Francis Elvans

Chris, Jean-Louis and Robert, Thankyou for your most informative responses and technical advice. Chris I am on the look out for an EL particularly after reading these responses, however I am still somewhat acquiring funds, I understand ebay has good bargains for this sort of thing quite often (though not without risk). If you are not in the UK I fear shipping would be un-economical towards the whole project. I am glad to know these are good cameras and that one would prove a good investment for me as far as the development of my skill in cinematography. Once again thanks for your help, Francis

Hi, I just have a couple of quick questions I hope you wouldn't mind helping me out with, Ive searched the forums and the internet but I cant quite find exactley what I'm looking for. Can the Bolex EL be used hand held? If so does it accept a grip like the EBM or the older style pistol grip? When it comes to operating the EBM and EL am I correct in understanding that you have to press and hold a trigger to run the film? That seems strange to me as how can one operate a tripod, focus the lens and zoom etc whilst depressing a button, is there really no simple switch? I am after one of these two cameras is there a distinct advantage of one over the other (EBM/EL)? Do you need a seperate battery for the EL, or is it built in? Many thanks for all your help, Francis

Thanks for the reply Adrian. I contacted scanyourfilm and thankfully they receive and post to the UK, it will still be cheaper than an HD telecine from a london lab I think so many thanks for that tip off! I had another question which is: If I wish to record a soundtrack seperately from the camera (as the camera will likely have no sound output) is it really just as simple as recording it onto a track, imputing into an editor (NLE?) and matching them up on the timeline. I understand the sync might stray off but this could be accounted for in the editor could it not? What is the best program for sound recording? If I had Avid could I just record onto that and mix the sound and visuals without having to import sound which has been recorded on a seperate program? Thankyou for your time, I hope these do not seem to elementary questions, Francis

Hi there, I have been involved in still photography for a while, using mostly film. I always planned to move along to motion picture and a couple of months ago decided this should be sooner rather than later. Unfortunately despite alot of reading there are one or two things I'm not quite sure about, I apologise for the perhaps silly questions. Considering that I am a student (needless to say not a film student) and therefore don't have a good budget what is the best value for money and easiest to hadle telecine transfer? All I wish to do at this early stage is shoot film and edit in an editing program myself on a computer (I will probably get Avid for this, though ive just heard about the infinitely cheaper lightworks)and end up with a final product that is just a digital file that I could transfer myself if I wished onto a dvd or other appropriate format. From what I gather the telecined material can come in the form of various kinds of tape, but how do I then get this onto my computer? That involves another stage which I would rather do without. I have also read that it can come in the form of a 'DNxHD' is this a digital file that can go straight to my editing program without a tape? Do all telecine labs offer this? It may be that your suggestion involves some compromise in the visual quality of the outcome at the advantage of ease and price, if this is so please can you tell me what the most ideal process would be, since I have seen some breathtaking examples of 16mm and would like to achieve that level when I need to. If you can mention any specific labs with regards to format I am in London, well I will be anyway. Many thanks for the help, Ive enjoyed reading this forum for quite sometime now, Francis