Cameras You Own

[Max Field]

Analog

Sony VX 1000

for shooting skateboarding :-)

Don't forget your fish eye lens

 

 

Next Investment (I am still struggling on which one to buy next)

- Black Magic Pocket Camera

- Black Magic Micro Camera 4K (along with BM Video assist)

- Black Magic Production Camera 4K

- Panasonic GH5

- Sony FS5

I thought the micro 4k was an amazing steal but then saw it could only output rec709.

[Mark Kenfield]

Would be great to hear the reasons people chose their specific cameras, rather than just the cMeras they chose.

[Max Field]

I'm broke; is my answer.

[Stephen Baldassarre]

Would be great to hear the reasons people chose their specific cameras, rather than just the cMeras they chose.

 

I have a K3 because it's the only actual film camera I can afford aside from Super-8 (which doesn't hold up well in an HD world) and all the current DSLR and prosumer video cameras are too annoying for my taste. I absolutely can't stand the rolling shutter, alias/moire, horrendous CODECs, too many marketing pixels etc. not to mention poor form factor.

 

I have a Canon G20 for home movies because it was the consumer-grade camera that irritates me the least and I got it super cheap. I was actually shooting home movies on the K3 for a while but it is too expensive for that purpose and of course, no sound.

[Mark Day]

8MM

• Bolex K-2

​Super 8

• Minolta Autopak8-D10​

16MM

• Arriflex 16S

[Feli di Giorgio]

My first camera was a Mitchell NC-R. (no, I am not that old). Silent, 35mm, spinning mirror reflex with BNCR mount and a Cinema Products crystal sync motor. Sitting on an OConnor 100 head the whole contraption comes in at around 100 lbs. Believe it or not this camera was rescued by someone from the dumpster at a studio and I was able to purchase it at a bargain price.

 

Next I bought an Arri IIc in BNCR mount. 35mm, MOS, reflex viewfinder. Nice and compact. This is one of my all time favorite cameras.

(Back then my dream camera was the Arri BL-3 or 4)

 

After a long break I went digital with a Sony F3 and the full sLOG upgrade. She's a few years old now, but ACES gave it a new lease on life. Along with the F35 I think the F3 is one of the HD camera out there.

 

I still have all three cameras.

Edited April 1, 2017 by Harry Lime

[Stephen Baldassarre]

My first camera was a Mitchell NC-R. (no, I am not that old). Silent, 35mm, spinning mirror reflex with BNCR mount and a Cinema Products crystal sync motor.

Wow, that's probably one of the best cameras out there! They may be clunky and heavy but the build quality is unmatched IMO.

[Adrian Sierkowski]

As of this morning; no more.

It's hard to justify owning cameras when they are so cheap to rent in la.

I can own everything and anything so long as they want to rent it lol.

[Robert Hart]

Bolex H16. - paid for itself with stringer news work.

 

Bolex H16RX5 - paid for itself with stringer news work.

 

Auricon Cine Voice. Sold back to the original seller as a museum piece. Good image but nightmare to use.

 

CP16A - Didn't pay for itself with stringer new work as video which was horrendously unaffordable took over.

 

CP16RA - Likewise as a news cam.

 

CP16RA - Bought as a spares donor but bore little resemblance mechanically to the other "RA".

 

Sony DVR-PD150P.

 

Sony HVR-Z1P. - Still used for some events work.

 

Sony PMW-EX1. - Still used for some events work with large SxS cards or BM SDI recorder.

 

Silicon Imaging/P+S Technik SI2K. I bought it as a barebones ex-demo to avoid it being lost to local production. The Cineform-based ecosystem did not take off here then along came RED and the system probably became the most rapidly depreciated camera system of all time. - I still use it for some long form events work with ENG lenses, now that SSDs have become fast, reliable and of higher capacity.

Second U/S SI2K as a parts donor but I actually got it working so it became a second events cam.

This was a freebie for the local community college. Students operated the second tripod cam and the roving cam ( EX1 ) The SI2Ks are not ideal in low-light situations. For those interested in sound, the desk audio feed did not eventuate so the camera ambience audio was used. This was fed to the camera from a DECCA tree array of three mikes mixed down to a stereo pair through a SD-302 mixer. Mikes were three Rode NT2a, the wing mikes each to individual L and R channels as figure 8 and the centre mike as omni shared to both L and R channels.

I likely will not buy any furthur cameras as they become redundent feather-dusters far too soon these days. Edited April 15, 2017 by Robert Hart

[Robert Hart]

FOOTNOTE TO ABOVE.

I have also been using a SI2K in conjunction with an old Steenbeck ST16 flatbed editor as a sort of improvised telecine. I have yet to invent and build a trigger generator to sync the frame rate to the Steenbeck.

It is not outstanding but for the time being is adequate.

[Stephen Baldassarre]

I have also been using a SI2K in conjunction with an old Steenbeck ST16 flatbed editor as a sort of improvised telecine. I have yet to invent and build a trigger generator to sync the frame rate to the Steenbeck.

 

I have been using a conventional projector with a telecine camera lens (which has a mirror and condenser) in place of the projector lens. Before I had the telecine lens, I was using a box I made between the projector and camera that had a 45-degree mirror and a 5" condenser lens. That did as good of a job but was harder to line up the shot.

http://www.gcmstudio.com/videoonly/wavemotioninterference_test.mp4

 

I found the rotating prism and screen on editors really degrade the image.

Edited April 16, 2017 by Stephen Baldassarre

[Robert Hart]

I too can go the mirror and lens route with an old Sony 90degree telecine adaptor for old 2/3" EIAJ video camera-recorders. It is okay but not outstanding and a frame sync issue exists.

The SI2K is essentially a 2/3" sensor with a few extra pixel rows around the outside. Because it is a CMOS camera and rolling shutter is an issue, the prism shutter has to remain in the Steenbeck. - Once the camera is slaved to a Steenbeck generated trigger pulse, then the shutter speed can be made faster so that the blurry frame transitions are no longer visible.

There remain optical internal reflection artifacts from the prism. These do not permit scanning of neg film because of the heavy-duty contrast which has to be added after inversion. This amplifies them to the detriment of the recovered image.

Direct imaging to the camera is achieved by removing the screen box, adjustable surface-coated mirror tower and erecting prism from the Steenbeck's optical path. The small 50mm projection lens is replaced by a Fujian 50mm camera lens set well forward of the camera as a camera macro lens. I stacked CS/C-Mount adaptors for a ballpark forward macro offset and shimmed between a few of them for a final trim.

The Steenbeck lens has no controllable iris. With this arrangement and the prism stopped and centred to static tests, the sharpness is acceptable and with careful focus adjustments matches much other HD scanner/telecine imaging I have seen published on Youtube.

With the prism removed, the best sharpness is achieved by using the Fujian lens as a projection lens with the tail of the lens facing the film plane.

I cannot post an image here but here is a link to a post on dvinfo.net regarding the arrangement. If you look at the still image, you will observe a couple of 4x4 filters improvised into the optical path to bring the Steenbeck's lamp down to acceptable brightness and a IR-750 filter to take out the infrared which is very severe from that lamp.

http://www.dvinfo.net/forum/silicon-imaging-si-2k/533332-si2k-telecine.html

Edited April 16, 2017 by Robert Hart

[Mike Krumlauf]

I've owned my share of cameras and I guess this would be a fun place to post all of them. This list is from 2003-present so please excuse the length. I put a little "*" by my favorites.

 

Currently Own

-*Panavision HD900F (panavised Sony F900/3) [i did some modifications of my own to get the camera back to accepting B4 glass given I dont have PV glass]

-Optex HJ9x5.5 HD Cine Zoom Lens B4 (lens used with Panavision camera)

-GoPro Hero 5 Black w/ Karma gimble

-GoProHero3

-JVC GR-DVM90U (the very first camera I got way back in 1999. Still works!)

-Sony F900/3 (trying to sell as parts camera)

 

Previous Cameras (in no particular order)

-*Sony DSR-PD150 (my first prosumer camera. i learned all the basics of composing an image on this one. holds a special place in my heart)

-Panasonic AG-DVX100/100A/100B

-*Canon XL2

-Sony HVR-A1u

-Panasonic HVX200 (my first foray into high def 11 years ago)

-JVC HD110u

-Canon XL1s

-*Panasonic HDC27 Varicam (both F & H models) [The in camera frame ramping feature was my favorite thing! beautiful camera!]

-*Panasonic SDX900

-Canon HV20/30/40

-Nikon D90 [my first "HDSLR". had it all of 7 days and returned it.]

-*Panasonic HMC150

-Canon 7D

-Canon 5D Mark II

-Sony FX1 & Z1u

-Sony HC52 handycam (used as a deck for my mac years ago)

-Canon T1i/t2i/t3i

-Sony PD100A

-Pentax K-x

-Panasonic GH1/GH2/GH3/GH4 [the GH4 is probably the best HDSLR i've worked with and im not a fan of those cameras]

-Sony NEX3N/5N/7

-Sony F900/1

-Sony Z7U

-Sony a6000/a6300

-Panasonic G7

-Panasonic HS9

-*Red One MX (the only thing i hated about this camera was it's boot up times)

-*Sony FS100

-*Sony F3 [was able to get some "alexa-like' images out of this thing. beautiful]

-Blackmagic Cinema Camera 2.5k

-Blackmagic Pocket Camera

-Nikon D3200

-Panasonic AF100

-Nikon D5200

 

I did a lot of camera re-selling and trading in my teen years to get my hands on as many different digital cameras as i could and i was very blessed to have a family who supported me in cinematography when i was younger. :)

[Frank Wylie]

Have owned?

 

35mm

2 x B&H 2709 Hand cranked cameras

Art Reeves Reflex (1944)

Several B&H Eyemos (can't remember all of them)

DeVry Lunchbox

 

16mm
Every Auricon ever made (no kidding)

Every variant of the Bolex spring wound camera

Frezzolini CW16

BH DR 70

Cine Kodak Series (all)

 

Super 8mm

too many to list

 

Now, I have about 200 still cameras, having sold off all of my motion picture equipment, except for some Oxberry 35 and 16mm gates, a pair of Acme 35mm gates (pins above and below gate) and a smattering of Super 8 / Regular 8mm cameras.

 

You should have seem my collection of 14 silent, hand cranked projectors; Mainly Powers 5 and 6 variants with mazda lamps.

 

Heavy iron is too much for me to collect anymore, but I would like to eventually get another 2709. Sorry I ever sold that pair...

[Bob Hobbs]

I love a good bragging session

Super 16
Ikonoskop SP16

 

16mm

Beaulieu r16

Bolex rex 1

 

Super 8

Canon 514

Beaulieu4008 ZM4

Digital
AJA CION :rolleyes:

[Jon O'Brien]

Well, if we're going to roll out the 'have owned' category ... and I've got a spare moment to share while I sip a coffee ....

 

1. Bell & Howell Super 8 silent camera. My dear Dad and I bought this camera in very early 1979. With it I shot many, many Super 8 productions. The most famous amongst friends and family was 'The Giant', a picture about a marauding .... giant. It included state-of-the-art special effects.

 

2. An un-remembered Super 8 camera model, also silent, that I borrowed for some months, when the tripod screw thread on the B&H wore out from extended use.

 

3. Canon 1014 xls sound Super 8 camera. I used this camera again just a few weeks ago to film a wedding.

 

4. I also used a Canon camera at school, the model of which I don't remember, owned by the Ed Dept. Okay, so I didn't own this one. But it's a fond memory.

 

5. A wind-up Bolex Standard 8mm camera, two lenses, the label has fallen off. It's not the larger H8 camera. I still have it. I used to buy the Kodachrome K25 film for it at the Kodak shop in the middle of Brisbane CBD. In the eighties 'twas the only place that had the film in stock. I was a trailblazer I guess, as a teenager.

 

6. My Grandfather's Standard 8mm camera, that I never got around to using. Sadly I now no longer have it.

 

7. A Bolex H16, non-reflex. Three lenses. It was a great camera.

 

8. Thence travel forward in time quite some years. A Bolex Rex 5 in S-16. It has a Kern 16mm and Nikkor 50mm on it. Works very well.

 

9. My teenage dream was to own, or at least use, an Arriflex one day. So how could I resist? I bought a 2C a couple of years ago. I would like to do some 35 mm filming before too long.

 

10. A Zoom Q8 digital camera, which I bought mainly for the microphone/sound. You see, even I can use digital. It's not all film you know. I think that's it. Maybe there has been a camera or two I've neglected to mention. But the above are the main ones.

Edited September 22, 2018 by Jon O'Brien

[Pavan Deep]

I was doing a list for someone and came across this thread. The two cameras that I use for serious stuff are;

 

Éclair ACL 2 - S16 camera

Ikonskop A-cam – S16 camera

 

Here are some of the vintage cameras I have;

 

Keystone Model C

Keystone A9, A12 & Criterion models A9, A12

Kiev Alpha

Cinklox

Mansfield Model 106

Devery Lunchbox 35

GIC 16

Vitascope 16

Cine Kodak Model B

Pathe Webo

Bolex Rex 4

Canon Scoopic

Bell and Howell Filmo

Bell and Howell 627 [240T]

Revere Model 101

GB Bell and Howell [200]

Revere 16

Revere 36

 

Out of all the ‘vintage’ cameras I like using the 50ft magazine cameras.

 

Pav

[Randy J Tomlinson]

I used to have a Moviecam Compact (stolen)

 

Unfortunately I can not show off with a lot of Cameras but i am a very happy owner of a Arri SR2 Advanced Super16 (advanced as converted by P+S Technic for 12p/s / 75p/s)

I also own a Canon DS8 and a little Bolex D8L which i litterally cary around everywhere in my daily life :)

 

I used to have a GH5, but i sold that just recently. The Digital World is not my World.

[Jay Young]

I'll Play:

 

Arriflex 35-II BV (Adjustable shutter). Camera test coming back this week!

Includes a set of Schneider Xenons.

 

Cinema Products CP-16 w/ Angenieux 10-150. Makes a nice image!

 

Sony A6300

 

 

Cameras I would like to own:

 

Mitchell/Fries 35mm - Rackover would be cool too.

Bolex

Eyemo at an afforadble price? 35mm windup of some kind.

[Webster Colcord]

I love cameras but it's such a burden to collect stuff that I try to keep only what can be used. More important for me is to have an ecosystem of compatible lenses.

 

Digital

BMCC - bought used, just for fun and learning

Canon 60D - for animation only

 

35mm

Mitchell NCR

Mitchell GC

Wall

Arri IIB

Eyemo

 

16mm

Bolex Rex 4 - currently being converted to Super 16

Bolex Rex 3

Bolex M

Revere 103 - homebrew Ultra/Super 16, love this camera!

 

Super 8

Canon 1014XLS

Elmo Super 110

the cool-looking Bolex

a Eumig sound camera

a tiny Chinon camera

 

Standard 8

mostly Revere and Keystone from the 30's because of the beautiful craftsmanship

[Timothy Fransky]

Heavy iron is too much for me to collect anymore, but I would like to eventually get another 2709. Sorry I ever sold that pair...

 

I would love to see one of these in operation. It doesn't get the love the Mitchell does, but most of my favourite silent comedies were shot on this camera. From what I've read and seen, it's a brilliant, nearly hand-made camera.

[Phillip Mosness]

Current batch of Cams and Lenses:

 

35mm:

Arri BL 4 super35 gate

Moviecam Compact #1, Super35 gate

Moviecam Compact #2, Super35 gate (centered for anamorphic though, apparently)

Arri 2c PL mount

Various inexpensive Russian primes

Cooke 20-100

 

Super16mm

Aaton LTR 54

Zeiss Optex 12-120, Optar Illuminas, Optex 6mm, Elite 4.5mm

Bolex SBM

16-100 POE, Switars

 

16mm

Eclair NPR

Angenieux 9.5-57

 

Super 8mm

Beaulieu 6008 Pro

Angenieux 6-90

 

Leicina Special

Schneider 8-64

 

Nikon R10

 

Digital

 

Panasonic GH2

Edited September 27, 2018 by Phillip Mosness

[Lee Mannering]

Many from my 50 years film making....but here are my favorites I use regularly. During this time I've never had a cine camera fail pleased to say. :)

 

SUPER 8mm

Leicina Special

Nizo 6080

 

STANDARD 8mm

Quartz 5 My first cine camera from the 1960's still going.

Leicina 8SV

 

9.5mm film

Pathe Lido 50ft loader.

 

DIGITAL

Fuji S5Pro - Nikon lenses. I love the film settings in it and its been so reliable.

 

DIGITAL VIDEO

Many for work.

Hobby wise like the Canon G20 a handy little camera with a decent external mike attached.

[Uli Meyer]

Love shooting on film. Cameras I own:

 

Arricam LT 3perf

 

Arriflex 235 3perf

 

One lonesome Master Prime 25mm

 

Looking to add an Arriflex 435Xtreme 3perf as soon as I can find one.

[Phil Rhodes]

Crikey, did I never respond to this?

 

The only "real" moving-image camera package I've ever just gone out and bought was a Panasonic AG-DVC200 with Fuji 20x6.4 zoom.

 

 

I don't know if there's any way to access posts from the early 2000s on this forum - the software has changed since - but I probably talked about it when I got it. It wasn't something I loved, particularly, I just needed something. I still miss the ergonomics - the grip, the zoom, the location of the controls, the way you could flip open the viewfinder, the balance and weight, even the way you could throw it onto a quick-release plate on a tripod. I'd learned these things on other ENG-style cameras. Most modern cameras are terrible by comparison. About the best thing at the same price is something like an Ursa Mini Broadcast. I still use the tripod I bought to go with it, the quick-release tripod plate that came with it, and the (much-recelled) PAG battery system.

 

I should have bought a DSR-500, or even the DXC-D35 docked to a DSR-1 DVCAM recorder, which was then becoming cheap. I knew that at the time, and might even still be wringing some value out of a better lens, but fresh out of college it was a financial bridge too far.

 

It was occasionally pressed into service to do something creative (this is my early work - as we say on the internet, plz, no bully.)

 

 

The DVC-200 paid for itself, but when it became time to upgrade there wasn't an affordable way to get an HD equivalent. Eventually I'd become used to not owning anything and the DSLR revolution was in full swing, and as other people have said things move so fast it's hard to invest, so I never have.

 

I did buy an EOS-40D to demonstrate raw recording with Magic Lantern. The pictures are wonderful; the user interface is not.

 

P