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John Krawlzik

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  • Occupation
    Cinematographer
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    Philadelphia

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  1. Okay. I could trade an NPR body and mag if you're open to that. Right now I have at least 2 with broken motors, and I'm a bit cash poor. Let me know how things proceed.
  2. Yes, 24 crystal speed is all I would require. Would there be a way to tripod mount? Also, how quiet would the motor be?
  3. Hello Aapo, Did you ever embark on this project? I have an NPR body to trade if your still interested. Regards, John K.
  4. Aapo - did you make any progress on the Alcan motor? I have an early one that only runs at a very slow speed, but stops with mirror in correct position. It's very much like the crystal speed is not working, and the 3fps speed is kicked in. It's a nice compact motor, but it would be great to put a new crystal speed controller in (I'd really only need 24fps).
  5. Just wondering if anyone other than AZ Spectrum (very busy shop) does troubleshooting on a Perfectone Compact motor for the NPR? I have a motor in good physical shape, but it just powers on and runs at a non-crystal speed - cant switch anything, nothing works. I tried removing the switching/crystal board and it actually runs the same way. Thinking it might be that board or a power issue to that board. Anyone have any similar problem or possibly boards from a junk motor? Hate to junk it or pay a lot to fix it. Thanks!
  6. Arri Arriflex 16BL Regular 16mm sound quiet camera package with 2 x 400' film magazines, runs great. Cleaned, painted and serviced by owner. New sound seals for motor housing. Has Arri BLEQ motor with 24fps crystal control and gearing, and 6-48 fps variable. Motor stops mirror in viewing position and has an 11 pin fisher port for external speed control. This is the last and best motor Arri made for the 16B - fits flat against camera side. This camera also has a fiber optic view screen for brighter, sharper focus. Includes no lenses, prime lens blimp for sound recording, clear and 85 blimp filters, handheld and regular viewfinder with eyepice, 2 serviced 400 feet magazines. Camera takes Arri standard or bayonet mount lenses. Requires 12 volt 4 pin xlr cable and battery/power source. Price $2297 USD plus shipping.
  7. Yes - even on a non-super16 ACL, the hole has to be filed out somewhat to allow the mirror swing. The TS lens mount is also drilled out slightly on the back at the same spot to allow the mirror to swing out. The funny thing is, if you manually crank the movement it may look like the mirror swing is fine - but once it's powered up by the motor, there must be enough momentum that the mirror will sometimes hit. Interestly, I've looked at ACLs through different generations, and the body casting was machined more and more in later models to try to prevent the mirror from hitting and rubbing. As for the flicker, I shot with a very good regular ACL for years - flicker was always a problem, especially with lenses that overshot the regular 16 frame like 25-85mm. The flicker happened when there was abundant backlighting, or something very bright near the edge of the frame. I always tried to light or frame in a way to minimize this situation. There was an Eclair service company called Procam, and a technician there named Dieter. He told me that the flicker was inherent in the ACL design, and resulted from the mirror passing closely to the groundglass and bouncing any strong light back onto the frame. There was a similar problem in the Arri 2C 35mm camera, and Arri installed black baffles in front of the groundglass to minimize it. In fact, the early 16 Arris like the 16S and 16M had the groundglass moved to the back of the viewfinder away from the mirror to avoid this problem. With the Arri 16BL and 16SR they installed the groundglass closer to the gate and mirror, but moved the mirror forward to eliminate a flicker problem. That is why certain lenses will not work with the SR and BL without hitting the mirror.
  8. A few years ago, I was talking to Paul at Visual Products and he said that they don't do Super 16 conversions for ACLs anymore. He did send me his notes on their conversion that he used to do. I also bought a new aluminum 144 shutter blade from him, a new mirror surface and a connecting rod for Super 16. I'm finally getting around to trying the "kit". I had an old ACL body that was not being used, so I started modifying it. To produce the shutter, you need to remove the old blade with heat, machine off 2mm from the counterbalance ring, then epoxy it all back together. The beauty of the aluminum shutter is that it weighs less, and requires little or no extra balancing weight to compensate for the 2mm removed from the counterbalance. I put together a little rig to test the static balance and it works perfectly. He also recommends shifting the actual mirror 1mm toward the viewfinder. This is a bit tricky, as you have to heat the existing mirror and remove it from the arm, then take off 1mm from the "dumb" side of the mount, and reglue the new mirror to that edge so it is now centered over the Super 16 image. The only trick is getting the mirror reglued to be absolutely flat. I reassembled everything and adjusted the shutter timing and mirror - it's spot on. I must have got the mirror flat, because there's no noticeable wobble. I have the do the gate now. This was why I was asking about the HD 144 kit - I'd love to get a properly designed gate, even if that means having one machined. My assumption is that there aren't any unused existing HD 144 gates anymore. One more thing - this whole conversion does cause a problem with the mirror swinging too far and hitting the camera shell. That's very tricky to solve, as the hole under the lens mounting plate has to be ground out so far that it would let light leak into the camera. I'm thinking that by shifting the lens mounting plate towards the viewfinder to recenter it, this might cover up the extended hole. Oh well. I also have an NPR - it seems that converting that to Super 16 would be a lot easier, as the mirror shutter is adjustable by design, and the magazines actually have fewer rollers to modify.
  9. I had an ACL converted many years ago to Super 16 by OEH and was very disappointed. The shutter was apparently not converted and the timing could never be set right - always some flicker in the upper right frame as the mirror could not be set clear. Also, one mag was fine, but the other scratched. I’ve concluded that the shutter has to be converted to 144 degrees, the mirror shifted 1mm, and the shutter connecting rod swapped out with a slightly longer stroke. The problem then is the body has to be slightly machined for the extra mirror swing. I know a lot more now than I did then…
  10. I tried, it does not work - bounces back.
  11. About 20 years ago a person named "Mark" was selling a conversion kit to Super 16 for the Eclair ACL with a new correctly designed and machined gate, 144 degree shutter and other proper parts. First, I assume that these are long gone by now, second, does anyone know who Mark is or what happened with his conversion kit idea? Thanks!
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