tom lombard

I find this very encouraging as I'm solidly in that "sub $500k" group!!!

I hear ya on fiddling with camera & missing out on what's going on. Again, I'm kinda going with the side of me that's wanting to learn more about working with film and trying to film a full eclipse isn't one of those educational opportunities I'll get very often. Not anticipating that I'll get anything as good (with any camera I have or with naked eye even) as what I'll be able to see on Discovery or NOVA in near future. But mine will likely be the only one I'll see shot on 16mm :) I'm not anticipating seeing anything in the chicken behavior other than them heading to the coop when it darkens & coming back out a bit later. On a personal level, I'm anticipating an overwhelming feeling like I need to follow my normal routine as it gets dark... sit on the porch with a beer & listen to the coyotes as the sun goes down.

In part because I'm in the forum trying to learn more about working with film :) Not trying to be a smart a$$ but, yeah. So drifting off to bed last night I realized that I have these eclipse "glasses" and I can take one of the filters from that and put it in the filter holder of the EL. Also realized that the only parts I want of the whole eclipse period would be the 2 & a half minutes of totality and, maybe, an equal length of time before & after. So going from 24FPS down to 10 and starting about a minute & a half prior to totality should get the whole thing. Then just run 'till the 100' is shot. Lens/aperture thoughts? Need to keep the whole sun in frame and use something with good focus at infinity. Don't know how aperture figures in here.

I'm planning on staying home next Monday to see how my chickens handle the eclipse. I've got an infrared security camera set up outside the coop to monitor their coming & going as well as a second infrared security camera inside the coop monitoring the roost. Will also have a DSLR on hand to see what else I can catch. Not really a "project" as much as just taking advantage of the opportunity. Something else occurred to me a couple minutes ago... I just got my Bolex EL running again (had a blown fuse) and I was wondering about putting it on a tripod, pointing it at the sun, and setting the FPS really slow to get a time lapse. Stock I have on hand (and likely too late to get anything else) is Kodak D50, D250, and Double X B&W. Any thoughts on doing something other than wasting a 100' of film? I haven't thought it thru yet & would welcome any input. I'm in Nebraska and will have full totality for 2 & a half minutes so 24FPS would catch it but would like to stretch it out to get some before & after. Thanks, Tom

"On Directing Film" by David Mamet

I went to a local TV/electronics shop and, boom, he had a 5 pack of just what I needed for $2.95. GM-GMA2.0 (2.0 Amp GMA Mini Fuses) is what's on the package. And it's good that they come in a 5 pack as I had the EL lying on my workbench with the open bottom towards me, popped in a fuse, plugged the connector into my battery pack and... flash from the fuse. She blew :( Only 2 things I could think of were that something, indeed, happened to the EL electronics internally or I had wired something together backwards. I took the outer part of the Tuchel off so I could see my wiring... hmmm... when I referred so a diagram online in putting it together, the 2 connectors on the left were positive but was that on the left when viewed from the front or the back. Easiest & quickest thing to do was cut the lead, strip the ends, and put in jumpers but cross them over. The EL now fires and fuse remains intact. The jumpers didn't make a great connection so I've got a couple of wires to solder but that seems to be what my issue has been. I guess the right sized screwdriver and the extra fuses is something to add to my emergency kit.

I got out a magnifying glass and it looks like its 2A 250V. Prior to that, I went to the garage & pulled the 3A fuse out of my lawn tractor. The fuse out of the Bolex is longer & narrower so suspect it's of European descent and not of American automotive lineage. I'll be researching but would appreciate anyone knowing what I need & where I can get it letting me know. Thanks, Tom This it...? https://www.radioshack.com/products/radioshack-2-0a-250v-5x20mm-slow-blow-glass-fuse-4-pack 2.0A 250V 5x20mm Slow-Blow Glass Fuse

Manual I have & what I'm finding online just show how to replace the fuse but I'm not finding anything to identify it. Looks like maybe 3 amp (which would make sense). Anyone knows for sure, let me know. Thanks, Tom

Looks like the fuse! Managed to get the plate off the bottom (put a bolt in the tripod mount & tightened it up with a nut then a bit of wiggling & pulling). The fuse looks good but multimeter says no continuity. I'll grab a fuse tomorrow & likely be back in business. Under the plate was a badly deteriorated piece of foam that looks like it was intended to keep stuff from getting into some access holes. Rather than replace the foam, I'll hotmelt a bit of fabric in there to cover those holes. Will report back after replacing fuse.

Ah... hadn't thought about the fuse. Now that you mention it, I recall wanting to look at it when I first got the camera but wasn't able to get the plate off the bottom. That does give me something to try & get to now. However, I thought I'd hotwire the 4 pins coming out of the camera and bypass my other wiring just to double check it wasn't my soldering. When I do hook it up, I get an internal click and see that it's trying to advance a frame but doesn't have power to do it. Makes me wonder if it's not the fuse because it would be open if the fuse blew so I shouldn't hear or see anything happening. May be fuse is not blown but is still the issue. Any suggestions on getting the plate off anyone? Screws were removed and I did a variety of tapping & poking but it wouldn't budge. I could squirt some penetrant along the edge of the plate but would want to be very sparing in doing so. The EL is a MK I if that makes any difference in an answer. Thanks, Tom

Bolex EL I got a few months ago was running fine off of an AC adapter as well as off of a battery pack I put together. It didn't come with any power supply so I also bought a couple (in case I needed a spare) Tuchel to wire up & hook to the EL. Everything was fine to the point that I ran a 100' test roll thru the camera. After seeing how the test roll went (looked OK), I wanted to do some more testing with different lenses & such so I loaded up another 100' and the EL would barely fire off of either my (recharged) batteries or the AC adapter. It would let me take single frames but other settings (24 fps mostly) would fire for a couple frames at most & then stop. That was what was going on when I was initially dealing with poor batteries (and no AC at the time) so I started looking at my wiring. No surprise to find my (amateur) soldering didn't hold up at by battery holder so I started from scratch with that spare Tuchel and a spare battery holder. Got the whole thing together but nothing fires from the EL. Same with batteries or AC adapter. I checked voltage coming out of the female connectors of the Tuchel and I'm getting proper voltage (batteries or AC). EL seems absolutely dead. Can't single frame even and internal meter doesn't come on. The power connection of the EL does have some play that I don't recall being there before. Not much but def has a wiggle to it and rotates a couple of degrees. Might the power connector of the EL have come loose internally? Is there a magic reset button on the EL I'm overlooking? Any additional thoughts? Thanks, Tom

FWIW - my new thread on those test shots is http://www.cinematography.com/index.php?showtopic=74957

These are a few shots from my initial test roll from a newly acquired Bolex EL. Stock is Kodak D50. This was specific testing in a park where I'll be shooting a short in a month or so. The park has enough trees & swings that I should have options of shooting in shade or full sun. I was actually a bit shy about shooting in the full sun so most of the test was done in the shade. In looking at the test, they are on the dark side and I'm thinking that I should be shooting in the full sun or staying in the shade & opening the lens another half or full stop. We did use a handheld meter (and verified with internal meter) & measured the distance (a great team-building experience like they do at corporate trainings). I'd like to focus any feedback on this test to be related to the use of Kodak D50 as I already purchased stock for my short :) https://www.dropbox....g shot.mp4?dl=0 https://www.dropbox....ean in.mp4?dl=0 https://www.dropbox....l walk.mp4?dl=0

I'll offer some advice from my actual standpoint of being a newbie to 16mm and having acquired a Bolex (that might or might not be functioning properly), hand-me-down tripods, cobbled together battery pack, and an assortment of series E Nikon lenses... Load it up with some film (once you have it in hand) & go have some fun with it! I put some of my initial test shots in dropbox. Learned a lot from them. https://www.dropbox.com/s/x567ckrqjjvueoa/swing%20shot.mp4?dl=0 https://www.dropbox.com/s/igdzyk467i6k8a8/lean%20in.mp4?dl=0 https://www.dropbox.com/s/0uh6v11eiwbkgq7/test%20final%20walk.mp4?dl=0 (I realized that I'd ask some questions on those shots & solicit feedback but didn't want to hijack the thread so will start a new one :) )

your eBay post has a File Format field showing it as super 8. nice looking rig for the money :)

I have someone in mind and will be happy to forward your information to them. Please pm your IMDB, resume, and bio.

It is 12 volt rather than 16 which is preferable I believe.

I've been watching XTR Prods but finding them just out of my financial reach right now. However, I'm now looking at an XTR Plus that looks really nice and I might be able to swing the price. At this point, I don't know if it's the 60 or 75 fps version but am finding out. If I take advantage of this and grab the Plus, am I going to regret not holding out for a Prod? Thanks, Tom This does have the Aaton mount rather than PL which I would have preferred.

I sent a PM as I'm interested in a Prod kit. Thanks, Tom

Hooray! I finally shot my first 100' on a Bolex EL and I don't wanna mess things up now :) Two minor question... I used daylight spools and loaded it outdoors. Was inside a car in heavy shade at the time. Do I follow same conditions in unloading? I do have a changing bag if I need to but suspect I can do it in a darkened room and be OK but would appreciate confirmation. Second question... do I need to put a piece of tape of some sort on the end to keep it from unwinding? Or just leave it loose when I put it in the can? This is Kodak 50D if that factors in somewhere. Thanks, Tom

One of us is missing something. I believe that this Bauer takes drop in cartridges (that's what the manual reads) and your links are sources of stock. I'm looking for a source of the loaded cartridges or maybe a cartridge and info on reloading it.

I find myself with access to a Bauer C2A and found the manual online. Might film cartridges be available somewhere? Thanks, Tom

I'll keep looking for something else then. Am set on S16 and have a preference for Aaton XTR Prod. Thanks.

Is that standard 16 or super? I may be interested. Feel free to PM me.

I'm watching the market for an XTR Prod myself but am not in a position to buy right now (hope to before end of year). That's over $5,000 US which strikes me as the high end of things.