Jon O'Brien

Hi there, can someone help me with a question about electronics - a subject I'm not all that familiar with. I've got a 2 perf Arri IIC camera recently modified by Aranda and the next thing I need to do is get a battery. I need a 12V sealed battery, the 7 amp hours version. I've located one of those. The camera has a power lead with a Cannon 4-pin XLR male plug at the battery end. I need to attach a 4-pin female receptacle to a short length of cable, which then has connectors attached to the other end that fits onto the battery terminals (slip on, or alligator clips I suppose). My question is what amperage/wattage strength of cable will be good to buy - I want to make sure I get this right and don't cook anything or add unnecessary resistance.

What is the going price for recan and short end 35mm, and can you get a much better price per foot for shorter short ends eg. 200'? Are recans much more expensive than short ends? Thank you. So far I've found a couple of businesses that sell short ends, one in UK and one in US.

Maybe just screw-in filters and a lens shade will do me for now.

Well, there's two mattebox threads going at the moment, so thought best not to start a new one. I need to use some filters but at the moment having just bought a camera I don't want to spend much money. I have some lenses with 52mm front diameter and one with 72mm, which I will be using. So just two requirements, something that will fit both those sizes, and can easily put filters in, and obviously with the sun shade but that can just be basic. What would be a good, low-cost type to start out with? Thanks for any advice. I will have a means to fit rods, if needed, but maybe just something light weight that clips onto the lens will do.

Yes I thought that was good. I was wondering if you were going to have the piano. One of my friends has worked as a silent film pianist, as there is a silent cinema nearby to him.

Very nice to see!

Some excellent advice, thank you. I've started out just holding the film in my hand, using daylight, and a very nice Carl Zeiss 9x handlens and an achromatic 20x. The image literally looks as big or bigger than what you see in a cinema and I can see the size of the grain in relation to image detail.

Man, there's another movie script right there. We, the people of the world, decree that real-film-will-not-die! Rage, rage against the dying of the light... (which, don't worry, isn't going to happen). ... "Wild men who caught and sang the sun in flight ..."

Even the light flares smearing slightly across frame in a few shots I like the look of.

Ageism occurs in the music biz too - in fact in the arts that is probably where it's most marked. I'd think in cinematography it would be far less of a problem. There's a widespread feeling in classical music performance for instance that you have to be really great by a young age to have a career at the highest level, but there have been exceptions to that rule. Just do what you do, if you can, and don't worry about it.

The 2 perf looks fantastic on Blu-ray.

I'm pretty sure Kodak and photochemical film and processing will be fine. The chemistry and expertise still exist. There's a market for it.

I see a script rise before me. Famous cinematographer finds his old Super 8 reels. A long-forgotten thing within the images from the 70s is revealed. An adventure is launched. Yes it has possibilities.

Looking forward to Star Wars IX. Just watched 'The Last Jedi' again and it really is growing on me. In some ways I like it more than 'The Force Awakens'. It's probably the quirkiest Star Wars picture at any rate. There's something special about it. To whet appetites for IX, here's something rather wonderful.

Shot on 2 perf 35mm for the film bits.

Just viewing details, lens tests mainly, getting a better idea of what's in the image. I won't be doing prints or projecting, everything will be scanned, so I'd like to see what's actually on the negative, even if just individual frames here and there. Perhaps I'm being fussy. Thanks guys, very helpful to me.

What is a good way to minutely examine individual frames of negative? I thought an obvious way would be to get a light table, sandwich film between it and a sheet of glass, and use a hand lens or jeweller's loupe. Is there a better way - can you buy a small gadget that can simply be held up to the light? I'd prefer that, instead of using a light table. I looked on B&H but can't find such a thing so far.

Oh, I was consulted on that! I said to Dad, give it to my nephew, as he was interested in film animation and was just about to leave school and was thinking about getting a camera. So Dad checked with me first. Also, at the time, we all thought (including my nephew) that film was slowly on the way out. It seems to be bouncing back. Now he's got a highly sought-after camera and Super 8 is getting really fashionable again.

Regarding the Canon 1014XL-S, I bought one of these new around 1981/2. It ended up going back in its case a couple of years later - where it sat for 36 years unused (in yearly Queensland heat and humidity). It later became my dad's, and he gave it to my nephew, but was still unused. Just a few months ago my nephew got married, and he grabbed the camera case out from under a bed and handed it to me. I put new batteries in it and it instantly worked perfectly, and I shot the wedding on 2 rolls. The exposure meter was fine. I don't know if that helps. I really was surprised that all was fine with it.

Very true. Still, for someone trying to build a reputation you will basically need a box with a hole in the front, called a camera, and a lens on the front of it, and maybe a tripod. Try to get hold of a good kit that makes the images closest to what you are chasing, whether renting or buying. I'm in the same position, only older. I've found so far that the most cost effective solution is to own most of the things I need. But yes I would definitely avoid investing (or hoping to invest - you could likely lose a lot of money) in some big 'name' camera. Fashions are fickle and things come and go.

Being 'young' lasts for such a short time anyway. Think about it. You get out of school, you spend a few years finding your way/getting higher education and/or experience ... you've really only effectively got something like 8 short years to be what many school leavers seem to see as 'young'. And we're all on the ship called life ... no exceptions. Who was once the young person becomes the older person, with new young people stepping out. I was not long ago always the youngest. Now a few short years later I'm amongst the oldest. It happens surprisingly quickly. The point is that you will be 'old' far longer than you will be 'young'. And here comes the classic, so well known, but in my case and in the case of many of my peers, it was true: I respected my elders (if they deserved it, and usually they did). Of course the 'old' should respect the 'young' too. Same with sexism issues, etc. Men should respect women and vice versa. An impossible vision? Not at all.

"Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me"

However, Batman was the boss. Presumably he paid the boy wonder his wage.

I've benefited from many of his posts while researching things here.

When I go into the city CBD these days, I'm often the oldest person around. Same thing at festivals etc. Occasionally one sees someone of one's own vintage or older (first half of 50s in my case) and perhaps a brief glimmer of recognition/hope/welcome appears in the eyes. Yes the generational gap is a very wide one. There can be benefits to being older. I'm sort of glad I'm not 20 anymore.