Bolex D16: RAW, 16/Super 16 sensor size, costs less than MkIII

Gary Huff said:
They are continuously adding features and even switched from CF card media to SD card media for crying out loud, for a product that's supposed to come out in 4-5 months. All telltale signs of development hell.

EDIT: Oh, I forgot. Didn't they come out and say no cameras until 2013 already?
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Joe said if you wanted to be sure of getting a camera this year to take advantage of the Kickstarter slots. They will do a limited first production run that may sell out quickly.

People grossly underestimate how fast manufacturing prototypes can be turned around with off the shelf components these days, and the DBolex is all off the shelf except for the body castings. You can turn multiple prototypes with different components and boards in less than a week. Shipping takes longer than manufacturing. You can get 3D printed functional parts for the body made from a variety of plastics or laser sintered metals in days and production parts cast or molded from the 3d printed versions in quantities of thousands within a few weeks from multiple sources. Software takes the most time to develop and refine these days, but that is a continual process anyway. When Ikonoscope began development many of these design tools were not so readily accessible, that is not the case today.
Joe has a history of creating one off custom camera systems for photo kiosks in a similar manner so he is not a neophyte. He is also not interested in becoming the next big camera company. Low volume boutique manufacturing of niche market electronic products has never been easier than it is today.
 
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Razz16mm said:
People grossly underestimate how fast manufacturing prototypes can be turned around with off the shelf components these days, and the DBolex is all off the shelf except for the body castings.
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Is there a precedent for a product of this type that does not currently exist in its finished housing to start rolling off the assembly line in a usable fashion 4-5 months away?

Razz16mm said:
Joe has a history of creating one off custom camera systems for photo kiosks in a similar manner so he is not a neophyte.
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Is there any actual source for this? That he actually developed these custom camera systems on a level that would demonstrate a path towards designing a camera? All I've seen so far is that he was the owner of this company, but that doesn't mean anything about what work he actually did.
 
Gary Huff said:
Is there a precedent for a product of this type that does not currently exist in its finished housing to start rolling off the assembly line in a usable fashion 4-5 months away?
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Any new consumer electronics product that you can walk into a store and buy.



Gary Huff said:
Is there any actual source for this? That he actually developed these custom camera systems on a level that would demonstrate a path towards designing a camera? All I've seen so far is that he was the owner of this company, but that doesn't mean anything about what work he actually did.
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http://www.politeinpublic.com/
 
Gary Huff said:
Thanks for not answering any of my questions.
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The camera technology for the PIP photo kiosk was developed from existing hardware by Joe. Combines an off the shelf industrial camera system with custom automated capture and green screen compositing software to photograph a subject on a background matte and instantly produce a color print to go.

The largest consumer electronics manufacturer in the world, Foxxcon, produces nearly 40% of all branded consumer electronics on the planet from phones to computers to cameras, including for instance most of Apple's products. They have the ability to produce a finished manufacturing prototype from a 3d engineering model, parts list, and board designs using existing open market electronic components in less than a week and take it to high volume production in less than 3 months.
Not many companies actually make their own hardware designs anymore. Neither is Joe. He is a creative entrepreneur leveraging existing skills and capacities in the manufacturing world in a manner similar to what Steve Jobs did with Apple starting with the original Mac. Jobs did not invent any of the core technologies that went into Apple products, he just applied them in unique and appealing ways.
 
I don't understand why people are still being so negative about the D16, I'm a backer and obviously very much hope the camera arrives in August and personally stand a lot more to lose than some people that haven't even backed or supported the project and and just throwing out abuse...

Lets try and be positive, this will be a great camera (Just as good as the BMD) and I'd prefer to hear peoples useful knowledge and thoughts on the uses of the D16 just like the BMD.
 
Jade Lane said:
I don't understand why people are still being so negative about the D16
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It's actually almost amusing to me; I can't begin to count the number of times people have asked for someone who isn't "one of the big guys" to come out and make a stripped down low-priced camera.

Then, someone who isn't "one of the big guys" comes out in an attempt to do it.

Reaction: "They'll never be able to pull it off, not so quickly, if ever. They aren't 'one of the big guys'".

There are some valid concerns in this thread, but the general sentiment is very very pessimistic. That being said, I'm not a huge fan of their funding methods, or their transparency. I think if you are going to look for public funding, you'd better be really above board with absolutely everything. Still, people have done more with less - I don't see this project as a dead man walking at all.
 
Friendly reminder: If you aren't interested in the product, let people who are interested in it be interested in it.

Although information and exercising caution is always great, it seems that it's been run into the ground by nowEveryone's got a right to choose what they want to do with their time and money.
 
I like the DBolex a lot. I like the the ergonomics of this design better than the BMD. It can work well with 16mm or S16mm lenses depending on what resolution you opt to shoot in, something the BMD doesn't do.
 
The other bonus of the Bolex is the global-shutter CCD - I think a global-shutter is so important to achieving the organic look of film.
 
Razz16mm said:
I like the DBolex a lot. I like the the ergonomics of this design better than the BMD. It can work well with 16mm or S16mm lenses depending on what resolution you opt to shoot in, something the BMD doesn't do.
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Not to mention 60fps at 720! I'm likeing this camera.
 
Feature updates:

The Bolex will have a fixed 180 degree shutter when initially released.
They have added a mini-hdmi port and a power out port to support the range of popular aftermarket EVF's. HDMI output will be monochrome 1080p. The built in LCD will no longer swivel due to the space needed for the HDMI board.
They are developing a line of modest priced high quality S16mm C-mount primes and a rotating lens turret like the original Bolex had. The lens turret will be an interchangeable mount option.
They have changed from compact flash to SD format cards.
The camera will record up to 32fps at the full sensor resolution of 2336 x 1752 4:3 format. This was added to the original format options: 2048x1152, 1920x1080, 1280x720,720x480.
Frame rates max: 32fps for FF, 2k, 1080p. 60fps@720p, 90fps@480p.
 
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Thanks for the update Razz, been checking in on the Digital Bolex Forum each day but its starting to become a little cluttered.

Any chance you could keep an update on here going ? Don't think we're be getting our own page like the BMC ?
 
kylevant said:
Like it was predicted, and like it was "to be afraid of".
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The DBolex is a minimalist camera. Very little internal processing going on. Very simple and short menu. Operating procedures will be much more like a film camera than a video camera. Use a light meter, set ISO speed (100,200,400), set frame rate, set f/stop, compose, shoot. No white balance, no gamma curves, no "looks" to set. Monitor gives reference for composition, focus, and exposure contrast ratios. Audio level is controlled by manual pots on the side of the camera. No in camera playback.
You will need to know or learn classical film photography/cinematography skills to get the most out of this camera. Not a bad thing at all. This could be a great camera for film schools to replace their aging 16mm cameras with and still use the same lenses.

Video camera like features for those that want them will come in an external add on module later.
 
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