Michael Yaroshevsky

Bolex is of limited use; however, certain m.o.s. shooting situations suit a small, wind-up camera very well. I've used it with a range of 35mm lenses: Zeiss, Cooke, Optex and the results are plainly superior to S16 lenses. Charm isn't always subversive.

You could go with a set of standard speed 35mm primes (no use in fast lenses since you can't be any wider than about 3.2f with "non-rex" lenses on the Bolex). Of course to achieve the focal length you require you would have to use a 10mm Zeiss. This is an absurdly large lens for a Bolex but I have used it with my PL mount adapter from Les Bosher. The image is remarkable -- you are using only the centre area of the lens (I believe someone referred to it as the 'sweet spot')-- a super sharp 10mm (in S16) image. Nevertheless, it's difficult to support such a set-up as the lens outweighs the Bolex body almost 2:1. Other primes are ideal (perhaps not the VPs...). M.Y.

There is an expert Bolex technician in Montreal by the name of Jean-Louis Seguin. He recently converted an SB for me. I know several of the clients for whom he has made conversions to S16. The work is outstanding. From Les Bosher I picked up a Bolex bayonet to PL mount adapter. The results from using 35mm PL lenses on a Bolex are impressive.

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