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Bosher's different approach to Eclair conversions?


Samuel Berger

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I found this rather interesting.

 

Visual Products and Bernie O'Doherty alter Eclair magazines when converting the NPR into Super 16.

 

But a friend of mine today told me Les Bosher doesn't alter Eclair NPR magazines when he converts the cameras to Super 16.

 

Apparently Les Bosher told him " The magazines don’t require altering. If they don’t scratch now , they won’t after the camera is converted."

 

I find this intriguing since one of the things that made me choose Ultra 16 was the fact that magazine conversions tend to cost about $300 no matter who does it.

 

Is Les correct?

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Mine (ACL) weren't modified. I haven't seen any scratches thus far. However, I have a feeling that on one of my mags there is higher chance of some dirt accumulating on the modified side of the frame which might suggest that there is some very minimal scratching going on. Or perhaps there isn't. No idea.

 

This was shot with my "Bosher modified" Super16 ACL with unmodified mags. Indoors footage with one mag, outdoors footage with the other. Can you spot any scratches?

 

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Mine (ACL) weren't modified. I haven't seen any scratches thus far. However, I have a feeling that on one of my mags there is higher chance of some dirt accumulating on the modified side of the frame which might suggest that there is some very minimal scratching going on. Or perhaps there isn't. No idea.

 

This was shot with my "Bosher modified" Super16 ACL with unmodified mags. Indoors footage with one mag, outdoors footage with the other. Can you spot any scratches?

 

 

 

Holy cow I LOVED this!! It was hilarious! I had to watch it with the sound off since my son is sleeping in here but I loved this! No, I didn't spot any scratches. Great job!

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Holy cow I LOVED this!! It was hilarious! I had to watch it with the sound off since my son is sleeping in here but I loved this! No, I didn't spot any scratches. Great job!

 

Thanks! :) It was a fun project and proved to me that an ACL with professional PL glass, even if lower end (Optar Illumina) can produce quite good results. :wub:

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  • 3 weeks later...

I will NEVER, I repeat, NEVER, vouch for Les Bosher.

 

Visual Products and Bernie are real good people that cares. Bosher has no interest it seems.

 

So send it to him if you would like to waste your dime....

 

C

Could you perhaps explain this? Les Bosher has a very good reputation in the UK, so if you are going to trash him, you should at least explain why.

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Could you perhaps explain this? Les Bosher has a very good reputation in the UK, so if you are going to trash him, you should at least explain why.

That is the exact same thing I heard before I had to work with him.

 

He did my conversion of my Eclair ACL to S16. Which was not done properly to start out with. He never adjusted the 144 degree shutter, so the image was flickering constantly. And also when I bought it from the seller (on this forum) he sent it to Les first for a service to be checked out.

 

It seems he didn't even bother checking it, because when I sent it to Bernie at Super 16 inc to have the shutter fixed, the magazines where in very bad condition, and most of the camera needed some CLA. I had not only Bernie look at it, but some local older camera men (in the bay area, that used to own ACLs) and they agreed with Bernie.

 

And after all this I was offering to have it sent to Les to adjust all this (I said maybe he there was just some confusion when it was sent in). I would even fund the shipping and all (even though he was the one at fault). Since then he has ignored not only me, but the sellers emails and other means to try to contact.

 

He maybe has done some good work, but all of this is enough for me to never recommend this man again.

 

C

Edited by Carl Nenzen Loven
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In that business, your reputation is only as good as your last job, which is why guys like Les Bosher should attempt to rectify situations like what Carl encountered.

 

Carl, did you try...you know...the telephone?

Calling long distance wasn't really an option.

 

Also, just to be sure his email worked, I had 2 separate friends email the same day about jobs that they would pay for, and they got reply within hours.

 

I would never slander anyone, especially if it was just being lost in communication.

 

C

Edited by Carl Nenzen Loven
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Calling long distance wasn't really an option.

 

Also, just to be sure his email worked, I had 2 separate friends email the same day about jobs that they would pay for, and they got reply within hours.

 

I would never slander anyone, especially if it was just being lost in communication.

 

C

 

I don't mean to sound like I'm on anyone's side, but it seems to me that you haven't actually exhausted all your options since you didn't call him on the phone.

 

For example, your emails to him might have been flagged as spam. One day I stopped receiving emails from my daughter's school and they were all in the spam folder. Google had decided randomly that it was all spam.

 

I would suggest that you try at least asking someone to email Les and have him try to contact you.

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I don't mean to sound like I'm on anyone's side, but it seems to me that you haven't actually exhausted all your options since you didn't call him on the phone.

 

For example, your emails to him might have been flagged as spam. One day I stopped receiving emails from my daughter's school and they were all in the spam folder. Google had decided randomly that it was all spam.

 

I would suggest that you try at least asking someone to email Les and have him try to contact you.

Samuel, I did.

 

The seller of the camera CCed me on everyone one of them. And the service deal was setup between me and him so I did have him call him. No response.

 

And we are not talking 1 or 2 emails. We are talking 15 emails from 2 different people, and it literally was one day to the other being radio silence. If it was coincidence, it was very well timed when we had just figured out that it was his “fault” it was not working (previous emails he was sort of helping with the troubleshooting, or rather blaming I must have broken it).

 

C

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  • 4 years later...
On 11/30/2017 at 12:43 AM, Carl Nenzen Loven said:

That is the exact same thing I heard before I had to work with him.

 

He did my conversion of my Eclair ACL to S16. Which was not done properly to start out with. He never adjusted the 144 degree shutter, so the image was flickering constantly. And also when I bought it from the seller (on this forum) he sent it to Les first for a service to be checked out.

 

It seems he didn't even bother checking it, because when I sent it to Bernie at Super 16 inc to have the shutter fixed, the magazines where in very bad condition, and most of the camera needed some CLA. I had not only Bernie look at it, but some local older camera men (in the bay area, that used to own ACLs) and they agreed with Bernie.

 

And after all this I was offering to have it sent to Les to adjust all this (I said maybe he there was just some confusion when it was sent in). I would even fund the shipping and all (even though he was the one at fault). Since then he has ignored not only me, but the sellers emails and other means to try to contact.

 

He maybe has done some good work, but all of this is enough for me to never recommend this man again.

 

C

I had similar problems with a S16 conversion made by Les. Also I never got back a lens from him after calls and emails

Edited by Fulgencio Martinez
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