Andrew Hamilton Watts

Hi all, Reaching out for some help from someone smarter and more experienced than I. I am hoping someone could explain the difference in how the Braun Nizo line and the Eumig 881 work regarding long exposures. Because I have a Nizo 480 in hand, I understand that by locking the shutter open, I can then use the intervalometer function as means of controlling my exposures. If I set the intervalometer to 30 seconds, I will be exposing each from for that period. I could then either increase or decrease the exposure time to my needs. However, I do not have the Eumig in hand and therefore am trying to understand it based off the manual, which I find to be a bit confusing. Am I correct in understanding that the Eumig determines the length of an exposure in "long time" mode based off the light meter reading? So unlike the Nizo, I am not able to control the exposure time but most rely on the cameras internal meter to do it for me? Hope that makes sense! As you can tell I am trying to work this out in my head with little experience so anything regarding this help! Best, Andrew

Hi all, I am wondering if the Aspheron 5.5 wide-angle attachment will work on an early non-preset kern 10mm? I have found competing information, with some saying it will not and others saying that with the use of step-up rings, it will mount fine. I guess I am wondering if one uses step-up rings, will that effect the ability for the lens to get a good focus on the wider image? Any thoughts, suggestions, or experience with this is appreciated! Best, Andrew

Hi all, I am wondering if the Aspheron 5.5 wide-angle attachment will work on an early non-preset kern 10mm? I have found competing information, with some saying it will not and others saying that with the use of step-up rings, it will mount fine. I guess I am wondering if one uses step-up rings, will that effect the ability for the lens to get a good focus on the wider image? Any thoughts, suggestions, or experience with this is appreciated! Best, Andrew

Awesome! I appreciate the information. The lens is marked with AR, which I would assume would be a coating on the front, but I have limited knowledge of lens coatings. Either way, I will avoid liquids and follow your advice. A follow up question, can you (or anyone) recommend a lens cap for this, or what size I should be looking at? It came with a much more contemporary plastic one but it doesn't really fit. Thanks, Andrew

Hi all, I recently acquired a Kern Yvar 75mm f/2.5 and have a few questions on the lens. I cannot seem to find much information on the f/2.5 other than it was made sometime in the late 1940s before switching to the 2.8 model. Does anyone have experience in the 2.5 version? How does it compare to the others? (note: that is not a big concern of mine, I am just curious about it). Second, the front element is pretty dirty and I am wondering if there are cleaning solutions I should avoid or that others would recommend for cleaning the lens. I know some lens cleaners can take the coating off a lens and since this is so old I am a bit hesitant to start that. Any other information of thoughts would be appreciated. Best, Andrew

That is an interesting question, I cannot say for sure. I know the camera had been previously CLA'd, but unsure if there was any work done on the gate. Why would someone file the gate? and if so, could that be the cause of this phantom white line for some reason?

I had wondered that as well, but it appears on frames that are not clouds, perhaps that was not the best example to grab an image from.

Hello, Reaching out with a question about this light (whiteish) line that appears on the top of the frame (about where the underline is). It appears on every frame, obviously most clear in areas that are darker. I have also noticed it in the bottom right corner as well, but not as bad. I am wondering if anyone had an idea or guess as to what this might be? Is it a registration issue or something with the pressure plate? The camera is a Rex 1, shot with a 25mm on 250D. Thanks, Andrew Edit: sorry it is hard to see, I couldn't upload a large enough image.

Hey all, Sorry for the question but I am new to this. I was out shooting with my Bolex Rex 1 and lost track of the remaining footage and ended up shooting for probably a minute or less with no film passing by the gate. I was shooting at 24fps and am wondering if and why this is bad for the camera? I know running at fps rates above 48 is bad without film (or so I have heard) but is shooting off a minute of blank footage at 24 bad? Other than the loose take-up reel which will probably now have light-leaks... Also, I noticed a number of red/brownish fibres that had collected around the gate/pressure plate area, what are these from and why are they there? Is it static that builds up around the gate the causes these to collect? Cheers, Andrew

I was able to focus at closer distances yes, and the barrel turned the full amount. However, in my haste and curiosity I did as you suggested and now I believe I have made a royal mistake by that. I was able to shift the barrel but now a gap as opened up between knurled ring which fits flush with the camera body and the smooth ring between that and the focus knurled area...which is not good. And I cannot seem to get them back flush again. Also, it no longer turns as it did, it is pretty much jammed up. Looks like I am going to need a crash course on lens repair here.

Hey Dom, thanks for the response. The lens is indeed marked RX, so I do not think that is the issue. It also does not appear to be fogged or have any mould on the inside. And since things seem nice with the 25mm and the diopter has been adjusted, I do not think it is the camera either. The camera was also serviced in 2021. I will try using the focus method you suggested. However, this leads me to another question that might be more difficult to fully explain. For whatever reason, the marks do no align. The aperture marks match up with the white/orange centre line (between the aperture ring and focus ring) but the only focal distance marking that matches the centre line is the infinity marking. From there I can only turn the focus ring counter clockwise, meaning none of the distance markings match. This had me really puzzled because it renders all the D0F preview dots completely useless. Again, no idea if that makes sense or is normal, but I cannot measure any distance and match it up with the lenses because I have no index on the lens as to what the distance is. I do not want to sound too conspiratorially with this suggestion, but could someone conceivable place an RX cutter ring on a non RX lens and try and pass it off? Is there any way of distinguishing the difference beyond the RX markings? Thanks

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Hello all, Sorry for the slightly silly question but I am new(ish) to 16mm cameras and lenses and I cannot seem to find a satisfying answer elsewhere. I recently came across a Bolex Rex 1 with a 25mm and a Kern Switar 10mm. When the 10mm is wide-open at 1.6 and set to infinity, the objects in the distance are noticeably blurry. However, when I begin to stop down the lens, the distant objects are in focus. I have noticed a similar thing with my K3, stopping down the lens set to infinity appears to render the distant objects clearer. My question is, is this normal? I was told that wide-open the 10mm will be soft around the edges, but this seems to be soft all over. For the record, the 25mm does not appear to suffer the same issues so I do not believe it is a problem with the camera. Cheers