Image quality and sharpness comparison

[Simon Wyss]

If you look closely, you see that I have weakened the left side guide to a point that the leaves become gentle springs. The right hand side is rigid, the long leaf moved away. The aperture plates generally measure a tad more than 16 mm. Next to the claw travel where the Nylon pad is embedded they are machined narrower, to around 15,85 mm. What you can’t see on the image is that I have ground the aperture plate symmetrically to 15,92 mm in order to allow the side guides still hold a film at the minimum limit of size.

[Simon Wyss]

I’d like to reply again to the original question. One aspect that I haven’t underlined enough is the difference between a mirror shutter finder system and a prism or pellicle reflex system. If you take the Arriflex 16 St, you have a stellar viewfinder. Paillard-Bolex never came close to professional finder optics and if you are completely familiar with it, it still cannot provide you with the luminosity of a nearly 100 percent light deflecting surface mirror. There is the last whip of focus accuracy to be found, you just see it better. Else, at 24 fps, the mechanical differences are minor.

[Erkan Umut]

As you know, the beam splitter of Bolex Reflexes have a thicker pan prism. That's why Bolex reflex lenses are differs in design.

Also, 16ST (16S) utilize two-blade shutter, which, in turn, enables to run it at half the speed. So, to eliminate the flicker causing, the mirrors on the blades have symmetrical black stripes providing extra black outs.

Edited October 8, 2021 by Erkan Umut