Quick question concerning lenses / camera models ...

A

amedhussaini

Member
Anyone know a good list of super or regular 16mm film cameras that are "lense" friendly? I understand the camera body isn't as important as the lenses used, and I'm currently looking for an entry camera into 16mm.

Thanks.
 
For sync applications, the "body" is extremely important as it must maintain synchronized speed with the sound recorder and it needs to be quiet enough not to adversely effect the audio recording.

Do you have a budget in mind for this camera?

At the lower end of the price continuum you could consider a blimmped Arri 16S with a sync motor. Nearer the other end of the scale an Arri 16SR would be a wonderful choice.
 
Thanks for the reply. Any other sync camera types that are open to all and most professional lenses?

Perhaps in the 500-2000 range..
 
If you find a 16mm camera that is sync sound ready for $2000, you are doing great.

If you lack much experience, I would recommend renting first. Unless you will be shooting often, you might just want to go the rental route until you build up some experience.

There are great rental houses that will be happy to give you a bit of guidance in making your choices.
 
What's a good 16mm camera........

What's a good 16mm camera........

Hey there. Here's another post concerning 16mm cameras.

All I want really is a good camera body, and the ability to pay more for better lenses (probably more than the actual body). I'm not looking for crystal sync sound... YET, I'm more concerned right now with the imagery and the ability to add wideangle lenses (1.85/1, 2.35/1).

Mostly.. I'm creating a demo reel. I've custom built many other things to help me in this process (steadicam rigs, homemade dollies, car rigs)... etc. I just need a 16mm camera that fits good lenses to capture some of these shots.

Thanks in advance!
 
A camera I have always enjoyed the aestetics of is the Arri SR3, from what I have seen its more easily found an the 416.
 
amedhussaini said:
All I want really is a good camera body, and the ability to pay more for better lenses (probably more than the actual body).
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In the under-$2000 range? The Cinema Products CP16/R is probably the best bet; you can get one for around $1000, it's quiet, it's crystal, and you can get a few different lenses for it, plus you can get Arri Bayonet or Nikon adapters (and probably a PL adapter too) to let you use a wide variety of lenses.

The other option is the Eclair ACL, which includes the c-mount lens mount; a lot of lenses were made in c-mount (but not a lot of good lenses). Eclairs are also quite fragile in comparison to a CP so you'll have to make sure any Eclair you look at has been meticulously maintained, or be prepared to pay someone to service it when you get it.

I'm more concerned right now with the imagery and the ability to add wideangle lenses (1.85/1, 2.35/1).
Click to expand...
Doesn't really work that way. 16mm is a 4:3 format, a wide-angle lens will give you a wider field of view but it doesn't change the aspect ratio of the film. You don't buy a 2.35:1 lens, for example. You can get cine anamorphics which squeeze the image by 2:1, but that would mean 2.66:1 on a 16mm film frame, or about 3.2:1 on a Super16 frame. Anamorphic 16mm is exceptionally rare... I mean, it's just not "done". If you want to use anamorphic lenses, they're designed for, built for, and priced for 35mm.
 
might i benefit from using a mattebox then? to achieve the wide-angle viewing area?

i despise 4:3 when it comes to composing shots and obtaining beautiful coverage.
 
and also, what if i were to knock off "crystal sync audio"? What are options are there out there for a good camera with good lense options?
 
IMO if you have not shot film .. i recommend you rent a film camera for a weekend and go thru the film workflow ...

i shot film for many years ... i've been digital since 2000 ... last year i decided to shoot film for a couple of shorts ... shot super 8 , 16 color , 16 B&W ...
i have had nothing but PROBLEMS .. from shooting .. processing , telecine , editing !!!!

shooting - super 8 carts jamming .. hair in gate ( didn't see it till processed)
shooting 16mm - used wind up bolex ..switar lens are NOT sharp compared to zeiss , camera scratched film , hair in gate , bolex viewfinder is small and very dark ... switched to arri S camera -bad registration ... switched to NPR ..

processing both S8 & 16mm scratched ( lab replaced film) ...

telecine ( 4 different houses) - super 8 to digibeta no problems .. super 8 & 16 mm to HD = 23.98 on hard drive .. 23.98 doesn't cut it - had to have it redone 23.976 - some of the film was scratched on redo .. one of the 16mm shorts has been at a 2k scanning place since january ?
also some of the footage i shot at 12,16, 18fps and asked for all film to be telecined with film running 24fps ..telecine operator adjusted machine for each speed !!! = redo ...

editing - well it was the film that was transferred at 23.98 instead of 23.976
if i wasn't doing FX's the 23.98 would work - it took months to figure out that film was transferred at 23.98 - it was person at sony Vegas that figured it out ( sony did not do the transfer) ....... also the place that captured digibeta did the export at 23.98 that will be redone in 2 weeks ...
i had planned to complete the shorts in 3 months .. i'm still sorting out the problems ...

soo00 i have to say i like the film look !!! but i have to say i'm going to take all the problems as a hint ! no more film here ! i'm going RED ...

i have no problems working in digital ( SD & HD .. current system can't handle 2k so i use lo-res proxy's) ....
 
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