Charlie Peich

Greetings David, Bill, Mark, Dan and any other forum members interested in this subject! I have some information on the 24 fps sync motor that I can share. I am also an owner (and operator) of the Arri 24fps sync motor, 60~ (Hertz these days), 42 volts AC, 8 volt DC for magazine torque motors. I have used this motor with the Arri 16S camera as the motor was designed. The thing to keep in mind, when this sync motor was designed for use with the Arri 16S camera, the 16M was not on the market. The earliest listing I have for this motor is a price list from 1961. The motor was designed for use in the blimp for the 16S, but it could be used without the blimp. I never used my 16S in a blimp, so I have no experience with that set-up. The 24 fps sync speed was maintained by the frequency of the mains, there were no xtal controlled motors back then. This motor can be used on the 16M camera, even though there is no 8 volt magazine torque motor, you still need the 8 volts to turn on the 42 volt AC motor and operate the clap stick feature. To answer a question, no, no 42 volts AC went into the camera (disclaimer: as long as the motor and cables were operating properly as designed!) The power supply is more than just a step down transformer. David, in the picture of your 16M with the sync motor attached, I noticed that the motor was sitting further away from the body. That's when I realized, you have another Arri 'accessory' between the motor and the camera. That accessory is the 'Phase Shift Attachment' that was used for filming CRT tv screens back in the day. Description..... I have never used this accessory, so I can't say how it works. But, the main thing is, when filming CRT screens you needed a sync motor so the shutter bar didn't drift. So the previous owner of the motor used this on either a 16S or 16M camera to record tv screens. I'm assuming that this Phase Shift Attachment came attached to the motor when you purchased the motor. The reason I bring this up, there are 2 conditions for using the sync motor and recording screens in the old analog days. Also, Arri offered a special sync motor modified for interchangeable geared heads to change the speed from 24 fps to 30fps for this purpose (it uses the same power supply as the 24 fps motor I talked about above). One way to film the screen was, shoot 24 fps with a shutter at 144 degrees. Or, shoot at 30 fps with a 180 degree shutter, the mirrored shutter that came with the camera. The special sync motor came with the 24fps gear drive, but you would have to send your camera to Arri to be fitted with a 144 degree mirrored shutter. Or, you could keep the existing shutter in your camera and get the 30fps geared head for the motor, but you would be shooting everything at 30 fps, which may not work for sound synchronization. You take your motor off the Phase Shift Attachment by loosening the clamp on the side of the phase shift unit. Pull the motor off and see which motor you have. Unless you are shooting old CRT screens, you really don't need the Phase Shift Attachment, also, by eliminating it, it would be 1 less rubber coupling that could be slipping on the camera's drive shaft. The speed of the motor should be marked on the end where the drive shaft sticks out.... If your motor has the 30 fps gear head, then you'll be shooting everything at 30fps. You could always have the footage transferred at 30 fps. It's too late to find any 24 fps geared head assemblies, unless the seller included it when you bought the motor. Does your motor have a pigtail lead on it as is shown on the right in this pic? It could have a connector like shown, or it could have a cannon connector such as the one that goes into your camera's power supply port. Description of the 24 fps sync motor from a 1960's sales brochure. That is exactly how my motor and power supply look. I do have the accessory film counter for the blimp. That accessory also has contact points on the shaft that 2 wires are plugged into so when the motor is running it activates lights on the blimp that then blink so you know the camera is running. As it states, the motor is 3 phase 60~ (c.p.s., the 'old cycles per second' term) 42 volts. The accessory footage counter.... A newer Arri description of the 24 fps sync motor from the mid '70s (notice the smaller sized power supply)..... The 2nd paragraph in this Arri description lists the availablity of a 117 volt sync motor. I've never seen one, and I think that was a motor that Arri USA made for US customers, it's not from the factory in Germany. However, it seems with this motor, 117 volts went to the motor on the camera, but I'm not sure if you could use the camera's on/ off switch. Not much info on that motor is around. I guess the 'shock hazards' they mention in the previous paragraph about the 42 volt motor no longer exist when using this motor. David, if you want to know which pins on the plug connect to the motor's windings, or the the 8 volt pins, I can make a plug schematic for you. The pins are not numbered externally. Of the 6 pins, 3 of them are used for the 42 volt 3 phase AC supply, 2 pins for 8 volt DC positive, and then one for ground. I don't have schematics for the power supply. So, in slow motion, this is how motor and power supply work on either the 16S or 16M.... 8 volts positive comes out of the power supply via a seperate wire to the sync motor, it then travels out of the motor on the pigtail that is plugged into the left pin (the positive pin) on the 16 S camera's power input. The sync motor housing blocks the neg pin so you can't plug it in incorrectly. It then goes to the on/off switch. When the switch is activated, the 8 volts go to the torque motor on the 16S camera (not needed on the M model), the automatic clapstic on the GS models, and to the electrical contact on the sync motor (yellow arrow)........... It then travels back (on it's own wire) to the power supply that contains 2 relays and activates those relays. When the relays are activated and they close the contacts, they connect the 42 volt 3 phase A.C power that travels back on 3 wires to the windings on the motor, and the camera runs. When the camera is shut off cutting the 8 volts to the relays in the power supply, the power supply applies DC current to the windings of the motor to stop the motor from turning. It does stop the motor very quickly. This dynamic braking is necessary on the 16S because of the torque motor on the magazine. When the 8 volts are cut, the torque motor stops right away, no more film is wound on the take-up side. Because the 42 volt AC motor is brushless, when the power is cut, it does not stop abruptly like a DC motor does, but it coasts to a stop. When the motor is connected to the camera, that coasting could advance the film movement and draw 5 to 8 more frames of film through the camera. The torque motor is stopped, so those extra frames of film cause slack in the film on the take-up side. When the camera is next started, the torque motor takes off, and depending on the condition of the clutch, it could pull on that slack in the film hard enough to strip sprockets and cause a lost lower loop, or break the film. Then the buckle switch works. If the camera is in a blimp, this would cause downtime, and the DP retires to craft services table. The Dynamic Brake prevents this. I don't know why Arri used 42 volts for the motor. I have not run across any literature about why the engineers decided on this voltage, other than safety reasons mentioned above. I have used my motor and power supply, not only on mains, but on location plugged into a crystal controlled generator. No problems. I hope this clears up some of the mysteries of this motor! Charlie

Michael, I found this ad for the Ultra T lenses from Cinema Products. This had to be the announcement ad for the original 4 lenses. This was published March 1979. I don't think this will answer all your questions, but perhaps there's a bit more info for you to use when deciding to use these lenses. The 6mm lens must have joined the set in the early '80s. Charlie

Michael, It seems Kowa is still around, as Robert Houllahan said. Why don't you contact Kowa directly and ask your questions about the lenses? Their website says they've been around for over 60 years. http://kowa-prominar.com/news/index.html http://kowa-prominar.com/special/wide_lens/index.htm http://kowa-prominar.com/service/index.html It seems Kowa is now marketing lenses for the Micro Four Thirds camera. Jean-Louis, you are correct, there was a 6mm Ultra T prime from CP. A Victor Duncan catalog from 1980 lists them not only as Cinema Products Ultra T Lenses in CP mount, but also in Arri bayonet mount. No 6mm lens at this time. In a 1983 Gordon catalog they list the Ultra T primes in the CP mount for the CP-16 and GSMO cameras, and then for the Eclair ACL and NPR camera (possibly with the use of an adaptor to take the CP mount to the Eclair mount). The 6mm lens is listed. So, the lenses were made until 1983 at least. However, in a Cinema Products catalog/price list from 10/1976, it does not list these lenses.... Gregg, I found this link in the forum from 2005..... http://www.cinematography.com/index.php?showtopic=5230 others.... http://www.cinematography.com/index.php?showtopic=59776 http://www.cinematography.com/index.php?showtopic=2442 http://www.cinematography.com/index.php?showtopic=47290

Oooops, I should have dug deeper. This shows a cross section of the finder's optical path with the periscopic finder attached.... Warning, when rotating the periscopic finder, the image does not stay "erect", it will rotate and you'll have to cock your head to see a level horizontal image. You'll get used to it :-).

This may answer your questions

Check out this forum, ask there: http://www.mitchellcamera.com/

Julie, Have you looked at Kodak's site? Here's a link that expands a bit on David's comment about the grain's larger surface area for speed. This link talks about Kodak's T-Grain Technology.... http://www.kodak.com/US/en/corp/researchDevelopment/productFeatures/vision2.shtml There is a member of the forum that wrote a very good book about film and post production. He discusses film emulsion and processing. "Film Technology in post production" by Dominic Case. He might give you other references.

Julie, You should read this book: Making Kodak Film, The Illustrated Story of State-of-the Art Photographic Film Manufacturing http://www.amazon.com/Making-Illustrated-State--Photographic-Manufacturing/dp/0615418252/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1412450452&sr=1-1&keywords=making+kodak+film It's somewhat hard to find, and pricey. Search this forum, the book may have been discussed here. Also, look at what Ferrania is doing. There may be some info there: http://www.filmferrania.it/#home-section Good Luck! Charlie

Jean-Louis, I can honestly say that I've never seen a problem like this before. To me it looks like a lens flare, external light coming from the right. I had a 12-120 from the early 70s that would catch light and flare. Problem is, we don't know much about the conditions of the shot. Perhaps other examples of the problem might give a clue. Was all the footage shot by the water? We don't know that. As for this screen shot, questions: What focal length was used? What stop was it shot at? Was the effect the same while zooming? Was the effect more visible at the long end of the lens? Was the effect more visible at the short end of the lens? Did the effect change shape or size at different focal lengths? Sunshade used? Matte Box used? Filter or filters? Polarizer? What camera was it used on? Now that he knows what the effect looks like, can he see it when looking through the lens on a reflex camera? It could be that the coating on the rear elements are bad on his 15-300. They are closer to the film and the defect would be sharper (focus wise) than any defect internally. If this 15-300 was originally designed for video cameras in the 70s or 80s, is the rear optical group bad? He said that footage shot with Zeiss primes was ok. No comment. I would shoot a test with the lens under varying light conditions, pointing a flashlight into the lens to create flares, to see if the effect happens again. Shoot it with the lens wide open, then in higher light levels with the lens stopped down. If it's an internal lens problem with this 15-300, and all footage shot with the lens has the same, or has a similar look as the example pic, then he should have the seller check it out, or have a lens tech familiar with Angie lenses look at it. Or, he could return it and get his money back. As you know, repairs can end up costing as much, or more than a used lens. Visual Products has one listed..... http://www.visualproducts.com/storeProductDetail03.asp?productID=106&Cat=8&Cat2=20&Cat3=28 Charlie Or, he could just use this lens when shooting B&W film. :P

Jean-Louis, When I read that the lens was a 15-300mm Angenieux , my 1st thought was that it is a lens for older tube video cameras that have prisms. I had never heard of that particular focal length lens used for 16mm or 35mm film, or at least it wasn't popular in the 70s, 80, or 90s. Perhaps stopping the lens down will eliminate the problem. Maybe adjusting the back focus? From a previous post in this forum........ "As for the 15-300 model, it is quite rare indeed. It does cover the S-16 frame, but of course is doesn't go as wide as the 12-120. Also, I don't believe it's a 35mm. lens, but rather one that was designed for the 1-inch pick up tubes of 70's video cameras (thus the S-16 coverage)." http://www.cinematography.com/index.php?showtopic=41369

Doug, Check out this site: http://www.sn2708.com/ to see some recently shot film with the DeVry Standard camera. This is the only DeVry Standard footage (footage that I was aware of being shot with the DeVry) I've seen on the net. The site owner posts on this forum. The early cameras ran at the silent "standard" speed, 16 fps. Later there are Standards that run at 24 fps. Sure, you can mount newer lenses on this camera. How much do you want to spend? I would make sure the camera is operating properly before investing in other lenses. Shooting a film test to test for steadiness and running speed would be a good idea. You may be disappointed. The only repair parts that are available for this camera are from another cameras. This is a lens mount modification to the camera to allow the use of screw-in still lenses.... This is a Cooke 47mm 'Cinema' lens that was re-housed and fitted with a DeVry lens mount..... I don't think you could put a Arri PL mount on the camera. The physical size of the PL mount on the camera might interfere with opening the hinged cover, you won't be able to change film! I think DeVry ended production of this camera in the early '50s, before DeVry was sold to Bell & Howell in 1954. It is full aperture 35mm, 'Super-35'. http://www.cinematography.com/index.php?showtopic=8577 A nice camera for point and shoot home movies where critical framing isn't of importance. Dr. Herman A. DeVry: http://earlyaviators.com/edevry01.htm Charlie

It's called..... 'The DeVry Lens Mount' 'Instantly Interchangeable Lens Mount" 'The DeVry interchangeable lens mount' 'Interchangeable bayonet base' (from DeVry literature) The mount was designed and used on the DeVry Standard camera only. The Wollensak Fastax mount looks similar, but will not work on the DeVry mount. The camera was developed for the 'Home Movie' enthusiast in 1926. http://archive.org/stream/amemato06asch#page/n173/mode/2up Charlie

Greetings Jorge, Ask your questions to the members of this Yahoo Group: https://groups.yahoo.com/neo/groups/CineCamera/info The moderator is very knowledgeable with Alexander Victor and his cine equipment, he owns several cameras like yours. Victor History: http://www.lib.uiowa.edu/scua/msc/tomsc200/msc153/smpte.htm Charlie

Mel Brooks was once asked: "What is the toughest thing about making a film?" Brooks replied: "Putting in the little holes. The sprocket holes are the hardest thing to make. Everything else is easy, but all night you have to sit with that little puncher and make the holes on the side of the film. You could faint from that work. The rest is easy: the script is easy, the acting is easy, the directing is a breeze… but the sprockets will tear your heart out."

Gary and Jean-Louis, Some info on the RTH Monital 23 - 115mm Sopelem lens. This is from a 1970 - 1971 catalogue : The M series Zoom lenses for 16mm film consisted of the following (from a 1972 S.O.S. catalogue): I attached the spec sheet for the Monital 5 to 1 Pocket Zoom, 17 - 85mm f 3.8 M series lens. The 5 to 1 referenced in the above description for the 23 - 115mm is the most likely the f 2.0 version of the 18 - 85mm. Gary, do a search in this forum for 'Sopelem', there is some discussion of the quality of Monital zooms. Charlie

Ask Dom...... http://www.cinematography.com/index.php?showtopic=60119

There was TRI-X 7727 also. Very little to none on the net about 7726 and 7727.

You could 'special order' a synchronizer with the teeth nearest the operator (Moviola as you've pictured). You could also have the counter set to 'add' for right to left operation. You don't see many conformed that way. I think the only time I saw a synchronizer with teeth nearest the operator was in a lab. Also, you could order with the sound head above or below. Ask Moviola. ^_^ I found this picture of a Ediquip synchro (almost an exact copy of the Moviola equipment) with the teeth conformed towards the operator. This is a rear shot of the synchronizer, the arm latches are on the left in the pic, normally on the right side in the operating position. The sprocket with the mag pick-up is in the 'teeth away' from operator position. The next 2 sprockets have the 'teeth towards' operator. If you are mechanically inclined, you could take the synchronizer you have apart and turn the sprockets around to the way you want them. Moviola's 16mm sprockets are held in place with a hex set screw. The mag pick-up could be adjusted easily if you have the support assembly that looks like the one above. Charlie

I found this spec sheet for the R.T.H. Monital Zoom Lens. Date on the sheet is 1/1971. The red arrow points to a 'Sopelem' label on the Monital lens. Then below the zoom lens, there's a picture of Beaulieux and Pathe cameras. You'll notice on the Beaulieux, there's the Monital Zoom, and above it is a Sopelem 145mm tele lens in Black. The red arrow points to the Sopelem label on the lens. Is that your lens? Does that say 'Kinetal' on the lens barrel just above the '145mm'? However, 145mm was not a focal length in the RT.H. 16mm Kinetal line. 150mm was. Did R.T.H. make this focal length for Som Berthiot / Sopelem exclusively? Ooooops, I just found this in a 1972 S.O.S. equipment catalogue. Hope that helps! Charlie

Hello Nenad! Here's a link from a previous forum message that may give you an idea..... http://www.cinematography.com/index.php?showtopic=10117 "SOM/Berthiot was a French state-owned company linked to the weapons industry and it was re-organized in the 70's into the SOPELEM, which kept producing those nice lenses for a while. Furthermore, Sopelem made a deal with Rank Taylor Hobson, who distributed their zoom lenses ("Montal" range) in the UK : again, the same as the SOM Berthiot lenses (17-85, 12-120,...) but generally better, since they are more recent." You could contact Cooke and ask them... http://www.cookeoptics.com/u/contact.html There is a poster in here named Erkan Umut (respectfully, Professor Umut) that collects paper (catalogues, sales brochures, price lists, parts lists, manuals, etc) on all types of Cinemachinery. Contact him, he might have some info or history on the lens. If he doesn't, I'd be surprised! Good luck with your search! Charlie

Hello Peter.... I don't process films by hand, so I can't help you with updated formulas. Check out these sites, you may find the info you are seeking. An old site, many links no longer work, but worth checking out the ones that do. http://www.oocities.org/gselinsky/ Join this group and read through the archive/past posts. The moderator is a good guy and can possibly help. https://groups.yahoo.com/neo/groups/movieprocessing/info?yguid=85236496 http://16mmadventures.com/ http://www.ralphdickinson.com/process_site/allpages.html http://www.oocities.org/gselinsky/KodakRewindAerial.html Look for sites of experimental filmmakers. Sadly, not many doing hand processing anymore. Charlie

re-exposure on page 6 para F. "Strong Light"!

Try this forum. Kalart-Victor collectors there. Also ask the forum moderator. http://16mmfilmtalk.com/

Ivan, I checked several 70 cameras I have. I could not get them to malfunction using a cover with the raised tabs like the ones on the inside side of your cover. I used a full 100 ft load of film. Both daylight loading reels were the metal ones like Kodak uses, R-90. In all the years using these cameras, I've never encountered any speed problem relating to the cover. If you are using any reels other than these, plastic ones, or severely bent metal ones, that may be the problem. R-90 Spool A metal camera spool with a 3.615-inch (92 mm) flange diameter and a 1 1/4-inch (32 mm) core diameter. Square hole with single keyway in both flanges. Center hole configuration aligns on both flanges. For 100 ft (30 m) film loads. There may be some old reels floating around, maybe that came with your camera, that have a square hole on one side and a round hole on the other. They could be marked Bell & Howell, Kodak R-90, Kodak, Cine Kodak, or DuPont. The newer reels have square holes on each side. However, what I think is wrong with your camera is, simply, it needs to be taken apart and cleaned, removing the old dried oil and grease. Your camera most likely sat for decades without being used or oiled. The instruction book recommends oiling it after a month of non-use. So the oil and grease in the camera dried up over time. Adding new oil got it running, and it sounds good without film. But the dried oil and dirt is still in there, gumming it up and putting a drag on the mechanism, not running at 100% as it was designed. The shaft for many of the gears sit in brass bushings on the 2 plates, and these get gummed up from the dried oil. You load the film, wind the spring up for full power and the camera starts out running at speed. The film traveling through the sprockets and gate is putting a load on the mechanism. As the spring winds down it's loosing it's power, and the weight of the film is building up on the take-up reel, dragging the take-up clutch. As the un-winding spring gets weaker, it can't drive the mechanism at speed anymore, the camera slows down and stops when the spring is fully un-wound. If the camera is in top shape, there's a 'buck tooth' on one of the gears called the 'stop gear' that stops the camera before the spring completely un-winds. This prevents the camera from loosing speed before the spring is so weakened it can't drive it. Too me, it sounds like the governor in your DA needs cleaning and re-oiling. Also the main drive off the spring 'motor' needs to be taken apart, cleaned, greased and re-oiled. The repair manuals suggest opening and cleaning the old oil off the mechanism if the camera is not running at speed. I've had this happen to several Filmos I have. Get it cleaned if you want to use it, or look for a later model camera - DL, DR, and gamble again. Use the lenses from your DA on the newer model if you want that old lens look. Another thought, the spring could be loosing it's power and needs to be replaced. However, I've only heard of the spring breaking. Search for old posts in the forum here. There's other discussion about this. Charlie

Ivan, Here's a time-line for the 70 DA. I can't give an exact year from your serial number, but this will give you a rough idea. I can say your camera is at least 53 years old. There's a guy at this forum (the moderator) that might be able to help you out, he collects serial numbers for B&H Filmos trying to establish a time-line, or approximate date of manufacture: https://groups.yahoo.com/neo/groups/CineCamera/info I put this time-line together from B&H printed material I've collected. 7/1926 B&H introduces the new 70 D camera. New features are, 7 filming speeds (a new governor), the 3 lens turret on the camera head and a ‘Variable spyglass viewfinder’ with the field areas of 6 different focal length lenses. Price, with 1’ Universal focusing f-3.5 lens, and case, $245.00 1930 B&H offers the ‘critical focuser’ as an accessory, you have to send the 70 D camera to the factory to have it fitted on the camera. 1931 B&H offers the 70 D with the critical focuser equipped on a new camera, the 70 DA. Price with 1’ focusing f-3.5 lens and case, $280.00 In the 1930s, B&H also offered modifications to the 70 D and 70DA including: Hand Crank, External 200 ft and 400 ft mags, and motor drive. 1940 B&H offers, as an accessory modification for the 70 and 70DA, the ‘Positive Viewfinder’ with 3 objective lens turret. After the War, B&H offers the 70 DE camera with the 3 objective lens turret and the Hand Crank built into the new camera. I don’t have paper that shows the exact date this was introduced, until 1948. The new built-in turret finder looks like this..... 1948 B&H lists just the 70DA and 70 DE cameras. 1950 The last year the DA was offered, the retail price for the DA with 1” F-1.9 Super Comat was $329.70. The DE with the same lens was $399.50. No cases. 1951 B&H only lists the 70 DL camera. Price with 1” F-1.9 Super Comat was $365.50