16mm camera?

HailtotheKing

HailtotheKing

I havn't gotten a 16mm camera yet. I've been looking on Ebay and some look good for the prices.

Which ones have you worked with? Which ones do you own? ect.

Just looking for alittle bit of advice. :)
 
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A Canon Scoopic is a user-friendy camera. Sort of like a super-8; fixed Canon zoom lens, TTL metering. Batteries can be recelled for about $100 (they're usually dead). Decent starter camera.
 
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I've seen and read some very good things about the Krasnogorsk-3.. seen 'em on eBay for around $150ish.. brand new. :)

There's also a company in NY called ICMB that apparently sells a bunch of accessories for them, though I haven't been able to find a web site or even a phone number.. I'll try to find the source, where I read about it in the first place.

Ok, here's a couple links:

MovieMaker Magazine Article
K3Camera.com
Current eBay listings

It's what Spike Lee used for some of his footage for Get on the Bus:
spike.jpg


Incidentally, this is the camera I will be getting when I decide to get a 16mm.. unless I come into a bunch of money and can afford an Aaton ;)
 
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16mm cameras...

HailtotheKing said:
I havn't gotten a 16mm camera yet. I've been looking on Ebay and some look good for the prices.

Which ones have you worked with? Which ones do you own? ect.

Just looking for alittle bit of advice. :)
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I've got a Bolex EBM with sync sound along with a Scoopic MS. If you do get a Scoopic, make sure you get the latest versions i.e., the Scoopic M or Scoopic MS. These models can be later configured for sync sound should you ever want to do the mod...

K3's are okay but there are two kinds... The bayonet mount and the Pentax screw mount. Get the Pentax screw mount... The bayonet mount sucks. If possible, purchase one from a POWER SELLER off of eBay, even if they're from Russia or the Ukraine... These guys (if they're power sellers) are usually pretty accomodating... And try to find one that's never been used... Yes, these guys sell K3's that have never been opened... Never use the internal light meter on a K3!

All three of these cameras are pretty easy to modify to Ultra16.

If you're looking for a Super16 camera, I would recommend getting an Eclair ACL on eBay... These can go pretty cheap if you keep looking...

Bolex's are always easy to find and they are friggin' tanks and shoot great film...

filmy
 
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I've got two Beaulieu R16 PZ's...well, at least there're pretty. Bolex EBM's are nice, I've never used a Scoopic but I've heard nothing but good things about them.
 
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Just going off the links provided above... the K3's seem to be a lot less expensive than Scoopics. A lot less, as in one eighth the price.

Is that typical?

And what are some of the more popular contemporary 16mm camera models? Like, if a DP called up a rental place to have a 16mm ready for the weekend, what would they be asking for?
 
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Well.. the biggest issue with the K3's is that they are fairly noisy.. however if the crank is replaced with a crystal sync motor they're supposed to be pretty quiet. Only problem with that is the motor's aren't available anymore. Rumor has it though, that they are designing a new motor. The motor's aren't cheap by any means though, (2 or 3 times the cost of the camera) and if you can muffle the camera noise it could still be used to make some good films. The quality is supposed to be very good, comperable to an Arri anyway.

Zen: my guess would be that most DPs (good ones) probably already own a 16mm, so if they're calling a rental place they'd either be asking for a similar camera, or trying to get a 35mm.. but I don't claim to be an expert on this subject. ;)
 
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Zensteve said:
And what are some of the more popular contemporary 16mm camera models? Like, if a DP called up a rental place to have a 16mm ready for the weekend, what would they be asking for?
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Definitely Arriflex. It's a rental camera because it's one of the best, and built to take abuse. Eclair and others are good as owned cameras (because owners baby them), but are likely to fail on the set due to being a heavily used rental.
 
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A Bolex is a good bet for an inexpensive 16mm non-sync camera. Their built like tanks and reliable. The K-3s look like fun, but they have had some reliablity issues.

If you're thinking of shooting sync sound, then a CP-16 or a Elcair ACL would be a cheap way to go. $1500-$3000.

I own an Arri SR I which is a great camera and they go for as cheap as $8000. I know that's a ton of money, but I thought I'd throw that out as a comparison.

Scott
 
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Wow...great info here guys. Looks like I should look into getting either a Bolex or Scoopic M or MS. Also I found a CP-16 that looks nice. I'm not fimilar with how 16mm shoots sound film, does it record it right to the sound track? or on a spearte device and then it gets synced back in post? Yes those Arri's look nice, but alittle expensive right now. :P Indie, you bring up a good point of renting the camera. I might look into that as well. ;)

Sorry not a pro in 16mm at all...not just yet. :) But I'm looking into it for my feature film.
 
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You want to record with a crystal sync motor for lip sync Hail. Sound can be recorded on a Nagra or timecode DAT.
 
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Here's a little more on the 'Crystal Synch' motor. That's an electric motor that's regulated by a quartz crystal. It's important because you want your camera to really be shooting at 24fps when you've got the camera set to 24fps. As Will Vincent said, it can be done w/o the crystal, but the camera speed is likely to drift, so you'd be better off limiting yourself to shorter takes.

Sound on film cameras like the CP-16 use film that has a magnetic stripe on it. I don't know if anyone still makes that kind of film stock. You can check on the Kodak & Fuji websites, & maybe call their motion picture divisions to find out.

BTW, you want a camera that can take a 400' magazine. 400' is about 10 minutes. Your typical hand cranked camera has takes a 100' load, which only gives you about 2 1/2 minutes.
 
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arniepix said:
BTW, you want a camera that can take a 400' magazine. 400' is about 10 minutes. Your typical hand cranked camera has takes a 100' load, which only gives you about 2 1/2 minutes.
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If he's buying a beginner camera, I would go with 100 ft. daylight spools. Easy to load, and no changing bag. Plus, the cameras are smaller.
 
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So if I bought a Bolex H-16, shot some film, I would have to add sound in later? How would that come about? Or would it be better to not get a wind up camera for sound? Is there a place that links the picture and sound together? Also I'll be shooting a reversal stock., not sure if that factors into any of this sound stuff.

Sorry for all the questions guys, but I'm a Super8 guy more than 16mm, but I want to get my hands on a great 16mm camera to work with. Thanks for all the help so far! :)
 
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