16mm or 35mm stocks
- Thread starter Finnegan
- Start date
Mattykins
Cute Member
well the stock is a little different than the camera itself. The stock is the actual film. Kodak or Fuji. The camera is another animal entirely.
The Aaton LTR and XTR prod are both really nice 16mm setups. The XTRProd goes for 100k. The LTR you might be able to pick up for 15k fully set up with two mags.
Apparently the Arriflex 416 is a nice camera as well offering plenty of digital assets. Same with the XTRProd. You can look directly at the manufactures. Ablecine carries some 16 and 35mm cameras.
The Aaton LTR and XTR prod are both really nice 16mm setups. The XTRProd goes for 100k. The LTR you might be able to pick up for 15k fully set up with two mags.
Apparently the Arriflex 416 is a nice camera as well offering plenty of digital assets. Same with the XTRProd. You can look directly at the manufactures. Ablecine carries some 16 and 35mm cameras.
Andrew Brinkhaus
Veteran
What are your intentions in owning a 16 or 35mm camera system?
What do you feel justifies you purchasing a system instead of renting?
What do you feel justifies you purchasing a system instead of renting?
Finnegan
Well-known member
to be perfectly honest it comes down to one thing only: I want to shoot on 16mm or 35mm before it's not around anymore. I know that there are like, film preservation societies that go to monumental lengths to make sure celluloid films from the silent era are restored and preserved and such, but with technology of the digital age streamlining the sharing of media and information, I only see 16mm and 35mm cameras becoming harder and harder to find because they're less and less practical to use (unless you're a major studio).
so yeah, I just want to so I can say I've had the experience.
Mattykins
Cute Member
That won't be anytime soon. Film will be around for a long while. If it was dead Vision 3 wouldn't have been released earlier this year. I would rent an Arri or an Aaton from a rental house, buy a Light Meter, maybe two or three 400 foot core loads of vision 2 or 3 stock. And play around a bit. You would save some money going the route of Tri-X reversal B&W film.
Film is not a good idea unless you know what you are doing. You might be able to find an 8mm camera class and take that to get the general idea before jumping to 16mm or even 35. That is a lot of money involved there. I mean, the investment of a very good 16mm camera is not cheap.
16 and 35mm cameras are being released each year. The industry continues to adapt. So if you are worried film will no longer be around, don't worry. Because that is not the case. 35mm still cameras, B&W is on it's last years as Kodak stopped making the photoprocessing chemicals a few years ago. But cinema film is far from dead.
Film is not a good idea unless you know what you are doing. You might be able to find an 8mm camera class and take that to get the general idea before jumping to 16mm or even 35. That is a lot of money involved there. I mean, the investment of a very good 16mm camera is not cheap.
16 and 35mm cameras are being released each year. The industry continues to adapt. So if you are worried film will no longer be around, don't worry. Because that is not the case. 35mm still cameras, B&W is on it's last years as Kodak stopped making the photoprocessing chemicals a few years ago. But cinema film is far from dead.
Jason Adams
Section Moderator
If you just want to "play around with film" check out Pro 8mm.
www.pro8mm.com they have camera packages under 5k.
You can also rent and they have telecine services to MiniDV with their stock.
www.pro8mm.com they have camera packages under 5k.
You can also rent and they have telecine services to MiniDV with their stock.
They're not hard to come by at all, particularly 16mm. Checking places like ebay is the quickest. You can also check Visual Products and The Power Broker. I don't know who the power broker is, but I ended up on their mailing list a few years ago and get emails from them all the time. Google tells me they're here: http://www.thepowerbroker.com/
I think that Birns and Sawyer sells used motion picture cameras, or at least they used to.
Back in the dark ages when I was buying such equipment I used to get a monthly catalog of used equipment called In Focus, but that was all before the internet. It was good because there was a lot of stuff listed and a lot of it was from individual sellers instead of brokers. Also, it had ads for all the other companies you might need who would sell, rent and repair stuff. Remember, before the internet it wasn't that easy to find those places. It appears to be online now at: http://www.provideofilm.com/cat_eng_frame.htm
Go buy some stuff!
PS: Don't spend $5k on 8mm or super 8mm unless you really want the super8mm look. You can get 16mm camera packages for less than $5k
jenningsp
Well-known member
one of the cheapest, easiest to use and best 16mm cameras is the russian K3. you can get them for about $200 from ebay. they come with an awesome f1.9 zoom lens and can also take Pentax screw-mount (M42) SLR lenses.
it's a wind up camera. it can do about a 25 second take on one wind.
it's not a silent camera... it sounds like a sewing machine. so it's really only good for music video clips or silent films or ADR films.
if 25 seconds isn't long enough, you can get the upgraded super16mm battery powered K3 from duallcamera.com/ (they also have a bunch of other film cameras on there as well)
also check out k3camera.com/ for all the info on how to use it and operate it. also i think you can buy the camera and upgrades from there as well.
if you're after a "silent" 16mm camera then you're gonna have to spend more than 10 grand...
it's a wind up camera. it can do about a 25 second take on one wind.
it's not a silent camera... it sounds like a sewing machine. so it's really only good for music video clips or silent films or ADR films.
if 25 seconds isn't long enough, you can get the upgraded super16mm battery powered K3 from duallcamera.com/ (they also have a bunch of other film cameras on there as well)
also check out k3camera.com/ for all the info on how to use it and operate it. also i think you can buy the camera and upgrades from there as well.
if you're after a "silent" 16mm camera then you're gonna have to spend more than 10 grand...
Finnegan
Well-known member
thanks a lot for the replies everyone. I will be sure and check out the places you've all suggested and see what they have to offer. however, I do want to let you all know that I know cinematic film isn't going anywhere and will be around for many years to come. that said, however, 16mm or 35mm isn't becoming more accessible to the independent film maker and it's for that reason that I want to shoot on it while I have the opportunity.
What???? That's completely untrue. You can get a gizmo, a CP 16, an ACL or even an Eclair NPR for much much less than $10,000. You can find entire sync-sound camera packages including tripods and lenses for much less than $10,000 and even under $5 grand these days.
And the K3 is nowhere near being one of the best 16mm cameras.
I don't think you have any need to defend your choices here, even if some of the replies to your post seem to point in that direction. I think it's great you want to shoot film and there's no reason to think it's a terrible idea. I've been shooting motion picture film for a living since the 1990s. You can PM me if you have any questions, although there's so much info on the internet these days, you can probably find whatever you need.
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and for $200 with a fast decent zoom and a stable picture. the k3 is hard to beat.
$200 isn't a bad deal. And thing about shooting film is if your camera can hold the film steady and you put a decent lens on it, a $200 camera can make pictures that look just as good as those made with a $10,000 camera.
Don't forget about a Bolex.
They are made like tanks... easy to load, come in electric or hand wound configurations, can use 100ft or 400ft loads depending.... have variable speeds... can do single frame animation... some models can do sync sound.
They are a great an inexpensive way to get into film.
They are made like tanks... easy to load, come in electric or hand wound configurations, can use 100ft or 400ft loads depending.... have variable speeds... can do single frame animation... some models can do sync sound.
They are a great an inexpensive way to get into film.
ecking
Veteran
I was about to bring that up but THX nailed it. Old Bolexes are awesome.
Mattykins
Cute Member
Haha, totally forgot about the Bolex, some terrible memories there. Tried to shoot sync with the wild motor...didn't go well - at all.
But yes, the thing isn't build like a tank, it is a tank. Nothing short of incineration will kill one. I've seen them fall, tip over, jam like you wouldn't believe. (Friend of mine was shooting and noticed a crunching noise, but kept going. Popped her open and out flies a full 100 foot core load. It was hysterical (for me who had nothing to do with the film).
Get one of those. Really, to load, you pop in the core, string it through, it automatically makes the loops, pop the case on again, wind, and shoot away (for 25 seconds).
Go with a Bolex. Trust me, it won't let you down, unless you try to sync with it. She is loud and the wild motor is cranky sometimes (no pun intended)
But yes, the thing isn't build like a tank, it is a tank. Nothing short of incineration will kill one. I've seen them fall, tip over, jam like you wouldn't believe. (Friend of mine was shooting and noticed a crunching noise, but kept going. Popped her open and out flies a full 100 foot core load. It was hysterical (for me who had nothing to do with the film).
Get one of those. Really, to load, you pop in the core, string it through, it automatically makes the loops, pop the case on again, wind, and shoot away (for 25 seconds).
Go with a Bolex. Trust me, it won't let you down, unless you try to sync with it. She is loud and the wild motor is cranky sometimes (no pun intended)