Bolex H16 Crystal conversions

[mrsorrentino]

I might be trying to run before i can walk here ... I recently purchased a Super8 camera and will start shooting test rolls soon. One day in the near future i am going to purchase a 16mm camera, i am interested in shooting with sync sound. I have a low budget and have been looking at conversions of old Bolex H16 cameras .... my questions are as follows....

1. Will a Bolex H16 be quiet enough (with a crystal motor installed) to record dialogue within close proximity?

2. Can i use a Marantz flash card recorder to record the synchronised soundtrack?

3. How much editing will i need to do on film? Do i have to get my 16mm transfered to DAT with the sound already edited?

Regards,
Tony

 

[scottspears]

1. Will a Bolex H16 be quiet enough (with a crystal motor installed) to record dialogue within close proximity?

2. Can i use a Marantz flash card recorder to record the synchronised soundtrack?

3. How much editing will i need to do on film? Do i have to get my 16mm transfered to DAT with the sound already edited?

1. Nope. The picture and sound will be in sync, but camera noise will kill your audio.

2. Probably.

3. You shouldn't have to do any editing on film. The lab will prep it for telecine and then you can have it transfered to Mini-DV or I would reocmmend Digi Beta or bettter, and then make dubs down to Mini-DV. Then you can sync the sound by dumping it into your NLE and syncing it to the picture.

My advice is hold back the money for the crystal conversion and snag a CP16 or Elcair ACL.

Scott

 

[Unknown Screenwriter]

Bolex EBM

I might be trying to run before i can walk here ... I recently purchased a Super8 camera and will start shooting test rolls soon. One day in the near future i am going to purchase a 16mm camera, i am interested in shooting with sync sound. I have a low budget and have been looking at conversions of old Bolex H16 cameras .... my questions are as follows....

1. Will a Bolex H16 be quiet enough (with a crystal motor installed) to record dialogue within close proximity?

2. Can i use a Marantz flash card recorder to record the synchronised soundtrack?

3. How much editing will i need to do on film? Do i have to get my 16mm transfered to DAT with the sound already edited?

Regards,
Tony

Not to argue with Scott since he's a cinematographer... But I have a Bolex EBM with crystal sync. Running it as is would infect your sound with camera noise but using a blimp of some kind will do wonders... I basically got some posterboard and created my own pattern for a blimp. Then I went out and found my own material and padding to use in the construction of the blimp. I actually found a place that sells a lot of upholstery type material and padding that worked great...

Finally, I went to an upholstery shop and asked them to put the whole thing together for me... Cost me $100 and works great... No problems with camera noise.

filmy

 

[mrsorrentino]

Bolex H16 Crystal conversion

I'll look into that blimp idea of yours. I was originally considering a Krasnogorsk with a crystal motor... but i was told it would be too loud for audio. Maybe i could blimp a K-3.... though i don't know if a K3 is any louder than a Bolex when in use.
The K3 would be convenient as i could use my SLR lenses as well as movie lenses.

I have a feeling that Steve is right and i'll end up saving some (much) more money for an ACL.

Thanks for your help,
Tony

 

[Wild Bill]

Reference the idea of making a cheap sound blimp for the Bolex. It's amazing what a little 3 inch foam and duct tape can do. In an emergency, this quick fix should suffice. Regards,
Wild Bill