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Happy New Year

Lots of updates for 2024 - Click here for more information about 16mm motion picture camera developments.

A lot has happened over the summer, it's truely been an exciting time. Our new 16mm camera is being tested with film, we've ventured into the world of shooting with 35mm motion picture film and we're about to launch our YouTube channel. Keep watching this space as there wll be a lot of updates in the coming days, and there are lots of new exciting articles that we'll be sharing here too!

The New Kodak Super 8 Camera

After all these years Kodak have announced [sort of quietly] that there will be a limited edition of this camera for sale, this truly is great news. It's pretty expensive, I do think in an age where most of us feel film is too expensive anyway, where we have to shop around to get raw stock, process it and scan it, the only relief we have is that film cameras, especially Super 8 ones are cheap.

Making a new camera is an expensive affair and I suppose Kodak never was a company that made great cameras, it is a known fact that their Super 8 cameras of yesteryear are quite basic and flimsy, as the consumable - film was their core business. Everyone talks about their film emulsions and not their cameras. Although it would appear that before they got into Super 8 they did make decent cameras. I honestly thought that there wasn’t really a camera and assumed it was a great publicity stunt to sell film and make Super 8 current and more appealing to a new generation of filmmakers.

At 5500 USD it’s far too expensive for most people, and it raises all sorts of questions about the cameras target customer and its features, but hopefully die-hard fans of Super 8 and rental houses will buy it. Until 2014 we were making a Super 8 camera, we even got mentioned in Juergen Losssau’s Super 8 book, but then we stopped for all sorts of reasons, like using Super 8 was getting too expensive, processing and scanning costs were climbing rapidly, Kodak was in trouble and for some reason they discontinued E100D, Fujifilm stopped making motion picture film and generally the future of film and especially Super 8 looked bleak. Perhaps the biggest reason we stopped making a Super 8 camera was that we realised that there were so many existing Super 8 cameras out there, in fact it seems like there are millions, an abundant never-ending supply of them and all they need is some care and film. Even now when we browse Ebay we see many selling at all sorts of prices from £5.00 to £500, simple point and shoot ones and expensive heavily featured ones, the choice is huge.

Making a Super 8 camera was a great adventure, enjoyable and fruitful, we bought all kinds of cameras, in fact hundreds, expensive ones and the most basic ones and opened them to understand how they worked, we learned about the different types of shutters, claws and intermittent movements, we looked at patents and studied repair manuals, experimented with optics and eventually built a camera, a prototype, a simple, very small reflex camera, with a c mount lens and a range of speeds, but then we decided to stop the project and we used all the valuable learning and expert knowledge to build a simple Super 16 camera instead, while this market is small, it is very popular and there isn’t really an affordable option here.

Learn more at kodak.com/go/super8camera

Click here and please tell us about your experiences using film, whether you're a seasoned professional using film, or just starting out on your film journey.

 

Click here we're selling cameras and accessories cheaply, ask me what I have, I have used them all with film and have studied them, they are immaculate and work well, additionally they will brighten up an collection.

Click here to read articles.

This is a test with the Cine Kodak K100 that's been modified to shoot Super 16, it's truly an amazing camera - a hidden gem, it is far better camera than a K-3, it's in a different league altogether as it has far less chance of something failing, light leaks or scratching the film. Personally I think the K-100's are seriously "underrated", as many people don't really know how well made they are, and how smoothly they run. I think they should be regarded at being at the top of the 16mm camera list for beginners in terms of their durability and ease of use. They are incredibly easy to thread film, they work smoothly and extremely quietly and they are very steady and reliable and not to forget they run for ages on a full wind.

 

 

The fascinating world of celluloid! The right place if you want to learn eveything about using real film in today's digital world, whether it's still photography, Super 8 or 16mm, though I do focus more on 16mm motion picture film, you'll find up to date articles and stories in the writting section. Everything you neeed to know about working with film is here in this vast and growing resource for analogue film. This site is aimed at both hobbyists and professionals. There is so much information on using film that it can be a little overwhelming click here to find out about using 16mm.

Getting into 16mm - [December 2021]

Many people new to 16mm say they want to buy a reflex Bolex, but can't as these cameras have become so expensive; in fact most 16mm cameras are getting pricey. They then start talking about getting the Krasnogorsk 3 instead [commonly known as the K-3] these cameras are cheap. I must point out the thing about the K-3's, while these are cheap there seems to be too many inconsistencies with them. Comparing the Bolex to a K-3 is absurd, it's like saying a luxury car is the same as a budget hatchback. Click here for a simple and new 16mm Camera chart that basically looks at some key aspects currently available and useable cameras. My favourite cameras are the Cine Kodak K100/T followed by the Revere 101 and then the Bell and Howell 240 [not the EE version].

For the Cine Kodak K100/T instruction manual click here

There are few who love their K-3's and talk highly of them, personally I don't have much time for K-3s, there are just too many horror stories with them, they are notoriously unreliable, unless you're lucky enough to get a good one or can fix one yourself, finding someone to service or do a CLA is virtually impossible.

The legendary Bolex are great cameras, but they have become very expensive. Personally I think they are perhaps a little overrated. I think they are too busy; with lots of buttons and knobs, they are loud and heavy and their wind limits shots to 30 seconds. But the thing is there are many people around the world who can fix and service them.

Fortunately, I have discovered that there are many other 16mm cameras that don't have the same 'cult' status as the Bolex, but are cameras that are very good and much cheaper like the Revere 101/103, The Bell and Howell 240 and the Cine Kodak K-100 series.

The only downside is that the K-100's do not have reflex viewing. While a reflex camera is ideal, it's not a must and I must stress that non-reflex cameras shouldn't be under-estimated, they're much cheaper than the reflex cameras, there are plenty of cheap C mount lenses for them and in most cameras the aperture gate can be easily widened for Super 16. Filming with a non-reflex camera can be a lot of fun, especially for more informal, 'on the move' filming. Parallax has not been a big issue with me when I use a 16mm and 25mm lens, this arrangement works great for me, I use the lens hyper focal settings and for more critical stuff I measure focus. If you must have a reflex viewfinder, the advice is to find a corresponding zoom lens, for example the Angénieux L 1 or L 2.

I would advise anyone who wants to experience 16mm to get a simple 16mm camera, my first choice would be to get a Keystone, these are simple and easy cameras, I would only consider three models to get, the ones with a letter followed by a number and then a names like the A9 Criterion, the A12 Criterion-Deluxe and the A15 Newport-Deluxe, these cameras are cheap, easy to fix and maintain, but most crucially they are reliable cameras and the best thing is that and you can use new lenses with them. Click

The version of 16mm known as Super 16 is still widely used in professional television and film productions. To use 16mm it's not difficult at all, nor is it expensive you just need a camera, film and imagination. 16mm film stock is readily available in a wide range of emulsions and types. Kodak is now the main supplier in the UK of colour and black & white film, but you can also try the black & white products from Orwo and Foma, Ferrania is an Italian company who a starting production of a new colour reversal film. Fujifilm has phased out 16mm film, you may be able to get Fujifilm but you will need to be careful and have to over expose it by one stop. Film suppliers, processing and scanning facilitities for 16mm film can be easily tracked down by doing a quick internet search, film can be processed and scanned at home too.

 

 

 

 

Currently I am in the process of updating all the pages and links. I am adding new sections on 16mm and Super 16 cameras, film stocks, processeing as well as a section on

Please help and support us and get great offers from our Ebay sales we need to raise money to survive.

1) Film and Photo Scanning LED.

This LED panel light unit has been made to be compact, portable and an independent unit. The LED panel is only 40mm x 30mm therefore it's an ideal size to illuminate slides and negative films from 8mm to 35mm, it gives an even.and uniform light output which is a must to get the highest quality scans of negatives and reversal film. It is powered by rechargeable Li-ion 3.7 V battery [which is a common mobile phone battery] and has its own on and off switch, various35mm slide and negative holders will easly fit the unit.

To raise money I have decided to make frame by frame units for Super 8 and 16mm for more information please click here

 

 

 

 

 

2) A simple tidy frame by frame unit for scannng both 8mm and 16mm, using a small consumer digital camera, a macro lens or an enlarger lens.

The scanner is small and compact and even easier to use, it has two main components;

  1. Panel backlight
  2. Film transport plate

For the film transport system a special claw is used to move the film and stop it in the gate and to keep it very steady, I discovered that the backlight had to provide a perfect unform light across the small frame, especially when scanning negative filmThe capture camera and its lens are incredibly important, mirror-less consumer digital cameras works great as they offer great quality and are cheap and easy to replacI have reverse mounted a 50mm Schneider S Componon Enlarger lens, it is an excellent lens and many others use this lens for scanning too. The unit has a micro-switch attached to the claw, this is linked to the camera's shutter telling the camera to take a picture, 100ft of 16mm will have about 4000 pictures, these are strung together later in the computer.

 

The primary goal of any filmmaker is to get with it and to make a film! To tell an audio-visual story, it's not to be continually obsessed with the tools that enable them to do this, tools such as like cameras, lenses, and film stocks; however these tools are an essential part of the process and incredibly important to the primary goal that it is vital to understand the them.

Click here for a simple and new 16mm Camera chart that basically looks at currently available and useable cameras exploring some key aspects. I have looked at the most popular high end models from Arri and Aaton and some basic amateur and semi-professional cameras. I have not looked at everything such as Arri S or CP-16.

Modern sync cameras likt the Arri 416 is super quiet, lightweight, perhaps the best Super 16 film camera, its ergonomic design, integrated electronic accessories and full compatibility with a choice of lenses and accessories make the it one of the most versatile Super 16 cameras around. This camera is heavily used in television and on features and as such it's quite an expensive camera. The 416's predecessor the Arri SR seriesis a less a expensive camera, depending on what it comes with, which model you choose, and its condition, it's probably best to avoid the older SR 1 the best option is probably the SR2 which can shoot Super 16. It's fairly expensive to convert 16mm SR2's to Super 16mm right now, as it's become harder to find places that have the parts/ability to convert 16 to Super 16. Aaton is another campany and their LTR's and XTR's are great cameras and certainly more comfortable on your shoulder when doing hand held work. It's probably better to avoid older cameras from the 1970's as there are many recent cameras around. Aaton Minima is as small as a camcorder, this is an impressive and popular camera, it's not as quiet as the others and it's special spools can be a pain. The Éclair NPR and ACL - The NPR is older and heavier, but in many ways has more feature than the ACL, both are Standard 16 but many have been modified for Super 16, they are much cheaper than the Arri's or Aatons, these cameras have dedicated followers and there's a wealth of online information about them. My favourite is the ACL mainly because it's smaller, and I like the fact that I can use cheaper and the very common C mount lenses.

Super 16 has become quite popular so expect to pay over £8,000 for an Arri or Aaton kit as they are in great demand, probably about £12,000 for the Aaton Minima and about £2000 for a Super 16 modified Éclair, standard 16 and un serviced ACL bodies can sell for under £500. All of these cameras are ideal for narrative filmmaking; they have large 400 ft magazines, they are quiet and have professional high end lenses, but remember with these cameras the camera is modular; meaning that the camera body is usually separate it has a separate viewfinder, lenses, magazines and in the case of Éclair camera's there's a choice of separate motors. Camera packages usually include the camera body, a viewfinder, 3 x [400ft] magazines, batteries, but no lenses, and lenses for these cameras [except the Éclair] are expensive. There is a lot of information online about these and other cameras. The odd one in my chart is the Ikonoskop SP-16, I have included it because it's fairly new, it has sync speeds and is ideal for making music videos, it's natively Super 16.

When it comes to older or smaller cameras for me the Kodak K-100 beats them all [it's on the second sheet of the chart], the K-100 has become my favourite standard 16mm camera, though it can be simply modified to Super 16, but as it is it's a very good camera that is very much over looked, the viewfinder is non reflex, but despite this it is one of the best, it has eye sight correction, and is the largest and brightest parallax viewfinder out there, it's a very quiet camera; making it ideal for recording sound work of course when using the spring motor when fully wound it is incredibly long, in addition the camera can be run with electric motors, currently I am exploring which motor is best suited.

All the cameras that I have listed on my chart are ones that I have used, my favourite sync camera is the Éclair ACL lenses of all other cameras are too expensive, I like the A minima, but the unique loading of the spools makes them difficult to use. With other 16mm cameras that I have listed on the second page again these are also cameras that I have used. My favourite as I've said is the Kodak K100, he older spring wound cameras such as the Revere, the Keystone A series, and the Bell and Howell 240 are great when they work they are easy to fix too, but they are old and may not always work as they should do. The great attraction is that these cameras are incredibly cheap, they do not have reflex viewfinders, but remember any camera can be easily reflexed if you used a viewfinder with an integral viewfinder [dogleg lens] like the Angeniuex. The Beaulieu R16 is good, but it's only standard 16, it's not as tough and perhaps always a little over priced. I am personally not a big fan of the Bolex, but they are good and there are plenty of technicians about who can work on them. I agonised about including the Pâthe Webo, it's a good camera, probably over priced, I don't know anyone who can service them I have had two and both have had issues. I haven't mentioned the K3 or any Russian camera, the K3 is very popular and cheap, it can be easily modified to Super 16, but I don't think I can recommend it largely due to quality control issues; you might get a really good one or a problematic one. I know people who love them, but then I know others who hate them; personally I have had two and they've always been a headache, I have had less issues with older cameras like the Keystones. I haven't got much to say about the scoopics, except they're very noisy.

This site is constantly growing and is always being updated with new stories and articles being added. If you want to ask a question or give ideas about the AFA's new Youtube channel [launching soon] send us a message click here

If you would like to share your expeiences using film or you need any help or advice about using film I would like to hear from you, please use the contact form by clicking here to get in touch.

Click here to read about the Super 16 camera the SP-16.

Click here for my backgrounnd. In these difficult times it has been impossible to run practical workshops, in order to continue to run free workshops we need support and help.

Throughout the year I run unique free workshops and short courses in Super 8, 16mm, 35mm filmmaking and sound recording for film. I can also offer private tuition where sessions can be tailored to your individual needs, these are some of the best value education you can get to improve your filmmaking skills. All the tutors are professional fimmakers and they are experienced and qualified to teach at various levels of filmmaking.

Using modern analogue professional film equipment combining it with contemporary digital post-production method I hope that everyone gains the fundemental knowledge of the traditional analogue film workflow when used with modern digital tools.

Click here for a history to the workshops.

If you are a school, college or uinversity anywhere in the UK and would like us to run a free film workshop please Click Here.

New 16mm two new cameras announced July 2022 Click Here

You can also hire us for consultancy work especially if you are thinking about using Super 8, Super 16 or 35mm for your film project. To find out more please get in touch.
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