Shawn Gallagher

If anyone out there has a JK printer that they want to sell I'm looking for one. Feel free to message me to talk about details. Thanks! -Shawn

Hi, I'm looking for a JK optical printer. If anyone has one in working order and would like to sell it, I am very much in need of one for my work. Please email me at iambonjovi@gmail.com Thanks, -Shawn

Hi All, Is there a good way to project 16mm in one frame increments, or is there a 16mm projector out there that has a true single-frame capability? I'd like to try to make an aerial image set-up w/ my animation stand for matte work, etc. Thanks for your help!!

Hi All, I'm trying to get 2 old, non-synced, 1-tube panasonic cameras (wv-3050s, I think) to work with the panasonic special effects generator (wj-4600). I assume the wavy, messed up lines I saw when I plugged everything in was due to the video signals being out-of-sync. I've tried to do some research, but I can't figure out what piece of equipment I need to rectify this problem. Is there a cheap solution to this problem? (or if not cheap, will a single piece of equip. solve this?) I'd prefer to keep all the eqip. analouge and from the era (late 70s). (and yes, I know the 1-tube cameras are really low resolution and generally considered garbage, but I trying to get the effect of an amateur studio from the tube era) Thanks for your help!!!

Thanks for this!!!

Thanks Guys, No other ports or connections one the camera, only that one 9-pin cord going out the back. After a little searching on ebay it seems like a Camera Control Unit is what I'm looking for, but it does seem like most of these units are for cameras that use a 14-pin connection. Was the 14-pin connection a standard for professional video? I hope I can still find a CCU that supports this type of connection. Thanks again for your help!!

Hi All, I have a really simple question, which I'm (almost) too embarrased to ask. I've been wanting to play around with some old video equipment to see what effects I could squeeze out of them and I got an old Panasonic Newvicon 3160 (as a test camera). My problem is that I can't even figure out how it powers up. I see no battery or power cord, just a 9-pin cord (or 10-pin with one missing) sticking out from the back. Do I need to plug this into some kind of power source? If so what kind? I also have an old portable sony video cassette recorder on the way which looks like it has an input for this cord. Does it power up through a cassette recorder? Please see pictures below. Needless to say, I feel like somewhat of a dumbass for asking this. Thanks so much for any help!

Very interesting idea making a second Bolex into the projector, but I've noticed steadiness problems with the Bolex as well, and especially when shooting single frame (I'm using a Tobin TTL motor with mine). My suggestion would be why not use a mitchell instead, although I don't have nearly enough technical expertise to attempt a conversion like that I am really interested to hear what you think. I wanted to make an aerial image projector using a JK projector and was saddened as well to see that they are no longer accepting orders. Are there any other projectors that will do single frame advancement? I tried my EIKI's "single frame" feature and it would run in 2-3 frame bursts, not very exact.

Hi, I'm curious about the difference in quality between two compact zoom lenses for the Bolex; the SOM Bethriot compact Pan Cinor 17-85mm and the Kern compact Vario-Switar 17-85mm. Is the huge difference in price justified? I bought a perfect compact Pan Cinor for under $100, collimated and everything (mabye I got a good deal) but I'm wondering if the compact Vario-Switar is that much better for the price, for example an unserviced one went on ebay yesterday for $350. Now, I'm certainly an amateur when it comes to cinematography, but it seems that the specs of the lenses are pretty much similar. They are both slow; the SOM opens to f3.8 and the Kern to f3.5, the focal range is the same and the design is effectively the same. Also, (I'm really curious about this), I know that there is a funny thing with the other early Kern zoom lenses, (and I'm thinking of the Vario-Switar 18-86mm EE that I own) that the filter threads, in addition to being an annoying "series" size are also at an odd thread pitch so that you have to have a specially machined adapter if you want to put anything more than one drop-in filter in front of the lens (and that's only if you have the retaining lens hood). Does anyone know if the compact Vario-Switar suffers from the same problem? The compact Pan Cinor I have accepts standard modern 43mm filters, which is a big plus in my book. But I've also heard that the resolution, when compared to a Switar is rather sub-par. Does anyone know if the compact Switar zoom has the same reputation as the Switar primes in terms of resolution? This may be too much to ask, but if anyone has stills or examples of footage from the compact Switar and would like to post it here or post a link to it, I would be very grateful. As always, thanks to everyone here for your great advice!

Hi, Yes Herb is right, those metal pegs are called registration pins, they were used in the printing industry but are still available from printing suppliers. I used epoxy to glue mine down, they aren't going to move anywhere. I like them more than the standard animation peg bars since I could use a simple office three-hole-puncher to punch my acetate, backgrounds or whatever. I'm not sure where the best place to get them in Europe is, but I got mine through Ternes-Burton Co. in Minnesota. Good luck with your project!

Hi Mai, I've just finished setting up an animation stand using a bolex rex-4. I mounted mine to the wall with plywood and 2 x 4's so the camera is solid and unmovable, but I have a bethriot compact zoom lens on the camera for movement. As far as lights go, I'm just using 150w enlarger bulbs with diffusion screens, the enlarger bulbs are frosted so there are no hot spots. The bulbs are cheap and temperature balanced at 3200K, perfect for the Kodak 7212 stock I'm using. I'm also using a Tobin time lapse / animation motor, from my research this is the best motor to use.

Hi Everyone, I heard that Fujichrome Velvia has comparable characteristics to the discontinued Kodachrome small guage motion picture films, but I haven't been able to locate any 16mm or super-8 stocks. Has this stock been discontinued as well or am I just not looking in the right place? I'm especially looking for a fujichrome 16mm stock that has saturated colors similar to Kodachrome, but if I have to I can work in super-8. Also if you can suggest any other stocks with the color quality of Kodachrome, that would be great. Any help would be greatly appreciated. And, as always, thanks for your time and expertise!

You'd think Bolex would have, seeing that they used some strange thread pitch and all. I've never seen one either. I have seen a Bolex close-up attachment for the EE lens that fits on the threading. Couldn't get a good look at it though, someone was selling it with an EE lens on ebay. I asked if they would sell the attachment seperately. No reply. I wonder if that close-up attachment had female threads as well. The whole thing's a mystery.

Hi Ian, Awesome. Thanks for the advice. One question though: Does the Series IX adapter hold a Series VIII filter in front of the lens as well. (I have a sweet Series VIII tiffen diopter that needs to be close to the lens to work (I think.) and which I'll never have to take out) Thanks again! -Shawn

Hi All, I have an older vario-switar lens on my Bolex, the Vario-Switar 18-86mm EE lens. I've been trying to get a filter retaining ring that will fit on the threads on the front of the lens. The lens manual says that "series viii" filters will work and I CAN fit the non-threaded "series viii" filters in behind the lens hood (which acts as a filter retainer), but I need to add another filter on top of that (which the lens hood does not allow). I can't seem to find a "series viii" retaining ring that will fit on the threads and which would allow me to stack another filter instead of the lens hood. Is the pitch of the threads on the front of this lens diffrent from a standard pitch? I can't seem to get any threaded "series viii" holders to take on the lens threads Do anyone have any suggestions for attaching 2 "series viii" filters in front of the 18-86mm EE lens? And if anyone has any hardware that would allow me to stack 2 filters on top of the V-S 18-86 EE and is willing to part with it, I would be happy to buy it from you. Also another question: what size filters fit on top of the vario-switar 12-100mm POE? As always, thanks for your help and expertise!! I'd be lost without all the help I get from this forum.

Can you even find 16mm with sound strip or add sound to the film anymore? Mabye some post-production places can do it for $$$. If you were going to do it, mabye a reel to reel hooked up to the camera with a pulse cable. Look on ebay, they come up often. My question is WHY? You can still get that old soundtrack hisss by recording sound first on analog equipment and then digitizing. I am interested to see what others have to say about this topic as well. Good Luck. -Shawn

Hi, Just a FYI, I bought from "super-8-camera-shop" before and got garbage. The guy over-rates his stuff. I've heard this from others as well. Be careful. If you buy, test as soon as you get the camera. Good Luck.

Thanks Ian, I totally agree, thanks again for your reply. Now that I'm sure I'm not crazy for expecting a RX-4 that WORKS for a grand I can request a refund from this dealer with confidence.

Hi Everyone, I bought a Bolex RX-4 with a Vario-Switar EE 18-86 from a camera dealer on ebay. The camera was rated EX+ and I paid just over $1000 for it, but when it arrived the diopter was completely broken and there was dirt and fungus in the viewfinder. The ebay listing didn't menton any of this but described the camera as "95% cosmetically", I also spoke to the dealer on the phone and inquired whether anything was wrong with the camera and the dealer said there was nothing wrong with the camera. Since I need the camera for animation and have bad eyesight, the diopter is essential for fine focusing, and therefore I can't use the camera. My question is: Was the camera misrepresented or is it common to rate a dirty RX-4 as EX+ with a broken diopter? I am asking because I've dealt with this dealer before and we had a disagreement on camera rating, so I'd like to have some idea of standard rating before I ask for a refund. Thanks for your help!!!

Are you sure it's not a Canon 1014?

Hi Mai, Why don't you just get a cheap Bolex and, single frame, shoot the drawings directly on film. It might be more expensive for the equipment outlay, but if you sell the camera afterwards (or just rent a camera) it might be a lot cheaper. Cheers. -Shawn

Thanks Guys! I had a feeling that was what I had to do, but it seemed an uncharacteristically messy procedure for a Bolex. Thanks again for your expert advice.

Hi Everyone, Here's a really dumb question for you, I have a flat base Bolex, a matte box mount and a matte box, but I can't figure out how to get the metal framed black vinyl piece off of the front of the flat base. (I assume that under this metal piece are the two screw holes for the matte box mount, but for the life of me I can't get the black vinyl piece off!) Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Hey Guys, Thanks for all the helpful info!! Clive, I checked out your website and it looks like you have just what I'm looking for. I guess I'll contact you through your website sometime soon. Thanks for the link. Boris, the info on the lenses was very helpful, thanks again. The link to the animation site is also pretty awesome, thanks Bernhard.

Hi Everyone, I have a few questions about the perfromance of later model Bolex's regarding single frame (cel) animation and was hoping that someone could demystify the issue. I am eternally grateful for any help you could provide. So, I'm looking for a Bolex with a 1:1 drive, 10x (or greater) reflex viewfinder, and a zoom lens with a minimum focusing distance at less then 6". I'm not really interested in super 16 conversion or the ability to attach a 400' reel. From what I understand, one of the first models to come with a 1:1 also came with a nice standard Vario-Switar 86EE zoom lens. I am considering buying one of these from ebay. It could only hold 100', but for single frame that's fine for me. I am also looking into a RX-5, SB (with bayonet mount) or an EBM. My questions are: (1) I have heard that the spring driven motor provides inconsistent performance in shutter speed, especially when the spring begins to wind down. Is this true? I don't mind hand cranking the spring motor (my setup is very sturdy) but I need even and consistent exposure. Is this possible with the spring mechanisim? (2) I've also heard that a single frame animation MOTOR is needed for single frame animation. Although the only one I could find (and possibly afford) is the Meritex Inc. K206 animation motor, but this is currently not available. Is an animation motor necessary for consistent performance? (3) Does the electric model (EBM or later) provide an option for single frame exposure (and rewind)? And if so, is it any good? (4) This is a shot in the dark, but does anyone know if the short Bolex Matte Box will work with the large Switar 86EE zoom lens? It looks like there are two other things projecting from the base of the lens (I have only seen pictures) which would possibly get in the way of a Matte. (5) Any suggestions as to the best Bolex setup for single frame animation would be deeply appreciated. Thanks so much for your help. -Shawn Gallagher Brooklyn, NY