Bolex missing parts I think?

[Jay Young]

So I ran across a Bolex H today. It's cheep. However it is missing some parts.

 

When I say some, what I really mean is that everyhing on the crank side is missing.

 

My first question is: Is there an extra plate that goes between the body proper and the spring winder?

 

What I see when I look at the camera is a hole, and a stem where the "Hand Crank" forward advance thing goes. There is a place (more like a cut out) where the clutch switch would be and a cut out for the footage indicator and the other cool little dial meter (edit: internal frame counter) thing at the top right. There are some holes and thats about it.

 

The inside looks good and clean but I can not test it. It comes with no lense, and as far as I can tell is a base model. It does have the metal shutter hole cap thing and the door seemed to lock good and solid.

 

My second question, is: Is this camera body, missing all these parts, worth $40?

 

 

JRY

Edited August 9, 2008 by Jay Young

[David Auner aac]

Do you have a picture?

 

Cheers, Dave

[Jay Young]

Sorry, no picture. Ill go by and see if he will let me take one.

 

I can say that all the silver is gone off that side. Say, whatever would look silver (metal wise) and everything underneeth that is gone.

[Jay Young]

So I bought it. $40 didnt sound too bad. Here are pictures to help you out. If this is fixable, can someone point me in the right direction?

 

http://picasaweb.google.com/DragoonBoy/Cam...key=aLP7q87FDBE

 

Hope that helps!

[Dominic Alt]

It's not missing anything, it's a H16 J.

Designed for surveillance, back before video was available.

No internal motor mechanism.

 

To run it, you'd need an external motor, for example:

 

 

For $40, it is a good buy. You can sell it on eBay for more then that.

[Guest Billy Furnett]

I would guess it?s worth the $40, but if it were me (and if I were just in want of shooting some 16mm), I would look at picking up a Bolex that is ready to load, wind and use.

 

When you factor in a motor and zoom lens on top of the 40 bucks, then the time and costs could work against you compared to a basic ready to use H-16 (Or Reflex) for between $75 and $250.

 

Obviously your intended use (time lapse, animation, sync sound, general use) will also come into play, as will the deals you can get on what you need, but again, if it were me, I wouldn't throw a motor on a body that can only accept 100ft loads (That is unless I were doing time lapse).

 

If you haven't already, then I would study the Bolex models, know their features and limitations, know how to identify them and what to ask about in order to distinguish them from the 8mm versions, and study their accesories. Then pounce on the deals.