Raymond Zrike

What super-16 lenses do you have? Any PL?

Seems like a decent price to me. Plus it’s not really good forum etiquette to be arguing over a price publicly, especially if you don’t intend to buy. Just move on if you think it’s too pricey.

On 9/4/2021 at 4:51 PM, D John Carroll said:

I’ve updated this to 1080p hd-sdi

 

ill release a how-to soon 

I’d very much like to hear your results too!

Thanks!

Just want to know for sure while I’m planning a project. Can I switch lens (in daylight) while in the middle of a 16mm 400’ roll? My camera, an Eclair ACL, doesn’t have a multi-turret design. Does the shutter protect the rest of the roll (as long as the camera isn’t running)? 

Awesome. Good to hear. What type of shots did you use the 90mm for? That’s like a 300mm 35mm equivalent, right? Macro?

This is a bit specific so I might not get a response, but has anyone ever adapted Leica m-mount lenses to a c-mount cine camera? There are adapters out there, and the flange distance appears to allow this to happen, but I’m still a little unsure as to if it’ll work perfectly. The fact that Leica lenses are built for cameras that don’t have a mirror, and I’m attempting to adapt it to a camera that has a mirror, seems backwards. Usually you can’t adapt mirrorless/rangefinder lenses to SLR lenses (while maintaining infinity focus). Additionally, I know m-mount lenses that are wider than 50mm perform poorly on mirrorless cameras like a Sony Alpha, but I think that’s a digital-only problem. 

For context, I have an Eclair ACL for which I have two Zeiss Superspeeds. I’m going to be purchasing a Leica 50mm soon for photography work (most likely the Summilux ASPH), and I would really like to use it on the 16mm cam as essentially a telephoto, close-up lens. 

Wow these are some interesting options. I was just strapping an iPhone to my camera haha. Will need to try these out once I’ve got time and a little expendable cash.

I think the S16 conversion might have to do with it, or the filter holder is just busted. The gels are probably the best option if I want to do something dramatic, like tint the whole image dark green, then I don’t have to go out and get such a specific glass filter. On the other hand, I use NDs so often; better to have a reliable set. 

The main issue was when I did tests with the gel holder, every time I slid the holder out, the gel had been scratched all over. So I had no way of knowing if the gel was clear and fine once it was slid in, plus I’d have to replace the gel every time I change it out. Definitely too impractical.

Yeah, I bought a set of gels and I don’t think they’re high enough quality to use behind the glass. Now I’m starting the tedious investment process in 4x4 NDs and the like. 

My Eclair ACL has a little cartridge that slides in in front of the film and behind the lens. The cartridge has a circle cutout that is about the image size of 16mm, and the intention of it is that you can load it with a circle gel to act as a filter. If I could use this feature of the camera instead of using square glass filters on the front element, I’d save about 10x the money and I’d be able to have more filtration options.

I’ve got a couple questions for those who have used filter gels like this before, though:

1. Are gel filter sheets of lower quality than glass filters? Will the image be different between using an ND filter on the front element versus using a gel behind the lens?

2. Will the possibility that of the gel not being perfectly flat (since it is flexible) affect the image quality? This is what I’m most worried about; that it would cause flares.

3. More practically, the camera I have was converted to super-16. Does anyone know if this filter holder covers the full super-16 image?

I just discovered this feature of the camera the other night since the previous owner had it taped up (which I assume indicates I should tape it over if I end up using it or not, to prevent light leaks).

Hmm attaching it directly to the viewfinder is not a bad idea. Probably would make it easier to remove and put back on when need be.

After seeing some old forum posts talking about creating a DIY video tap for older 16mm cameras, I thought I’d give it a shot. There’s an old thread about exactly the camera I’m using, an Eclair ACL, but the photo of the rig that they posted is no longer on the internet. So I put a super rough $20 thing together (plus an iPhone 8+). You can see it here: https://imgur.com/gallery/aNxfqXV

Any suggestions? There are definitely some things that could be improved. It takes a while to set up since it doesn’t want to stay in place unless I use tape. It’d be nice to have a more rigid arm, but I’m not sure I could find one that’s the exact length and angle needed (that’s why I ended up with the “gooseneck”). And for actual shooting I’ll need to make sure that I’ve covered up all possible points where light can come in the viewfinder so it doesn’t cause light leaks.

Alright, that’s what I figured. I guess my budget matte box search will commence. Thanks for the confirmation of my suspicions.

Even though I’ve rented cine lenses (mostly CP.2) in the past and have used others on set, I’ve always owned only still/photos lenses. I’ve always put UV filters (specifically B+W brand) on every lens I have—makes me less nervous about cleaning the glass in the case of a smudge or dust, and if it gets scratched up, it’s easily replaced. Also, I’ve read that UV filters help when shooting film, even though I’ve never noticed a difference with digital (convo for another day). But I’ve just brought two super 16 Zeiss super speed Mk. II which I don’t think have front threads. The fronts have 80mm diameters. Are cine lenses always left bare? Is there any way to protect them besides the lens cap? I like to shoot out in the world (i.e. encountering elements occasionally), so is a matte box the only solution?

Just got an ACL today. Seems to be working fine.

I think this ACL is equipped with the heavy-duty motor (but not the fancy crystal sync at all speeds motor). The speeds increase when I turn the fps dial. But there’s this blank option. When I turn to it, it makes the motor go really slow, like slower than 8fps. What is that? I’ve included a photo.

Awesome! That’ll make it easy for when I need a different stock for just a couple shots. 

Simple question, I think: is it possible to use a 100’ roll of film in a 200’ mag? Specifically with an Eclair ACL.

“Some early but excellent 16mm primes had to focus by the lens mount turning in the lubricated camera port.” Whoa that’s weird, never heard of that before. I’m assuming those lenses wouldn’t work with any cameras other than they ones they were intended for?

The Lomos look appealing, but I don’t think any of them cover super 16 unfortunately.

Looks like I should go toward the superspeeds, although the Angenieux zooms are certainly interesting and plentiful—there’s so many different ones, I can’t keep track of them. Maybe there’s a catalog of them online somewhere. Thanks everyone!

Eclair ACL. With ACL adapters for PL, Arri B/Arri S, then obviously c-mount. 

Typically I’ve opted for less “clinical” lenses (very fond of my Leica R 50 Summilux and screw-mount 5cm Summitar), but that was when I was shooting more digital. Now with super 16, I was thinking of getting lenses that are a bit more technically proficient since a lot of the “character” can come from the film stock instead. But I don’t know; I just wish I could see some sample images of these lenses to make up my mind. Or at least descriptions of how they resolve images. My journeys through Google haven’t turned up many results in that department. Although vintagelensesforvideo.com has some good reviews, but not many. In the past, I’ve always gotten lenses based on descriptions from other enthusiasts online. I’ll keep searching, but I’d thought I’d ask here if anybody knew any resources. 

The Schneiders are definitely attractively priced, but they look really small. Might make it difficult to use with an ACL. Were they meant to be used with Bolexs?

What do Kinetals look like?

Yeah, the superspeeds are definitely up there in price now, but there are one or two on eBay right now that I could afford. 

As for pulling focus, this isn’t for a production that needs absolute repeatable accuracy, but I’d like to be able to shoot at least occasionally with some shallow depth of field (whatever 16mm will allow me). Like I mentioned, the Schneiders look like they have a tiny focus throw. Is that true? Is that the same for all these small, older 16mm lenses? 

I’m looking for super-16 lens options in the $800-1500 range. This is to buy, of course looking at buying used/vintage. 

A PL lens would be awesome, but c-mount and Arri S/Arri B would work too (I’ve got adapters). I could also get a Nikon adapter, but I’d have to fit it into my budget.

Originally I thought I would go for a full 35 cine lens—now I’m thinking I’ll go with vintage super 16 because 35mm lenses out there at that price point are pretty slow at focal lengths appropriate for super 16.

I’m just looking for one, “normal-ish” (like 18mm) lens that’s decently fast. Any suggestions? I’ve always relied on various wikis when buying older lenses (like for my still photography exploits), but there doesn’t seem to be a list of super 16 lenses anywhere... there are a couple Zeiss super speeds (MKII) on eBay right now, what is the opinion on those? Any examples of work show with super 16 super speeds? Any good zooms?

You can email me at raymondzrike@gmail.com, or you can post photos here; not sure how things are normally done on this forum.  

Thanks for all the replies! Little late to respond since I can’t seem to get email notifications from this forum... I’ll figure it out eventually.

Since it appears NPRs are more plentiful than ACLs, I was hoping the mount of the former would be alright, but that doesn’t seem to be the case. Luckily, as Gregg mentioned, somebody just posted about selling an ACL, hours after my original post; not sure if it’s fate or a conspiracy. Either way, hope it pans out. 

Hello, I’m interested in buying. Do you have photos of the camera and accessories?