Owen Felton

Why do you "doubt that the mechanism was disassembled and gone through thoroughly"? I had it repaired through Dr. Bolex, which is one of the only people I could find to do it in the country. Is he not trustworthy? Before I had my camera repaired, the motor barely even worked, and now it runs perfectly at all speeds. That seems pretty good to me, but I'm an amateur obviously. I am starting to think the viewfinder simply may not be working though, because even with my actual C-mount lenses, it doesn't look very good.

I have a Bolex H16 Non-Reflex that came with two lenses. Both of these lenses are extremely difficult to adjust settings on because they seem to need lubrication. I recently had my camera CLA'd, but did not get the lenses repaired. Instead, I bought a C-mount lens adapater and attached my 35mm camera SLR lens to the Bolex. It is a Vivitar 52mm Skylight 1A lens. This attached perfectly, but when I look in the opening of the eye-level viewfinder to adjust focus settings before switching the turret to the correct position, I cannot get anything to focus properly. I'm not sure if there is something wrong with the viewfinder in my camera, or if I simply cannot use this lens to shoot. I understand from what I've read about using SLR lenses on a Bolex that you have to be really careful and specific about adjusting focus and aperture, but this just doesn't seem to work from my initial test. I would prefer to avoid having to get my lenses repaired or buying a new Bolex lens, but if necessary, I would appreciate some recommendations on where to go from here. Alternatively, does anyone know any specific SLR lenses that would work well for a Non-Reflex Bolex? Any suggestions would help!

I have done a lot of research and planned out the money I'll spend on film stock as well as developing and scanning and I'll be okay with those expenses, but what I meant was that I don't want to also spend an additional $120 on the viewfinder if it's not totally necessary and I can find a way to work without it. It seems like it'll be hard, but I think I can work around this issue and I'm just going to be extremely thorough in my storyboarding and planning of shots to make sure I don't waste film. You're right that I probably should get my camera checked out before I use it, so I'll probably show it to one of my film professors and see what they think, but I might just take the risk anyways since it seems to be in great condition, the motor runs properly, and everything seems to be in place. Perhaps I am a bit overambitious and pushing my luck, but it will be a good learning experience.

I am a film student interested in shooting on 16mm for the first time. I recently inherited what I believe is a Bolex H16 Supreme. Since this is a Non-Reflex model, it doesn't have the built-in eye level focuser, and it didn't come with an attachable one either. I only have the viewfinder that attaches to the side of the camera door. I have no way of seeing what the actual filming lens is capturing unless I put my eye right up against the circle that is intended to connect to the eye level focuser, and it is very difficult to see this way. I could only find one person selling an eye level focuser on Ebay and I can't afford to buy it. So, my question is, is there any way to figure out how to focus on this camera by only using the viewfinder on the side door? I am also worried about framing because surely this viewfinder won't give me an accurate representation of what is in frame since it is in a different position than the actual lens. I am also quite new to the mechanics of focusing and finding the right aperture on a film camera. I have shot still photography on a 35mm film camera before, but I've always just kinda winged it. If anyone can help me out and explain some of the mechanics of framing, focusing, and finding the right aperture on a Bolex Non-Reflex with these lenses please let me know! If this is of any use, on my Bolex H16 Supreme, I have two lenses: a YVAR f/2.8 AR lens, and a LYTAR f/1.9 lens.