Gerard Dalton

3 hours ago, Aapo Lettinen said:

The older Aatons had all sorts of add-on updates and additional stuff possible to get installed to the basic ltr body when they figured out additional stuff over the years. So there is maybe at least dozen or more different combinations of what could have been added and when. Can make them kind of frankencameras at times, you have to take a moment to figure out what they added over the years and why 😄

For example I have one which has pl mount, s16, video optics similar to xtr, the 9pin amphenol connector found on most newer ltr's but not all of them. And I think some kind of edge timecode system, no idea if working or not but there it is. The body only has 25fps crystal, does not seem to be possible to switch to 24fps crystal whereas some ltr's can be switched by the user. 

Those alone add lots of variations between cameras. There is no one LTR, there is bazillion different ones and it is likely more uncommon to find unmodified one than those which have add ons installed over the years

I want to eventually get a video tap. Other than that, it isn’t much more I think you can add. 

what type of video optics does it have? External or built into the camera body? 
 

does it shoot at any other frame rates higher than 25fps?

4 hours ago, Tyler Purcell said:

What did they say the problem was? If it only took 30 min, musta been something pretty simple like a loose cable or something. 

Yea i think that’s what it was because it’s the cables that he was interested in working with once the other possible problems he checked and ruled out. I’d say it took a little longer but he knew what to look for regarding what was wrong. 
 

Also he said my LTR specifically had some modifications where were interesting. I wasn’t too sure what he was referring to but it was a lot of colorful cables inside.  
 

but my impression is with these old cameras it’s really anyone’s guess what’s going on inside. That’s why like you said, LTRs can be tricky. 
 

the XTRs are less unpredictable I guess? 
 

So I have an update on my camera. I looked up a few places who service Aaton cameras and the closest to me was Visual Products in Ohio. 

After talking to them on the phone and describing the issue we set up an appointment for the next week. I drove there with my camera honestly expecting the worst and probably would have to drop it off.

Turns out it was an easy fix. One of the techs basically tested my LTR, saw the problem , took it apart and put it back together in like 30 minutes in front of me and explained all the mechanics. 

Then he checked for other miscellaneous issues, fixed some other stuff I didn’t know was wrong. He seemed like an expert on Aaton. I took a few more photos/video if anyone wants to see I can post it. 

Really impressive work for someone like me who isn’t really knowledgeable about old cameras.

Like some of you said, Aatons are complex cameras inside, I didn’t think it had so much electrical wiring. So I can see how the electrical parts can cause big issues. 

But to sum it up, the techs and all the other workers was all really nice there. Great experience with them. I think all around it took like 2 hours and i was on my way back home. 

Any Aaton users on the East Coast/Midwest definitely should consider them. Ask for Jason and the tech name was Paul I think. 
 

On 2/9/2024 at 9:08 PM, Tyler Purcell said:

Usually that's the beginning of a bad board. Can you email me a video info@narrowgaugefilms.com

I sent a email with a link to the video.

Also, I think a bad battery could be the cause of the problem 

I tried using a new battery on it that I bought a few months back. It worked after charging so I figured it’s fine.

Now that same battery doesn’t work at all and it’s ice cold.

the other batteries I use actually hold a charge and  give power to the camera but with the issue it keeps running when switched off. But different batteries vary slightly. 

1 hour ago, Aapo Lettinen said:

there has been talk of the difficult servicing of original Aaton electronics and in general it makes more sense to replace all electronics in a device with completely new ones if there is enough aging and malfunctioning involved. everything electrical breaks up eventually, it just takes longer if it has been well made back then instead of being general consumer junk like cheaper 8mm cameras might be.

So the idea is to replace EVERYTHING electrical including the motor drive itself. Makes no sense to save some part of the old system because it creates potential compatibility issues and that old original part would be the exact part breaking up next which is just asking for problems. Mechanics are too expensive to redesign and replace so camera mechanics need to be kept as is.

Of course one could buy a new LTR if the old one breaks but how long the new one might manage before generating issues too? and it would still have the old boring features (only one built-in crystal speed of either 24 or 25 , no display, etc)

 

Right I understand that perspective. But if AATON LTR is really that risky of a purchase I’d probably just settle for a Bolex or save up and get an Arri SR 

right now I think aaton cameras is the best for the money. 

But I think there has to be some Aaton users out there who trust their cameras or who have figured out how to fix problems. I try not to think as “worse case scenario”. 

On 2/10/2024 at 4:02 AM, Aapo Lettinen said:

I can make new control electronics to the LTR sometime but someone has to donate me a mechanically working LTR body for free, I wont rip my own working camera apart to take dimensioms from it ? I just need an extra camera body, I have mags and other stuff here. Final update electronics  would cost about from 3k to 4k per camera + installation work and would have better features than the original ones, making it closer to xtr prod in electronic features. Takes from 1 to 2 years to complete

Is this a solution to a major electrical problem or what you suggest I’ll need to get done?
 

In my case, I don’t think fixing a LTR for 3k-4k is smart when you could find another one for the same price or less.

On 7/23/2022 at 4:00 PM, Tyler Purcell said:

The problem with LTR's come down to the motors and electronics. We have a lot of issues with them, it seems every one that comes in, has some sort of motor or electronic issue. 

We got the schematics from Pierre for some of the LTR's and our electronics guy spent weeks trying to repair one of the boards, without any success. The problem is the tachometer system seems to fail. Since Aaton uses a very basic tach system, which is super easy to diagnose, we've traced it down to the actual board itself. 

The motor issues, well... most of them are from corrosion. The worst thing about the LTR's is that you can't really easily pull apart the motor without desoldering the very fragile control/tach board. I've spent countless hours trying to get them apart and back together again, sometimes successful, sometimes not. 

Then you got all those damn thin cables and connectors which generally fall apart. We built some tools to take them apart, but it's still a PITA to work with. 

In the end, we've kinda given up working on LTR's. We'll take them if it's just mechanical. I can fix most mechanical issues. If it's electronics, we generally pass. I have 2 LTR's with electronic issues in shop right now and both are very odd, super odd. 

The XTR's are much better, electronics and mechanics. 

Hi, I’m having an issue with a LTR and you sound like you have enough AATON knowledge and experience to help me out.

Any idea what’s causing my Camera to keep running after the power has been turned off?
 

The shutter just flutters non stop and doesn’t stop until I remove the battery.

The camera had been running fine up until yesterday when I tried to put a mag on and run some film through it

2 hours ago, Dom Jaeger said:

You can’t see the gate in that photo. That’s the light meter cell.

But from the condenser optic above the ground glass I doubt it’s S16.

I kinda figured it’s not S16 But in this camera I really don’t know what to even look for. I’ve never used a bolex. 
 

As long as it looks ok to you I’m fine. I didn’t even know it had a built in light meter. 

I found this thread looking for info on s16 conversion for bolex

can anyone tell me from the image below if this bolex is the s16 version. It appears to be modified compared to other bolex photos I’ve seen online.
 

How much is it typically to repair a zoom super  speed or just a zoom lens in general. My lens won’t focus when zoomed out all the way among other smaller issues

Similar to the post above, someone referred me Duclos but I don’t want to get my hopes up