Will Montgomery

The design of that machine's control panel looks like something out of a 1970s sci-fi film. Which just seems appropriate, somehow.

I was just going to say that it looks like it's from Logan's Run...ha.

All Scoopics have autoexposure...and it does a fairly decent job. You can of course manually set exposure as well.

There isn't going to be a revival in 16mm. release printing. That bird has flown.

But they are fun to show at Halloween parties.

Second, 2 perf has hard frame lines so buildup of emulsion particulates on the bottom of the gate is very common. . using less feet which means you can use less negative.

Good point here. 3-perf is definitely a great option...saves 25% in film costs but gives you flexibility in post.

Personally, I feel 16mm requires a lot of work to look good these days.

 

True. Unless it's the look you're going for...like new Redford movie or Walking Dead or even a high-end home movie look. When you're in the 35mm world however there are more and more arguments to go digital (***gasp!***) with the most modern cameras.

Best of both worlds. It will be interesting to see what you wind up using more.

My suggestion would be to buy 400' loads and have a reliable lab spool them down to 200' A-Minima loads. Bigger labs probably have a stash of the A-minima reels and know the winding requirements; just call around. It does add an extra step to be able to use the camera and takes planning but it is an excellent (and expensive) camera.

As far as the Scoopic lens, I really can't emphasize how amazingly sharp it is throughout most of the aperture...this is the MS & MN models; don't have experience with the original grey model.

There is a commonly found wide angle adapter specifically for the Scoopic but I've never felt the need for it.

I have and rent high-end Zeiss glass for my SR2 and yes I can tell a difference, but for what I use the Scoopic for the lens is perfect. If I'm shooting in extremely low light, I'm going digital my friends; an extra stop or two isn't going to make the difference most of the time.

Another plus to the lens is being able to zoom in, get tack sharp focus then zoom back out quickly to frame. This is actually one of the best aspects for me although not unique to the Scoopic.

When I pick up the Scoopic I'm letting go of absolute control, I'm going for quick, easy, quality image and less missed shots. When I want to control everything I bring out the SR2.

It's all about what you're comfortable and used to. I was really comfortable with my K3 especially loading it...but I was very UNCOMFORTABLE with winding it constantly and missing shots because of that.

 

 

The big problem is not the price tho... it's the re-loading and the film. The film wind is backwards, so you're always winding your own film. Plus, the camera has a difficult threading pattern which makes it not easy to re-load in a run and gun setting.

That's what labs and multiple mags are for. :) I still have original Kodak A-minima loads in the fridge, but if I'm re-loading I just have the lab do it for me for free (as long as I promise to process there.)

Great lens.

Those Cine 60 belts make great props for war & science fiction movies.

The bolex is a superior camera to the Scopic in pretty much every way. Not just the gate, shutter, pressure plate design, but also on the electronic cameras the drive system is stellar. The interchangeable lenses are a key advantage, especially since the Scoopic's lens isn't that fast or wide. Yes the Scoopic is cheap and fine for entry level, it's just a limited camera in my view.

Perhaps superior depends on your needs. Even though the lens is not interchangeable, I've had multiple colorists ask me what lens I was using because of how amazingly sharp it was, especially for regular 16mm. Honestly never seen the need for another lens and I use my SR2's with Zeiss glass constantly as well.

I've never owned a Bolex so I can't speak to it; the pressure plate design may very well be superior and I'm sure it's a finely made Swiss product. But on a practical level, the Scoopic is hands down the easiest loading 100' 16mm camera ever made and that makes a big difference when you're changing reels at an event.

The built-in battery and motor drive is excellent, compact and easy to use as well as the built-in meter which I've used constantly for the run-n-gun type shoot...usually taking a reading then locking down the exposure.

For anything where I can put a camera on sticks, I'm an Arri/Zeiss guy. When I'm shooting backstage at a concert or home movies or any event that I can shoot film at, the Scoopic rocks.

However, I would put the A-Minima at the pinnacle of run-n-gun shooting but that is a much different price point.

Great post. Thank you for taking the time to make that!

Ok, I take all that back, It's a complete piece of crap. Initial scans looked like some kind of Monet painting with constant jitters.

Maybe I have a bad unit, but it's going back tomorrow...gift or not. :angry:

I received a Wolverine 8mm scanner as a gift. It's plugging away right now on a reel. Before even looking at the quality of the scan, what I notice is the amount of time it takes to actually scan a 50' reel. Like 1-3 seconds per frame. It advances the frame then adjusts the frame to line up properly before scanning then moving to the next frame and repeating.

You must have a ton of time on your hands to use this thing.

My goal is just to scan some reels for reference before choosing what to send out for real scans.

It does have a switch to handle negative film which is a positive (pun intended) but really honestly it's just for knowing what's on the film...and an 8mm viewer would be much quicker. But if you can put it in a separate room (the constant clicking will drive you crazy) and let it do it's thing then a crappy little reference scan isn't so bad.

The other minor plus is that it is very easy to use...

175 pounds for color :blink:

Seems expensive until you think that it's equivalent to 4 rolls of Ektachrome 100D which is going for $48 each at B&H photo in NYC. Although equivalent isn't probably the right word since it's an older stock...

Sounds like you're on a similar journey to me about 10 years ago.

My first 16mm camera was a Kodak K-100. Nice wind-up camera but I really wanted TTL focusing. Next step for me was a K3. Really liked it, especially with Pentax Super Takumar prime lenses...but my hand was getting tired from the constant winding and I was missing shots.

My next camera was a Scoopic MS. By far the easiest 16mm camera to load and the MS has an EXCELLENT lens although it is fixed. It's like a combination of Super 8 camera and standard 16mm; the autoexposure is actually very useful and the camera is motorized and very easy to use handheld. Best part is NO WINDING!

I moved to Arri SR2's after that to make use of higher quality PL mount glass and a steadier film path. Love the SR2 but I still go to the Scoopic for handheld work.

My suggestion would be to look into a Scoopic MS for around $500, then send it to Bernie at Super 16, Inc. to get it cleaned and serviced and if you like you can widen the gate to Ultra 16 (although not that useful really) and that will get you to about $800 but you'll have a great practical 16mm camera in top notch shape.

DS8 available from ON8MIL ( UK ) .... https://www.on8mil.com/product-category/8mm-film-packages/ds8_films/

 

John S :rolleyes:

They added 100' rolls to the site at my request and I ordered from them last week, came quickly and efficiently; all the way to Texas from Great Britain. Haven't shot it yet but looking forward to it!

The Blackmagic Raw functionality should be interesting once made available on the BMPCC 4K.

It seems like Blackmagic is doing a very good job bridging the gap between professional and hobbyist by making quality codecs and sensors available for smaller budget productions. There will always be compromises with equipment under $2k, but bravo to them for trying.

This is how we learn. :)

So next time pay more attention to exposure. Make sure you're using your meter properly...look for YouTube videos if you're not familiar with it. As far as seating the film correctly, loading takes practice. Plus you'll get to know the particular "purrr" of your camera and will know when something doesn't sound right.

Bottom line is keep trying and learning from each try. Eventually you'll nail it and it will all make sense and you'll be like, "wow. this is really cool."

I've never shot with a Bolex so I can't give you any specifics but plenty of folks on this forum will be able to.

Wish there was a treatment for vinegar syndrome.

Gah! What a shame. They better be delivering a good product for $25/roll and such a small specialty. I'll stick to Cinelab.

Kodak isn't in the processing business to kill other good labs...they just want to make sure their big pro customers have access to labs close to the action for 16 & 35mm negative. That's why the Atlanta Kodak lab isn't doing Super 8 or Regular 8 or B&W or any specialty stocks; it's there to support The Walking Dead and everything else is just gravy.

I will say that the Atlanta lab rocks and those guys love film as much as us or more and have a top notch operation. Plus really cool Kodak film boxes now.

Super glad that labs like Cinelab are still around for ALL kinds of stock however. They are keeping film alive.

You can pull out the cartridge at anytime and look to see if it's done. This will reset the counter if you close it back up and keep shooting but it will only expose a couple frames.

 

Use Resolve. It's free, and it supports legacy frame rates including 18fps.

 

And it's a million times better than Premiere. You only have to pay for it if you want to *export* at resolutions higher than UHD. You can bring in 4k files and work with them, but there are some limits on file output sizes unless you spend $300 for a license (which is roughly the same as a year of Premiere but it's a permanent license)

Not to mention the real reason to use Resolve...color. Still can't believe they made it available for free.

So they were cleaning out cold storage and found this laying around probably...

Of all the cameras I have used over the years the Leicina Special delivers a very steady image over all overs for what its worth and I love using 'the brick'

Extremely well built camera.