've come across it in an ACL motor, and in other movie cameras. Depending on the severity (number of commutator bars affected) it can create slight speed dips which would cause a sync light to come on momentarily. Alternatively, if it's a binding issue manually inching the camera forward without film loaded should give you a sense of whether there's a mechanical tight spot somewhere in the intermittent pulldown cycle. But again, I'm unfamiliar with an NPR.
  5. Dom Jaeger
    Yes that looks like the cine versions I've tested, albeit with an Eclair mount. I suspect it won't cover S16.
  6. Dom Jaeger
    Thanks to everyone for the kind words. Next on the menu is an Arri 16 St! :)
  7. Dom Jaeger
    None of the Arriflex-Cinegon branded versions of the 10mm Schneider I've tested cover S16, although they've all been Arri St mount. From the above link it seems they also made silver C-mount versions possibly for 1" video cameras that would cover, simply branded Cinegon.
  8. Dom Jaeger
    I've just finished documenting the complete strip down of a Bell & Howell 35mm Eyemo: http://cinetinker.blogspot.com.au/ Very similar mechanically to a 16mm 70 series Filmo. These cameras have an uncased spring, so they can be very dangerous to dismantle. Personally I wouldn't recommend inexperienced people doing anything more than removing the front. But I figure if people are going to try it they're better off having some idea of what's inside.
  9. Dom Jaeger
    Also from Grahame Newnham (Fuji Velvia) in the UK apparently: http://www.pathefilm.freeserve.co.uk/ Even here in Australia DVD Infinity advertise 9.5mm stock, processing and transfer (Ektachrome 100D) on their website: http://www.dvdinfinity.com.au/9_5.htm And people say film is dead.. :)
  10. Dom Jaeger
    By the time he made his first TV series in the late 60s Cousteau had a variety of cameras at his disposal, up to a dozen aboard the Calypso. But when he started out in the 40s underwater cinematography was still in its infancy. For his first film, he used a spring-powered 35mm Zeiss Ikon Kinamo in a home-made underwater housing. Unable to find movie film in occupied France, Cousteau spliced rolls of B&W still photography film together to fill the 50 foot magazines, and dove without apparatus, simply holding his breath while he filmed. A 35mm Kinamo. See also http://www.cinematography.com/index.php?showtopic=48464 For his next film he upgraded to a French-made Le Blay camera, still spring-powered, but taking 100 foot loads. He traded in his f/1.5 Meyer Kino Plasmat lens for an equally fast but better corrected Zeiss Jena Sonnar, and re-designed the housing. A 35mm Le Blay. With the help of engineer Henri Girardot he eventually designed more professional underwater housings fitted with 35mm Morigraf cameras, which they named Bathygrafs. Probably fitted with Kinoptic lenses. Different versions allowed up to 400 ft loads, and speeds up to 32 fps. A 35mm Morigraf. Finally Eclair came to the party with their Aquaflex underwater housing, which took a Cameflex 16 or 35mm camera. An Eclair Aquaflex. Cousteau also experimented with housings for a 16mm Pathe Webo, and parts of a 35mm Bell and Howell Eyemo. Lots of great info about his early camera inventions at http://www.cousteau.org/media/history-of-cousteau-movie-cameras He was an amazing man, a true pioneer. Salut, Jacques-Yves!
  11. Dom Jaeger
    I thoroughly agree, David. Still photographers seem to get quite hung up on MTF, but I imagine most professional cinematographers would be more familiar with lens projection. As a lens technician I certainly get much more information from projecting a lens and using my eyes than from using MTF readings.
  12. Dom Jaeger
    Measuring the perceived resolution of a lens is a much more complicated and subtle thing than a single number. David linked to various sites explaining MTF (modulation transfer frequency) because that is the best empirical measurement system we have, and the one lens manufacturers use when publishing specifications on their lenses. It factors in both resolution and contrast, as well as centre versus edge performance. There are even different graphs for sagittal and meridional MTF, because lenses often resolve a line that radiates out from the centre of the image differently to one that circles around the centre. As a starting point, this webpage is a short but decent example of trying to extrapolate meaning from a test chart like yours using line pairs/mm and MTF: http://www.creativeplanetnetwork.com/dv/feature/dv101-modulation-transfer-function-sizing-lens-resolution/60198 It's worth remembering that this kind of test is actually measuring the 'system' resolution of the camera/lens combination.
  13. Dom Jaeger
    Buying a whole camera just for the ground glass? Wow, times have changed. I would have thought a S35 Arri 3 would still be worth something, certainly more than the cost of a new ground glass. I'd try contacting some old established rental houses that may be willing to sell off spare S35 ground glasses for a 35-3, or even rent you one. The rental house I work for could possibly sell you one if you can't find anything closer, though from memory most of ours have 2.35 markings.
  14. Dom Jaeger
    Looks like a high-speed 16mm camera, maybe a Photosonics 1VN with 100' mag, fitted with some sort of reflex Angenieux zoom.
  15. Dom Jaeger
    At the long end of a zoom the centering alignment of the front element to the zooming elements and rear group is crucial, or you get an edge flare/softness off to one side. Pretty common for old zooms to end up with this kind of aberration. At the long end the image circle is also at its largest, so the light exiting the rear of the lens is coning out and hitting the sensor at an angle at the edges (non-telecentric). Different sensors handle it differently, but it usually causes a bit of colour spread. Out of curiosity I put an 8-64 on an Alexa and at 64mm there was noticeable colour fringing towards the edges of what would be a S16 frame. It shows up more if the centering/edge flare issue is also present. The fringing disappeared pretty quickly as I zoomed out. On projection the lens didn't show much CA at all. There are plenty of good S16 zoom recommendations if you search the archives here, but the Canons (this one and 7-63) are often rated near the top of the pile.
  16. Dom Jaeger
    Or do want Standard 8, which has the fade ins and outs, the flashes, the battery-free spring drive and often the interchangeable prime lens options of classic spool-loaded 16mm with even more grain than Super 8! Or if you really want to be cool, 9.5mm, which nearly matches 16mm in image area and if you search enough is still available!
  17. Dom Jaeger
    Looks excessive to me, and noticeably worse on one side, which indicates a decentration issue (lens elements not perfectly aligned). I'm pretty sure you could find a better one. It would help to know the focal lengths and T stops. Are these all wide open? I just had an Ikonoskop A-Cam in the workshop for sensor cleaning, pity it's been sent back I could've checked one of our 8-64s on it for comparison. Some digital camera sensors seem to bring out colour fringing more than you see just projecting a lens, probably also depends on its degree of telecentricity, which wasn't an issue when used with the film cameras the lens was originally designed for.
  18. Dom Jaeger
    I wouldn't place much trust in an article whose only interview is with Shane Hurlbut talking nostalgically about the Primos he used to shoot "Act of Valour" and how "they vignette up to a 35mm, which translates to a 24mm lens. Now that is nice. There are so many different lenses that have been lost and need a re-birth." WTF? :blink: This is the end of Panavision and the only commentary they can come up with is Shane Hurlbut talking nonsense? Panavision have been in troubled financial waters since Perelman acquired them in '98. I remember going through a patch in the early 2000s working at the Sydney branch where every purchase, even a screw, had to be cleared through Woodland Hills. Nothing new here, though I imagine the digital revolution has hit them hard. Their big advantage is their lens inventory and the fact that you can't buy a Panavision product. Yet.
  19. Dom Jaeger
    I think perhaps the intended meaning was heavy and metal, as opposed to light and plastic.. I can fully appreciate your point of view, Simon. Like you I am far more interested in standard 8 and 16mm amateur cameras, particularly the well-made spring-driven variety. For those of us who like to pull these things apart and study their construction Super 8 cameras are often depressingly disposable, the first children of the plastic space age we now live in where something better is always around the corner and longevity beyond the warranty is an accidental miscalculation that displeases management because it diminishes the prospect of selling more new and improved units in the future. Sorry, "going forward". But I would never try and dissuade newcomers from trying out Super 8. Discovering the joy of film doesn't require the best quality equipment or a thorough understanding of cinematography, it just needs to be fun. For ease of use, wealth of shared information and availability of cheap cameras you can't beat Super 8. And the fact remains that plenty of these cameras still work OK even after 40 years. Remember that as technicians we can fall into a fetish of our own, of manufacturing quality. I'd like to comment on your 16mm camera observations but it would be veering way off-topic. Maybe you should start a thread about the Pathe WEBO. I always appreciate your camera dissections Simon.
  20. Dom Jaeger
    There's a free service manual available at the apecity site but it does require some deciphering: http://www.apecity.com/manuals/pdf/beaulieu_4008_repair_and_disassembly_service_manual.pdf If someone is willing to cover the postage costs and send me their faulty 4008 I'd be happy to document a dismantle/service procedure and post it on my blog (http://cinetinker.blogspot.com.au/). I have a soft spot for Beaulieus, and they're terribly photogenic. B) It won't be a Bjorn service (I don't have parts for a start) and I may not be able to resurrect the patient, but the two I have worked on both came good and I know a thing or two about servicing cameras. :) I'm rather far from most of you, but for Australian folk a camera service for the price of local return postage would be a pretty good deal.
  21. Dom Jaeger
    For the price to include a charger it's almost certainly lead-acid, the other battery packs they sell all specify either Ni-Cad or Ni-MH (which are usually twice as expensive or more). The main draw-back with this kind of cell is that they are bulky and heavy, and require a longer charge time. The link specifically says the charger is an overnight slow charger with an 8-12hr charge cycle, which is pretty standard for lead-acids. Their advantage (apart from the price/performance ratio) is that they are very durable and don't require much in the way of maintenance, meaning you can partially discharge then recharge them many times without causing 'memory' problems. Other cell types require a full discharge cycle more frequently, but with lead-acids you only need to discharge them completely once every 6 months or so if you want the maximum life-span. With occasional use (like to power a camera every now and then) they should last at least 5 years or more. Remember to store them fully charged though. As Phil mentioned, a 5Ah battery will nominally supply 5 amps for an hour, or 1 amp for 5 hours etc. It depends on your camera (and accessories if your running them off the camera) as to how much power you'll consume, but generally 5Ah should be enough for a day of shooting film. An Arri 16SR for example will run for over 4 hours off that, or more than twenty 400' mags at 24fps.
  22. Dom Jaeger
    Well Bill, unfortunately the camera was working when you received it, and I don't think you can expect to buy a fully serviced one for what you paid. In all fairness to the seller, you can't blame them if it stopped working after a couple of carts. It sort of comes with the territory when dealing with vintage photographic equipment. Often these things sit in a case for years, when they get fired up again they seem to work for a while, until the dried up lubricants, corroded contacts or brittled plastic components cause a failure. You have some experience working on other cameras if I recall? Why not open her up and see what you can do. I've worked on a couple of 4008s and found them much simpler to open and operate on than other high end S8 cameras like Canons. Being able to remove the lens is quite an advantage in that respect. If you're into refurbishing S8 cameras it's probably a good experience to have a go at a Beaulieu. The mirror/variable shutter mechanism is a marvellous little design.
  23. Dom Jaeger
    Hi Robert, I posted the ring off today as it happens. :)
  24. Dom Jaeger
    I've actually been photo-documenting some service procedures on older film cameras as I do them, but with 2 kids under 4 I don't have the time to completely overhaul a camera unless someone pays me to do it. And that is becoming increasingly rare. I did recently get to do a full overhaul of an Arri 16 St which I documented, and which I plan to put up on my cinetinker blog soon. If someone pays for their 2B or C to get a service I'll definitely document it. Or perhaps I should set up a charity called Cam Aid and become the Bob Geldoff of old movie gear, making the world a better place for obsolete camera owners. :)
  25. Dom Jaeger
    Some 2Cs had a 6 pin (Tuchel) socket on the body used for Pilotone. The motor socket is the one you want to supply power to. 3 pin XLRs were traditionally used for 24V applications though. Is it possible it's a 24V motor? A photo would help. The standard 3 pin XLR wiring is almost always pin 1 negative, pin 2 positive - very simple to solder an XLR on the end of a battery cable. Can't help with UK battery suppliers I'm afraid.
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