Dave Goodwin

Thanks all. I did join the Facebook group and Michael did comment on a post there about the stuck focus. It's sounding like fixing it may be very unlikely but I'll probably give it a shot anyway on one of the two.

I recently acquired a pair of Cine Kodak Model As. One is very nice cosmetically and the other is a bit rougher but not horrible. Both crank very smoothly and the aperture controls work fine, but both exhibit a frozen focus adjustment, which I gather isn't too uncommon on these cameras. The rougher one is also missing the metal cover over the front lens of the viewfinder. Both are missing the hinged lens cover door. The nicer one is missing its crank handle but I'll take the one from the rougher unit, turning it into a parts camera essentially, though I may try to make a handle at our local maker space for it later. Does anyone know of any resources for the disassembly of the body and the lens on these machines? Maybe a service manual, parts catalog or exploded diagram? I'd really love to get one, or both, of these old timers back in operation but I don't want to just blindly hack on them unless there's no other way. If anyone has, or knows of a source of parts for these also, I'd love to hear about it. I'd like to find a lens cover and hinge some day. Thanks!

This is a real long-shot, I'm sure, but nothing ventured, nothing gained. I just bought a very nice condition Cine-Kodal Model B with the interchangeable 25mm f1.9 Anastigmat lens. It also came with a full set of ND filters and a yellow filter for B&W films. The camera works well. The lens focusing was frozen but I have managed to free it up. The aperture works fine. What I'm wondering is if anyone knows about or has any experience with the filters for this thing? They look like they want to replace the black rectangular insert in the lens barrel, which appears to act like a lens hood, but I can't get the old one out. It's certainly possible it may just be frozen in the barrel but I don't want to go trying to free it unless I know that's how it works. Anyone ever mess with one of these?

Don't know if you can do it to a Keystone but I'm going to have my dual-perf Bolex H16 converted over to single perf. Bolex apparently still makes the parts. I've also heard it said that you can grind or file off one row of teeth to do the conversion. If you're interested in going that way, maybe check with some local machinists. I did try running single perf through the Bolex. It did not end well...

I got her open and she has a number of significant issues. A small leather ring, which looks as though it may be part of a centrifugal clutch or governor or something of that nature, was broken and jammed up into the gear train. A small pin was broken off as was a nub of metal from somewhere and a piece of a flat spring. It had definitely been overwound or at least wound until it jammed solidly. It appears well-used, with heavy wear on the teeth of the gears, particularly the fine gear that drives the shutter worm gear. After working out how to loosen the top plate, I was able to get it raised a few mm, enough to free the shaft of the gear with the leather jammed into it. I got that out and, once removed, the mechanism took off and unwound. It's now in a windable state, but runs immediately as the operating lever appears to do nothing. I suspect this is where the broken parts are located and/or missing. At this point, I think I'll put it in storage unless/until I can find a donor camera. Thanks guys!

My local camera store knows me well and often gets things and saves them for me. This weekend, knowing I'd recently acquired a Bolex H16, they had for me a very old, non-working Cine-Ansco Model A for dirt cheap. I took it with the intent of trying to fix it, as I like fiddling with old mechanical devices like that. Some web searching revealed little information about it. I know how to open it up but that's about it. Anyone have an old manual for this thing that explains the controls? Disassembly looks simple, with the mechanism appearing to be held in by only 4 screws. The camera is actually covered in leather, which is pretty cool and looks awesome. The lens isn't even bound up and it is also removeable with a screw-mount. The print was too dark and small to tell what kind of lens it is without my big magnifier so I'll check that later on. The camera doesn't run and seems to be fully wound, or the winding mechanism is jammed. Hopefully I'll be able to tell more once it's out of the case. Anyhow, if anybody has any info on this old girl, I'd love to hear about it.

By way of context, I have no intention of working in the film industry or doing anything remotely professional. I'm a 65 year old perpetual learner who's recently got hold of a 16mm Bolex and has decided to try it out. I shoot film photography, also as a hobby, so I have some familiarity with film as the medium, but never any motion picture stuff. So, some basic questions right off the bat... I've bought a couple 100' spools of Kodak Tri-X. Does this film, or indeed most 16mm film, come with some sort of leader on it? I presume that when loading, after closing the door and advancing the footage counter to zero that the leader, if any, will have cleared the taking position. Do I need to check? Similarly, at the end of the film, do I just run it out onto the take-up spool, or is necessary to rewind it all back onto the original spool? If I do just let it run through, is there a leader on the tail end and is there some way to secure the film on the spool? I'm planning to load the first spool in very low light, even though that's not recommended by Kodak. I'll need to see what I'm doing the first time. My camera came with an old spool of film in it, so I have been practicing with my dark bag, but I still want to see it a little the first time and I am willing to take the risk as it will just be a test spool. I should be able to unload in the dark bag easily enough. My old practice film has no leader of any kind on either end. That's why I am wondering what to expect with new film. Thanks in advance! Dave

Thanks Simon! I think I've got it mostly figured out now mechanically and feature-wise. One operational question remains. What would the preferred method of shooting be for ending the reel of film? Do you stop short and then rewind by hand crank back onto the source reel, or do you allow the film to run completely through onto the take-up spool? I know the camera can be loaded in subdued light with daylight spools. Can it be unloaded the same way or must that be done in a dark bag or darkroom? Any popular recommendations for places to get film developed and/or printed here in the US? Thanks again to everyone for the advice.

I've attached some links to photos. I was wrong on the serial number - it's in the 17,000s not the 70,000s. I looked over the internals and all the chrome still looks good. I still have no idea on those filters - haven't seen any like it in my research. I'm guessing aftermarket, and perhaps they were dipped. It's a solid slide so there's no putting a gel into it. It also fits quite snugly, so I don't believe it could have been adhesive either. I've gotten the footage counter to start going backwards while rewinding with the crank. Still doesn't reset to zero though but maybe it will once I get it back down to the start position. We'll see... I found out about the focusing prism behind the upper lens position. I can take out the little screw lens on top of the camera. Can the prism be gotten out or should I just try brushing it gently through the holes on the top and front? It's quite dirty. I can clean the screw-out part easily. Outside View Inside View Serial Number Filter Slide

Thanks Dom. That helps a lot seeing that page on the external frame counter and confirming that's what the crank was for. I'll post up some photos shortly. I doubt I want to try taking it apart. I've read some posts and watched what videos I could find and it looks pretty tricky, especially since I have no clue what some of the stuff talked about even means, like pull-down shutter timing, etc. I'll probably just get the known problems done when I send it in for service. ProCam warned me there's probably no financial justification for doing it given the age of it, but I may still do it anyway. At the very least, I must get the sprockets converted. I'm also checking in with Chambliss to see what they think and can offer.

I've just recently inherited an older non-reflex Bolex H16. Hasn't been used in quite some time, I'm sure. It seems to be complete and in quite good shape. I'll check it later on but the serial number is in the 70,000s. It came with 3 lenses that seem to match the included F25 labeled viewfinder. The glass on them looks good and the diaphragms all work well but they were essentially focus-frozen. I did get them to focus by working them a lot but they are really tight. Old grease I am sure. 2 are Wollensaks and one is a Berthiot. I don't recall which is which but they are 15, 25 and 75mm. It also came with a decent condition original case, the manual, a small hand crank, a chrome gadget that I think is for a cable release based on my research and a case of "filters" which are nothing more than thin metal slides with not a filter in sight. I'm guessing maybe they were gels that are long gone. I also have two caps for the lens cavities. It had an old spool of film in it, so I practiced loading it up based on some YouTube videos and the manual. Operation seems pretty good. At 24fps I'm getting about 32-33 seconds of runtime and the speed control dial works. While doing this I discovered that it has the dual sprockets and that film of that type seems unavailable. I've been in touch with ProCam and they can convert it pretty cheaply to use single perf film. Single frame and T function also looks to be working fine. Now the first couple questions. My camera has some sort of plastic counter box attachment stuck to the outside of it in the upper right corner of the side with all the controls. Seems to be a frame counter but it's not as indicated in the manual. Would this have been an option added later or something added at the factory? It has a shaft sticking out of it with a roll pin through it that I assume is for the little crank. The camera has the footage counter in the usual place near the back of the right side but it doesn't work. Opening the door doesn't zero it, and it never moves when the camera runs. Guessing this is not something I can/should try to fix myself? On a related note, what resets that counter? Is it the tall plunger at the back of the film chamber? That depresses freely but otherwise does nothing. I've been shooting film for still photography a while but this is my first movie camera. If I can get everything all sorted out, I'm looking forward to fiddling with it a bit. Thanks!