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Experience with Bolex H16 Reflex?


Joshua Smukal

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I'm considering buying this Bolex I found at a local camera store. I've been wanting to try 16mm for a while now, and this feels like a good opportunity to purchase. I was wondering if anyone could highlight some pros/cons with this model? I believe it is just the H16 Reflex. It sounds like it runs fine and everything seems to be working, but regardless I plan on sending it to get serviced just to make sure everything is working properly. I'm only aware of Du-All Camera (if anyone has any other suggestions, please let me know). Are there any specific limitations or things I should be cautious of? The lenses seem decent, but I think I'd like to buy some better primes later on. Thanks in advance!

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Unless it's a modified camera, the only turret Bolex with a magazine saddle is the RX5, which is a highly desirable model.

The serial number stamped in the base will tell you the year of manufacture and confirm the model. 

For a thorough list of models and serial numbers, see:

http://www.bolexcollector.com/cameras/h16rex5.html

Andrew Alden's book "The Bolex Bible" is a good resource if you can track one down. His website has some tips on models and features to look for:

http://bolex.co.uk/andrew/Bolex_Site/WhichBolex.html

With the one pictured above, check that there is also a winding handle and magazine port cover, so you can use it just with 100 ft daylight spools. The magazine is handy for 400 ft rolls, but if you want a more compact camera that you can use without a battery you will need those extras. It's not essential though, if you don't mind a bulky camera and always carrying a battery. This is not a quiet camera, so you can't do sync sound recording, you'd need a crystal motor and then ADR if you wanted dialogue.

The battery is often dead on these cameras (unless it's been recently re-celled), so factor in more money for that. It would be good to check that the camera motor and the magazine take-up motor both work. If there is a winder, you could remove the motor (held by the three large screws) and check the spring motor and mechanism. It should run smoothly for at least 20 seconds without slowing down too much. The bottom spindle in the camera (the one that takes up the film) should turn smoothly and evenly as you run the camera.

On the camera itself, check that there are no signs of corrosion, and that the reflex prism (unscrew the middle lens to see it) is not damaged or has signs of fungus (spider web growth on the glass surface).

The lenses look like Kodak Cine Ektars, which were not designed for reflex Bolexes, so they won't give optimum image quality when used under about f/2.8 (though I'm not sure how fast those lenses are anyway). If you can pick up Kern Switars marked RX, they are about the best option for a reflex Bolex, but the Ektars will be fine to start with. Maybe check that their rings turn ok and the glass is not damaged or fungus-ridden.

Sending it in for a service may cure some of these issues, but it's good to know how much work it might need (so you're prepared for the additional expense, and also so you can haggle down the price). 

For service, I think Visual Products are in OH, otherwise there is Procam (Bolex USA) in AZ, Chambless in GA, or Jean-Louis Seguin in Montreal. Probably others.

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As Dom explains only lenses made specifically for the H-16 Reflex and marked RX give sharp images at focal lengths shorter than 50 mm and at openings at f/3.3 and wider. SOM Berthiot, P. Angénieux, and Schneider-Kreuznach made RX lenses, too. The Kodak lenses aren’t bad per se, the 25 mm Ciné-Ektar or Ciné-Ektar II might sell, CE for $$ (four-glass design), CE II for $$$ (seven elements).

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