Dom Jaeger

On a projection collimator they are pretty similar - quite sharp but a bit hazy wide open, some drop off at the edges. Better contrast with the Zeiss. Apart from its speed, the advantage to the Angenieux is that it barely breathes (as opposed to the Zeiss which breathes a lot), and is about half the weight. It also has a minimum focus of 2 feet. The 9.5-57 is f1.6 (T1.8) at the wide end but slows through the range to f2.2 at 57mm. It's worth remembering that with older lenses the image quality is also dependent on the state they're in. With zooms in particular there are more things to go wrong. Those Zeiss zooms are pretty robust and seem to weather the years fairly well, but the Angenieux is a bit more delicate.

With the 1-R switch above the release set to 1 both the release pressed up or a cable release should trigger a single frame. If the cable's not working the mechanism might have been damaged. It's probably an easy fix. To set the ASA on the meter you hold down the button just above the viewfinder eyepiece and turn the aperture control.

Haven't seen it yet, no. I'm actually waiting for the prequel: Standard 8 Rumour is it'll be shot in 3 strip Technicolor, use heaps of tripods and take filmmaking back to... 1949! Can't wait! :)

Certainly not as annoying as a hackneyed dialogue phrase, but this sound effect has been used countless times: That compilation only uses relatively recent films, it was first recorded back in 1951. I have to admit it's a pretty classic scream. Here's it's history: http://www.hollywoodlostandfound.net/wilhelm/ I don't suppose it was used in that no-budget vampire movie, David? ;)

Perfectly round, yes, though I've seen them come pretty close with as few as 16. Most iris designs just form polygons or rounded polygons. In contrast, I'm talking about a very specific star shape that forms as the iris approaches wide open (and sometimes using many blades). Quite a few older lenses have it and I'm sure it's a deliberate design. The only modern cine lenses with this kind of iris are Cooke S4s (as far as I know). I asked Cooke about it but never got a specific answer. Fine if you don't need an aperture that's between stops. Or you don't want to change aperture during the shot. Interesting shapes though!

I've noticed that the iris apertures of some older lenses form a star shape as they open, perhaps to facilitate this effect at larger apertures?

Yes, I know. No offense intended. I was trying to be asinine. Quite successfully it seems. Your point is very valid. One of the problems with the many comparative camera tests being done these days is that the amount and quality of post work done can significantly change the outcome. A "fair" test would limit each camera/format to the same post budget. John Brawley's recently posted tests of relatively ungraded material showed quite clearly (I thought) how even S16mm looked far better than the RED MX stuff.

It's probably only 1/3 stop or less. The viewfinder prism is before the iris, so you always get the full f1.4 aperture in the viewfinder. Certainly no need to divert half the light which would be a whole stop loss. I exposed according to the shutter speeds indicated in the manual -1/35 sec at 16 fps - and the exposure was fine. Think I added a third of a stop to the f numbers to approximate the T stop and err on the side of overexposure.

Careful Richard, you're flirting with dark forces just contemplating it. From what I hear, even if you try a RED just once, you'll never want to use anything else. Like crack. For God's sake, it's "better than 65mm"! You'll end up a snivelling boob on RedUser "dancing around your keyboard" every time there's an upgrade. You'll start having "film is dead" parties and making movies that are entirely handheld. Just say no! :P

Yes 36mm or 38mm (or 1 1/2") were usually the telephoto primes or converters supplied with early Regular 8 cameras. Most of the fixed zoom models that started to appear in the early 60's followed that trend, going up to between 30 and 40mm. There were some longer primes made in D mount, or the various other 8mm camera mounts around, by companies like Som Berthiot, Wollensak, Kern, Rodenstock and Kodak (and likely others), usually 50mm (or 2") and 75mm ( 3"), but going as long as 150mm ( 6"). They seem hard to find, though. Angenieux and Schneider also made longer, interchangeable zooms, such as 8-48 or 6.5-52. The longest zoom I've heard of is an Angenieux 12-120 for the French-made Ercsam Camex.

Are you locked into your lens choice? Ultra Primes are pretty much the opposite of the look you want.. Something like Cooke Speed Panchros would be much closer. Perhaps a local rental house has a set that has been rehoused and PL mounted? Should be cheaper than Ultras (if you're renting), and you also won't have to spend so much on filters or faking it in post.

I don't know of anyone in Australia currently servicing them. One of my camera teachers (now retired) used to work on Eclairs and took me through an ACL some years back. I've only worked on one since, so I'm certainly no expert. My camera training and experience is mainly with Arris, Moviecams and Bolexes. But I have the service manuals, and they're relatively simple cameras. It depends what the problem is. I don't have any parts and I suspect they are quite hard to come by. Feel free to PM me about it.

Hi Gregg, I'm guessing you bought this head second-hand without a warranty huh? In all honesty it sounds like it needs a proper service. Leaking is no good. It sounds like the pan seal is damaged, and probably the hub it acts against. The fluid loss will cause that sort of drag pause you describe, if the drag unit isn't fully immersed. So the tilt may need a top up, too. Plus the other problems you mention need a look at. Yes I'm a camera/lens tech in Melbourne. 15 years ago as a junior technician I was averaging one O'Connor service a week, but these days I try to stick to equipment that doesn't have so much goo. B)

Hi Patrick. The first Canon Zoom 8 had a Selenium light meter, no batteries required. I've got one that is still quite accurate, though it's luck of the draw whether these type of meters still work. The Zoom 8-2 and 8-3 models had CdS meters with a viewfinder needle and used the 1.35v Mercury cells. There are some good references on-line about various replacement options, eg: http://rick_oleson.tripod.com/batt_adapt_us.pdf But I generally haven't bothered with my Standard 8 cameras. External metering is always a better option, just takes a minute longer, maybe a bit of planning. I've put alkaline 1.5v cells in other cameras and adjusted the ASA sensitivity to match my external meter reading, and that has worked OK. The voltage dip over time doesn't seem to drastically change the reading. Some meter designs handle voltage changes better than others. Wein cells are probably the way to go if you want to really rely on it, but again, a 50 year old meter stuck on the top of the camera (or even a TTL meter) isn't the best method of judging exposure. In some ways all the effort of getting the correct voltage cell is like putting a highly accurate rifle scope on a sawn-off shotgun. :) The Zoom 8s have a small run lever at the front edge of the body, and a cable release just above it. Single frame or continuous. From the testing I've done so far, they are among the best for basic Standard 8 shooting - simple, durable, reliable, a steady image, a bright reflex viewfinder and very nice, fast optics (at the time the fastest zoom on the market at f1.4). Every one I've come across has purred like a kitten, despite their 50 years. They're not the cutest cat on the fence though..

Can you solder? If it's a break at the pistol grip end of the cable, you can remove the switch (undo the lock ring at it's base) and desolder the wires. Then undo the grub screw clamping the cable where it enters the pistol, and pull the cable out. Then cut out the broken section, rejoin the wires with solder and put a bit of heat shrink over them. Refit it all, clamping the cable a bit further up from your join, so the join is inside the pistol grip. I'm presuming you've checked that the camera runs without the pistol grip, right?

OK, if you remove the bowl (8 screws with a 3/32 hex driver), there is a thrust bearing beneath held by a single hex bolt (5/32 driver). This acts on the main pan bearing within. If the top race of the thrust bearing (which you can see around the bolt) is freely turning, the bolt needs to be tightened until the race can no longer be turned with your finger. Don't overtighten it though. If there is sticky residue around the base, the pan seal needs replacing, and there is possibly wear to the hub (where the bowl screws into), which can also cause that kind of play. That repair would be best done by a technician.

The most likely explanation is a break in the cable, usually around where it enters the pistol grip body. (It's clamped by a grub screw, which was never a great idea). If that's the case, when you jiggle the cable at this point with the switch on you might find the camera stutters up. The other break point is at the plug. Unfortunately the plug is filled with resin so re-terminating it is a pain, and a replacement cable from Arri is ridiculously expensive - nearly $400 last time I checked! The switches themselves on the SR pistol grips wear over time and sometimes don't engage properly, but you would notice that. Electronically they are very simple, the switch just shorts two wires to close the circuit.

The 1030 is pretty rough and ready compared to larger versions like the 2575. The tension adjust knobs are always a bit stiff on O'Connors - I wouldn't worry about them being bent unless they leak fluid. The fluid is a very viscous substance with a silicon base, I think. It's designed to give similar drag at various temperatures and be non-corrosive. I don't know of a cheaper suitable alternative. If it's leaked out you will know about it - the exterior of the head will be very sticky. Play in the pan could be a number of things. If it has play when locked off it's usually because the lock-off is loose in its bushing, due to wear. If it has play when panning (ie there is a change in tension when you change direction, a brief looseness before the drag kicks in) then the drag unit inside is worn and can rock within the housing. There is a certain amount of flex in the whole head, especially the smaller models. The gasket seal is an anaerobic silicon sealant, which needs to be carefully removed before a new seal is applied. I wouldn't recommend trying to repair it yourself.

It's quite an interesting history, actually. Early still photography was always a much larger format, but in 1913 an engineer working on a precision cine camera for a company called Leitz invented a mechanism to test the emulsion speeds of 35mm cine film, which at the time were rather haphazard. His device moved the 35mm film horizontally, rather than vertically, so to maintain the aspect ratio he opened the gate aperture to make it 8 perfs wide, rather than 4 perfs tall, as in a cine camera. It took single frames, which were enough for his purposes. The cine camera never eventuated, but the test device led to the first Leica, and a revolution in stills camera design. For decades, older photographers disparagingly referred to the new format as "miniature photography". http://camerapedia.w...m/wiki/Ur-Leica

Reading up is good, as long as you don't turn up and say "oh yeah, I know all about that, I've read the manual..." As a service tech in a rental house who has seen quite a number of interns pass through, my advice would be: Turn up on time. Listen attentively to everything that's explained to you. Try not to drop stuff (but if you do, own up). If you're not sure of something, ASK! Oh yeah, and whatever you do, don't bring a broken camera up to the service department and say: "Hi, this needs to go out on a job in 15 minutes." :ph34r:

Like most of these anamorphics floating around on ebay it's a 16mm projection lens, so the focal length is around 40 or 50mm, and it has no iris. To use them for image capture you need to mount them in front of a taking lens. The front element of the taking lens needs to be smaller than the rear of the anamorphic (in this case 43mm) or you get vignetting. Most of these anamorphics will vignette anyway on medium focal length taking lenses and under. They generally absorb about 1/3 of a stop of light. As mentioned the coverage depends on the size and focal length of the taking lens. You can cover a Standard 8 frame down to about 15mm, a Super 16 frame down to about 35mm, or even a 35mm frame at 70mm or longer - the only requirement being that the taking lens itself will cover the format, and that its front element is not larger than the rear of the anamorphic.

In any professional realm, correct terminology is vital. The 'speed' of a lens is specifically referring to the amount of light transmitted at the widest aperture. The quality of the image is a separate issue. Sometimes a lens design will sacrifice certain aspects of quality to obtain a faster maximum aperture. So while lens "a" may open to T1.4, even stopped down to T2 it won't perform as well as lens "b" at T2, which is at its maximum.

Yikes! It looks like they filed it down to the glass! :o @Tim: Great info Tim. I thought you'd have the definitive answer. I wasn't aware that they worked with Aatons - that's good news.

The Kinetals won't fit anything but the 16S because they protrude too far behind the mount and on other cameras (like the 16BL) they hit either the ground glass or the baffles. I don't think they hit the mirror, but it's possible - different focal lengths protrude further or wider than others. I've never tested them with a spinning mirror! Because of their design they will fit when set to close focus, but foul as they approach infinity. It's a shame really, because they're such lovely lenses.

My anamorphic 8mm set-up: The 16mm anamorphic projection lens is supported by a home-made ring attached to a rod base I got with another camera (a Pentaflex 8). Same principle can be applied to 16mm cameras. Martin Baumgarten has a good webpage describing relatively cheap anamorphic lens options for small formats: http://lavender.fortunecity.com/lavender/569/anamorphic.html