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Just got my acl


Evan Ferrario

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So I just got my acl in the mail. I am very excited, it feels much heavier and studier than my K-3 or my russian sp-16. I wanted to post some pictures to make sure everything looked alright. It was advertised as an ACL II however, I am not sure.

 

The serial number on the camera body is 1719, the serial number on the motor is 2181. I did not know if this indicated that the motor wasn't the original. If anyone knows more I would appreciate it, not that it really matters, I care more about the camera functioning than what exact model it is. I would like to get some 400 foot magazines in the future, I want to make sure my camera can handle those.

 

I have read the manual and understand all the buttons, I wanted to know if there were any other secrets of the acl I should be aware of.

 

I am going to shoot some tests with it this week, hopefully I will have results back soon to share.

 

I am a little confused about the magazine. I have about 10 rolls of 100 foot daylight spools I want to use with it. Should both reels have a 100 foot daylight core on them? The reason I ask is because the take up side had a special core on it, if i removed it, the 100 foot daylight fits, but I wanted to verify this was the right thing to do. I am assuming the special core it had inside was for 200 foot reels.

 

 

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Congrats on the camera Evan.

 

"I am assuming the special core it had inside was for 200 foot reels."

 

That's correct. The core platter will come off if you slide that metal lock bar. I've always used a 100 foot daylight spool for the take up side when using 100 ft loads. Some 200 foot magazines can use the Aminima loads as well. Sometimes, (actually almost all of the time) it's nice to have that extra 100ft.

 

That looks like it might be super 16 gate from the picture, is it?

 

Tom

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The gate is actually ultra 16mm. The seller said he had it professionally done and I hope the test reel will reveal if there is any scratching. Some people would shy away from a camera with ultra 16mm so I bid on it hoping it would sell for a little less because of this. Cinelicious is offering a new ultra 16mm transfer which looks really promising. I am going to be shooting a short (5-10mins) through december with ultra 16mm workflow to see what the results are.

 

I would like to eventually get this camera properly converted to super 16mm, I just don't have the money right now. I was hoping to do a major upgrade with new glass, gate and matte box eventually once I have the money saved. Until then, I am trying out ultra 16mm, which I am happy with over regular 16mm, but I would eventually like it to be super-16 as that is the real standard.

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Hi, Congrats on your new ACL -- a really great 16mm. camera indeed !

 

To answer your dating/model questions : no, your camera is not an ACL II. It's an early-mid 70's French-build model with a later model added (the synchro function on the motor and the bevelled plate around the inching knob are late 70's additions). That motor should have no problems with 400ft mags.

If you want to know more about the history of that actual camera, it was sold on ebay by a Canadian shop (pseudo abcnet.com) a few months ago to the guy who sold it to you in turn. Perhaps the original seller knows more -- he may even have changed the motor on it. The power connector was also changed to the standard XLR-4, which is a nice practical improvement.

 

And yes, you need to remove the film spool on the take-up side of the mags if you want to use a daylight spool on the take-up side. You could also wind those 100ft rolls on cores, but you need to unload the camera in a changing bag. One of the great qualities of the ACL is the ability to use 400ft/200ft/100ft rolls on either cores or daylight loads, with emulsion either wound in or out, and of sourse with either single or double perf. You can't get much more flexible than that ! You may want to let your lab know that the exposed film comes out with Emulsion Out, though.

 

Good luck with your tests and don't hesitate to ask more questions!

B.

 

So I just got my acl in the mail. I am very excited, it feels much heavier and studier than my K-3 or my russian sp-16. I wanted to post some pictures to make sure everything looked alright. It was advertised as an ACL II however, I am not sure.

 

The serial number on the camera body is 1719, the serial number on the motor is 2181. I did not know if this indicated that the motor wasn't the original. If anyone knows more I would appreciate it, not that it really matters, I care more about the camera functioning than what exact model it is. I would like to get some 400 foot magazines in the future, I want to make sure my camera can handle those.

 

I have read the manual and understand all the buttons, I wanted to know if there were any other secrets of the acl I should be aware of.

 

I am going to shoot some tests with it this week, hopefully I will have results back soon to share.

 

I am a little confused about the magazine. I have about 10 rolls of 100 foot daylight spools I want to use with it. Should both reels have a 100 foot daylight core on them? The reason I ask is because the take up side had a special core on it, if i removed it, the 100 foot daylight fits, but I wanted to verify this was the right thing to do. I am assuming the special core it had inside was for 200 foot reels.

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  • 4 weeks later...

Very nice! That motor is definitely an ACL 2 motor and will handle the 400' mags with ease.

 

I've had 2 ACLs and I've loved them both. I recently got a S16 ACL 2 and I'm getting great results from it.

 

Enjoy your camera and be sure to post some Ultra 16 shots when you get them back. A lot of people on here would like to see, I'm sure.

 

(Also, as an FYI, I just put up a Super16 Conversion Kit in the Classified section. Might be of interest if want to go Super16 some day!)

 

Happy filming!

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Hi again Evan,

 

How is the camera doing ?

 

Could you send me some pictures of the viewfinder, as well as the serial number on it, if any ? I'm trying to compile all the info I can find on ACLs to make a website with real info and docs, and your viewfinder is a rare model. I believe it's the last kind Angénieux designed for the ACL, in '76/77 or so, based on the original 'small' viewfinder. It basically looks like a trimmed down version of the earlier angular model, but I've never seen detailed pix of one.

A bit later, Angénieux stopped making V-Fs for ACLs and Kinoptik came out with the well-known improved orientable V-F as well as their little known non-orientable one.

 

Thanks for any info you can provide on it!

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