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Will Montgomery

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Posts posted by Will Montgomery

  1. Yes, DX lenses are cheaper because they removed the aperture ring (and generally use plastic materials for housing the lens); therefore they won't work for movie cameras. The fully automatic cameras like all their digital SLRs and the F100 35mm control the aperture anyway so this was "extra" for most photographers.

     

    Even the non-DX lenses with an aperture ring might have to be modified slightly. The K3 uses M42 mount lenses and Pentax had that great "Super Takumar" lens line that has an auto/manual switch so you could manually operate the aperture.

     

    Only the fully manual Nikon lenses would be advised. Nikon still makes a HUGE selection of these (or at least they maintain a huge inventory and selection) and they are wonderful glass.

     

    I would love to see a c-mount to Nikon adapter; those Nikon lenses must look strange on a K-100.

  2. Hi,

     

    We run reversal daily for $0.16/foot and we have a $50.00 minimum for transfer of B+W (75.00 for color) either send a minidv or buy one from us for $10.00.

     

    -Rob-

     

    Is that a new website? Makes me want to try you guys at CineLab...

  3. Hi

    Why dont you try 320T? It is the most closer to 200T.

     

    The 320T is from the previous Vision series and would have a slightly different character than either Vision2 200T or Vision2 500T.

  4. Are there any cheap 2-perf 35mm cameras available or that can be modified? i.e. Eyemo or something under $3000 (yes, this is for a hobbyist, not a pro)?

     

    Seems as though 2-perf 35mm would only be slightly higher in costs than Super 16 and look much better...

  5. There is an one online source that suggests that developing of negative film is cheaper than reversal. Is this generally true for 16mm or does this differ from lab to lab in which case some labs would charge the same amount for the length of film, regardless if it is negative or reversal?

     

    You are correct that most labs will process negative for cheaper, I'm sure John's correct about the process for reversal being harder, but also, many more people process negative so therefore more labs do it and the price is less.

     

    Many labs in the U.S. are associated with telecine houses and often give processing discounts if you use their telecine.

     

    For instance, in my home town, Dallas, TX, The Lab at Video Post & Transfer will process negative for $.15/ft if you use their telecine or $.18/ft if not.

  6. You'll have very interesting results; see previous posts on proper filtering for it (search).

     

    If this is just for fun, go ahead and do it and see what you get. If this is actually for a project involving money, don't even bother with it, there's no point.

  7. Kodak Vision2 Expression 500T stock might be a start for you. I've noticed the lower contrast and slightly less vibrant colors while still a sharp stock and low grain for a 500T. Several Fuji stocks are also noted for this characteristic too, I think the 400T especially.

     

    If you liked VNF, you may like the look of a reversal like the new Ektrachrome 100D but have the contrast lowered in post. A reversal film gives a slightly dated look almost automatically.

  8. If you're going to be watching workprint of your work from now on, I would take the time to shoot an 18% grey card at the head of every roll

    Good advice, I have one ready to go, I just haven't been as responsible as I should in this regard.

     

    This is really to get the experience of printing the negative, not for any paid work at this point. I cringe at the thought of running my Kodachrome or Ektachrome through my projector for fear of scratching it... although it looks great when I do.

     

    Are any labs recommended over others for standard 16mm prints? I've used Forde in Seattle and been happy with their work so I was considering sending it to them since they teamed up with another lab that has printing capibility. I'm in Texas, so I pretty much have to send out for this service.

  9. I've been shooting both negative and reversal 16mm for some time now, but I've always telecined the film and never projected it. Now that I have a projector, I want to print some of my negative film and was wondering if I should look out for anything.

     

    I know there there are one-light, best-light and timed prints available... and since this will be simply projected at home I'm guessing best-light will be fine if my footage is fairly consistent in lighting.

     

    Any special stocks I should be requesting?

  10. I think the mod that most people do to the K-100 is similar to the K3 mod, basically just widening the gate. I wonder how much of the frame is covered by those c-mount lenses.

     

    While I love my K-100, it's hard for me to still use it because of focusing issues. I rarely have enough time to guess distances correctly.

     

    I got a reflex lens for it, but its so bulky with it on that I'd just rather use my K3 or Scoopic.

  11. I have a Bell & Howell 16mm Filmosound 3580. I believe it was High School surplus, bought off eBay for $60. Ran my first reel through it last week, a 100' Ektachrome 100D shot in a Pumpkin Patch on a sunny day. I was AMAZED at the colors when this film is projected. Loading on this machine is easy and when I had it transfered to video this week there were no scratching issues evident.

     

    I believe these projectors were still manufactured in the late 80's and early 90's, and they are solid chunks of metal meant to last in the worst environment known to mankind, a public High School. Having only run one reel through it, I can't say how it will last, but I know I wouldn't want to drop it on my foot.

  12. Yeah, I'd definitely recommend overexposing at most 1 stop when shooting, then pulling the film back to normal during processing. You'll notice much more color saturation, deeper blacks and better contrast if your key-to-fill ratio when shooting was on the high side.

     

    Also, go for the slowest film stock you can find. The faster the film, the grainier the image. The Kodak Vision2 100T is nice, or you can go for the 50D with an 80A filter.

     

    Good luck!

     

    Jon Bowerbank

    Umm, Jon? That was a post from 2 years ago you responded to...

  13. Along with the 16mm camera i bought the owner sent me a spool of 400 feet b&w reversal tri-x 7278-832-16. Its from 1967 and is still unopened in the fresh looking can. 1 perf. Anybody ever use this or would you?

     

    I lucked up too- he also sent tri x 7266 which is newer, I was planning on shooting the feature on 7266 and this seems to be a good time to use what he sent for the film test. So if i go with the 20 percent discount for 7266 at kodak that would put the 400 foot spools at around 64 dollars. This may be the route i go. But I'll still keep an open mind and welcome more input.

     

    Thanks everyone!

    Good luck with your feature, let us know how it goes!

  14. I noticed some deals on fuji 16mm negative recans. Seems 16mm tri-x reversal is hard to come by on short ends and recans.

     

    Can i shoot the negative, have it processed, then have it transfered like you can with reversal?

     

    (And is Fuji 16mm film harder to get developed than kodaks?) I wouldn't think it is but had to ask.

     

    I would bet that brand new Tri-X reversal ($18.95 per 100' roll from Kodak last time I looked) would still be cheaper than color negative Fuji 16mm recans and shortends unless they are giving them away.

     

    Modern negative stocks from Fuji and Kodak use the same development process so no worries on that... and its easier to find negative film labs than ones who still do black & white.

     

    Check out negative stocks if you haven't already, you'll be impressed with how they look. Also, negative B&W stocks look great too, I really like Kodak Double-X (not to be confused with Triple-X I guess).

  15. Congratulations!

     

    Make sure you pick up an inexpensive projector, shoot a role of Ektrachrome 100D, and see it projected since you'll probably be transfering to video to work on it. That will give you an appreciation for the vibrant colors of the stock, and plus its just very cool & retro and great party fun.

  16. You can buy the ORWO Films directly from the producing campany. Its name is "Filmotec" and it´s situated in the old ORWO plant

     

    Is there developing process similar to the Foma which is like the OLD Tri-X process? Something about less time in the bleach... it would make it harder to get processed properly.

  17. Bad places to store the film:

    In cardboard boxes (Cardboard boxes are excellent for shipping well-packed film, but not for long term storage: the glue can give off fumes in time.)

     

    Interesting, my local lab returns film in "Pizza" type carboard boxes, I'll ask about glue issues. I think they said it was better than metal because it breathes more.

  18. No problem with handheld and a little grain.

    But was it 2.35:1?

     

    I believe it was 2.35:1 but I'd bet it was Super 16 cropped in & anamorphized (is that a word?) durring blowup to 35.

     

    Grain is ok, and handheld is usually ok, its just when every shot including closeups are handheld and moving it starts to hurt a little on the big screen IMO.

  19. 200T in the right lighting condition can look close to standard 16mm with a good telecine & colorist. Keeping in mind that the colorist makes or breaks it, I've found 200T to be the best looking color Super 8 stock available.

     

    I've found 500T a little grainy, but then I always try to push it at the low-light end.

     

    The unforgiving nature of color reversals makes it hard to go back to them after working with negative film.

     

    Surprisingly, I actually like reversals in 16mm for some reason better.

  20. To transfer from negative for critical customers you will need a clean room and humidified environment with ultrasonic full-immersion film cleaners and a solvent recovery plant, unless there is a film lab close by that will do telecine prep and cleaning for you. The Rank we had required a nearly full-time technician (me) to keep it working as there was a BC107 (?) transistor failing about every few days, requiring component level troubleshooting. (This however was 22+ years ago so maybe they have improved since then.) I would liken owning a personal Rank to owning a pet elephant.

     

    Plus, you'll need the The Illudium Pew-36 Explosive Space Modulator!

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