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What's the difference?


Joe Bressler

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Hey.

 

I'm looking into breaking into the 16mm format and I have one thing that's really been bugging me. I am looking at buying a camera but I am not sure if I want to drop 400+ dollars on a Bolex right away. I have been browsing ebay and finding what seem to be lower end cameras by Bell & Howell and Kodak that are going for much more reasonable prices. I'm just a kid and am running on a very limited budget (processing and telecine are already gonna kill me here). Are these lower ends going to be significantly 'worse' than the bolex? If so, in what way, and is it worth investing in them? I am generally looking for good image quality and flexibility in film speed (above 24fps is a must) as well as the ability to do interval recording.

 

Take care.

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Hey.

 

I'm looking into breaking into the 16mm format and I have one thing that's really been bugging me. I am looking at buying a camera but I am not sure if I want to drop 400+ dollars on a Bolex right away. I have been browsing ebay and finding what seem to be lower end cameras by Bell & Howell and Kodak that are going for much more reasonable prices.

There are a lot of cameras. I have several which are not useable after paying good money, I have a B&H filmo which I use all the time. The B&H 240 can be very good also. My last filmo arrived DOA with a jamed mechnism. 60 bucks wasted.

 

The Magazine (50Ft) camera are useless for all procical purposes You really want a camera that can take single perf film, which lets out most of the pre-war units.

 

thnink about what you want the camera for and then that may narrow down what you want. Rember to shoot one roll (2.5 minutes) of film in 16mm will likely run you 50 to 100 Dollars, so the price of the camera is a small part.

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yep, altho I've never even laid eyes on one the Krasnogorsks get good press from people at your level and above it seems ...

 

I am a Bolex freak so I'll just try and steer you in that direction - but the models and set-ups I'd recommend are a little higher than $400. That being said one of my fav cam's here (now coverted to super16) I got for less than that and re-made from a years dead mantlepeice/heirloom... Like a previous poster said tho, if your going all out with regular transfers and not home-souping .. the intitial camera cost will soon become absolutely negligible compared ...

 

Anyhoo - get in touch if you want Bolex advice, and please search the archives here first... theres plenty of the same this-camera vs. this camera threads already floating around

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Although I have a K3 and it is a great camera at a low price, I think it might be advisable to steer you away from this otherwise fine camera if you are planning on doing 'interval recording' as you say. I confess that I have never done time lapse with my K3 but others who have have reported that short interval times with this camera are fine but long interval times lead to slight fogging in the footage due to light sneaking past the mirror shutter. With the Bolex H16 cameras, there are the non-reflex models and the reflex models and there is quite a considerable price difference between them. If you are on a really tight budget, you could get a non reflex Bolex H16 cheaply. It is not uncommon to obtain a non reflex Bolex for around $200. This would make a great camera for time lapse, and also offers multiple running speeds up to 64fps. However, as it is a non reflex camera, you will encounter parallax problems if you use the camera for macro work etc.

Edited by Patrick Cooper
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The Krasnagorsk has a problem with lens choice.

 

M-42 screw is a 35mm SLR mount and an old one at that.

A 35mm still wide angle is not wide in 16mm.

 

The 8mm peleng is of limited use. Aside from the curvilinear perspective it is slow, f/3.5.

Swell for Cinerama® type shots outdoors, but for interiors...

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nice, some good info floating around here. never knew there were people on here that did skate videos too.

 

K-3 sounds like a good camera and i've read a little into that one too. might be the best choice for me. does it have the reflex function? sounds very appealing to me after dealing with my nizo super 8 camera which is more often than not very unreliable when it comes to exposure.

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Yes, the K3 does have reflex viewing via a mirror shutter. But as I mentioned previously, this mirror shutter can potentially lead to fogging of the footage during interval shooting. However, some K3 owners do not have this problem with regards to interval shooting, and others do. So there seems to be some variations in manufacturing from camera to camera. So if you do eventually pick up a K3, you could be lucky in that respect or unlucky - like playing a game of russian roulette.

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