Heikki Repo

Without proper maintenance nothing last too long and that's true for film cameras as well. However, compared to digital cameras film cameras -- especially ones without computer chips -- can be serviced much longer since it is easier to manufacture mechanical parts than some patented chips with closed source code. Is 100 years possible? Well, there are some working examples of cine cameras from the beginning of the 20th century. Also, quite many amateur cine cameras are from the 50s and 60s, so those have already passed half of 100 years. But those exact cameras you mention? Depends on the amount of proprietary electronical components in them. It might be possible to replace the electronical parts with something else even when there no longer are replacement parts available. After all, as long as some motor is moving the film in the camera and opening & closing the shutter, image is recorded.

Just obtained an Angenieux 6-80mm for my Beaulieu 4008 ZM. Removed Reglomatic and the lens seems to work just fine on my camera. However, noticing that this is a quite heavy lens (if compared to all other C-mount lenses I own) I'm wondering if it is safe to use without lens support on a tripod? This thing is heavier than my camera! ;)

Those longer lenses are certainly somewhat rare so they are more expensive than the shorter focal length ones. I think the price you paid is quite reasonable. You got them in good condition so you saved about $100 per lens in CLA. Now then, whether those prices are reasonable compared to some other lenses you can with good luck get for the same price is a different issue altogether, but Switars -- I really don't think you could get them in good condition any cheaper these days.

There should be no differences. It is same E-6 process as Ektachrome.

Well, Kodak recommends storing film short term 13°C (55°F) RH below 60% In my experience, however, one month in 18-23°C hasn't affected the film so much that I would have noticed it. Unless you are storing the film in a very hot place (direct sunlight for example) I wouldn't worry about it too much. Film stays surprisingly good for even ridiculously long periods of time. This summer I have shot some raw negative stock from the late 80s/early 90s -- and it even looked quite good when overexposed one stop for each decade that has passed. I store my film long term in freezer, so no, too cold can't damage the film. Just make sure you don't put exposed film in cold because otherwise you might risk having condensation on the film when you take it out.

Take a look: Having said that, are you sure you wouldn't rather go after the 80s home video look? Something like this: For video look, make sure your footage is interlaced 60i, blow highlights and do something to blur it so that you lose enough resolution.

Well, this is the first company I can remember but they might either not service old Bolex cameras or it might be considerably more expensive than the place I used -- either way, you could ask about it: http://www.etkon.com/ Some other people might know a good place and people to send your camera to (or even be those people themselves!). If you know German you could also ask about it here: http://www.filmvorfuehrer.de/forum/13-schmalfilm/ There are many good companies in the central Europe I have never even heard of but which are closer to you and can help you.

I'm afraid that after all these decades all original warranty by Bolex has quite probably expired. I sent my camera over to an experienced camera technician who repairs all kinds of mechanical cameras, still photography and cine cameras. He estimated it to cost about 80 EUR ($105) to CLA. Where are you located? I'm sure someone can help you find a good technician near you.

Laziness might be due to not being cleaned and lubed for a while. I myself sent my Bolex H16 for CLA (=Clean, Lube, Adjust) some weeks ago due to it not running that well. Verdict? 60 years worth of dirt. I don't know whether your Bolex is a reflex one or non-reflex like mine but either way they are nice pieces of mechanical marvel. Should be good choice for shooting some color reversal as well, as at the moment there is only polyester based film material (AGFA 200D) available. The good thing about spring wound motor is that you quite probably won't be able to break your camera even if that polyester material jams.. :)

For more budget oriented users there are nowadays really cheap options for processing and scanning. An example: 85 EUR (excl. VAT) for 400 ft of 16mm ECN-2 processed and 2K scanned (for processing only 35 EUR). That's the local place I use (http://alhoslab.fi). If combined with Frame24 raw stock prices using 16mm film is cheap -- only about 150 EUR for 400 ft of film, processing and scanning. For the price of one day's worth of Alexa rental (900 EUR) one can thus have 60 minutes of raw film+process+scan. Not that expensive I think.

Last Spring I was to shoot a very small budget commercial. At first I was about to use some DSLR but then I realized that since I own an Eclair ACL and I had some older film stock in the fridge I might as well shoot it with that. Ergonomics were certainly better, commercial has now its own distinctive look and it didn't really cost that much more than renting a DSLR (I didn't even contemplate higher end digital, too pricy). Take a look! (there's 2K original quality available as well, thanks youtube!):

Is there interest? No doubt. Can you get a good price? I doubt it. Unless your Eclair is taking up much needed space and/or you'd just like to have it used again by someone, I'd vote for keeping it yourself, perhaps for personal projects. There are people who'd want to buy it from you, but you won't be able to get much more than 1200-1500 EUR for it. This year I have seen two German S16 Arri SR2s sold on Ebay for about 1200 EUR. Prices have come down a lot even if there are still people trying to sell old and semi-rusty Eclair NPRs for 2000 EUR there. There is one quite similar package for sale up on Ebay at the moment. You might want to take a look at for how much it sells: http://www.ebay.com/itm/Eclair-ACL-Super-16mm-Cine-camera-system-Les-Bosher-conversion-PL-and-C-mount-/331003024159?pt=UK_Movie_Cameras&hash=item4d1151531f

Focal length is always the same regardless of the format. Only field of view changes. The (consumer) digital camera way of marking the focal length "equivalent to the 135 photo format" is common to those pocket cameras but elsewhere focal lengths are really comparable. Thus 1.9mm is 1.9mm and 7-56mm is 7-56mm.

Looks like Canon Scoopic 16mm: http://www.erkanumut.com/?s=16m

For reference: http://www.arricsc.com/camera/arricamlite_rental.html

Are you sure you wouldn't rather want to rent it? Even the one for sale behind the following link is probably used, not new.. http://www.visualproducts.com/store03.asp?ID=14&Cat=2

Here are the project details: Format: Max 8 (Super Duper 8) Aspect Ratio: 2.35:1 Camera: Beaulieu 5008s Multispeed, modified to shoot in the Max 8 format Lenses: Fujinon 16mm F/1.4, 1.5 Megapixel Lens (CCTV) Anamorphot 16/32/1.5x Bolex/Möller Anamorphic Lens Film: Kodak Vision2 50D (5201) from Pro8mm Lab: Pro8mm, Burbank, CA Scan: Millenium M2, 1080p24 to ProRes 422 Codec Edit: Final Cut Pro 6, ProRes 422 23.976 Timeline Post Processing: Neat Video Denoise Plugin Via Final Cut Pro 6 Anamorphic De-Squeeze via Adobe After Effects CS3 Sharpening via Adobe Photoshop CS3 Information above from this full video:

Sorry, just used the x in place of the focal length. Google for HF and HA-1. But nice to know about Pentax lenses :)

For machine vision it certainly isn't dead format: http://1stvision.com/lens/fujinon-lens.html

Not my work, but if I remember correctly the telecine was made by Pro8mm. They have Millenium II: http://www.pro8mm.com/scanning-super-8-to-digital.php#03

Fujinon HFxHA-1 series megapixel lenses (C-mount) seem quite good. The only issue might be with the wider lenses which have protruding back elements that might pose a problem with the shutter/mirror of the camera. Here's a list of them, not too pricey, only about $110 - $170 a lens: http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/search?atclk=Price_%240+-+%24249.99&ci=3659&N=4045021054+4288580118+4291437653+4073573425+4293918168 Here's one super-8 film shot with such a lens (Fujinon HF16HA-1B) and an anamorphic lens:https://vimeo.com/16590706

Here's one UK based company: http://www.gaugefilm.co.uk/processing.html

What I find rather curious is that already with the bluray releases and more so with upcoming 4K release formats we are in a situation that the releases sold to customers have more than enough resolution for running your own underground theather with a 2K or 4K projector. In this age and time guarding 35mm release prints doesn't really make that much sense anymore.

Please do notice that the Framemaster (for use with super-8 cameras) and pressure plate in a new camera are two different things. In this camera the film is first taken out of the cartridge for threading through the gate and pressure plate. It's like in 16mm or reg 8mm cameras.

Thanks Lasse, that sounds quite good and simple solution.