Pro 16mm Film Cameras | The EXPENSIVE ones 

I just read a book about a BBC sponsored British expedition that travelled across Zanzibar and Tanganyika (now Tanzania) in a 3 person hydrogen balloon in the early 1960's featuring an Arriflex 16mm camera ( see A. Smith, "Throw out Two Hands" , George Allen & Unwin, (1963) ). The appendix to the book mentioned the camera initially used 8-volt Varley batteries that proved 'spillable and heavy' until one of the cameramen improvised his own battery constructed of electronic flash unit cells, each with 3 floating balls to show the state of charge, embedded in foam rubber and encased in a small metal box that clipped onto the waistband of his trousers. The battery was chargeable from the Land Rover battery via a 12 volt stepdown built in series. They carried a range of 11 lenses for this camera: a 12.5mm Taylor Hobson lens; 40mm, 90 mm, 150mm, 300mm Kilfitt Kilar lenses; as well as 240mm and 400mm Novoflex lenses with follow-focus pistol grips. The film stock (courtesy of the BBC) consisted of 24,000 feet of Eastman Plus-X 16 mm negative film in 100 foot rolls; 24,000 feet of the same in 400 foot rolls; and 12,000 feet of Eastman Tri-X 16mm negative film. The sound recording was done on a Ficord midget tape-recorder.

Hi, thank you for this blast from the past. I am a 60 yo special effects technician semi retired now but back when I started in the Melbourne Australia film industry as a 18yo I was a clapper loader / camera assistant. I cut my teeth on all these beautiful cameras you describe. I did student films, local TV station news, documentaries, TV commercials and full on feature productions. When I went to Germany on a job, I got a tour of the Arriflex factory in Munich. One time I was a clapper loader on a rock concert movie filmed over two days non stop. I loaded for 15 cameras of all different types and 3 different film stocks and we ended up shooting 686 rolls of 400 foot. I had blisters on my thumb from loading 16 BL magazines. Thank you for the fond memories. Peter A

Sir Iam from India, we all need to get together and bring back 16mm to mainstream cinema. In India people have forgotten reel. 16mm technology is far better than any of the latest Arri digital cameras

Love the Arri 16BL and SR2/3. These are great, but heavy for hand-held shooting. I've never used an Aaton, but they have a reputation for being more comfortable to hand-hold for long periods. One warning with the SR1: the early ones have a French motor and are basically un-repairable if anything fails on them. The later SR1s have a German motor and are very similar to the SR2 (and are still repairable).

Still have an ARRI 16M and a box of lenses for it... would love to shoot with it again, maybe a passion project at some point in the future?

Good very basic breakdown for would-be filmmakers. As someone who has shot with all of the cameras you discuss on this video, and still owns a few today, I'd like to share some more technical notes for you and your viewers. Video taps for instance, can't all be treated the same. It wasn't until the late 90's that video tap's became clear enough to even see things that were in focus or auto correct for exposure. The late generation Aaton tap which is on final production XTR Prod and Xtera is probably one of the best taps made, next to the 416 tap of course. They are flicker free, which means as the spinning mirror rotates and creates a strobing effect in the viewfinder, you won't see that on the tap thanks to a ingenius frame buffer solution. But remember, there are no factory made HD taps for 16mm cameras, so the image still looks like a VHS camcorder at best. A critical feature is camera speed. Very few 16mm cameras can run over 64fps. The pulldown design needs to be made a certain way for it to work and the gate needs to have less friction. Plus for electronic cameras, you need more power the faster you run the camera. The best "normal" camera speed is 75 which is what the Aaton XTR and Arri SR3 have. However, the HS cameras SR3 and 416 can run at 150fps. They have a different pressure plate assembly that helps reduce friction in the gate, but it does mean a less stable image for normal sync sound speed. Another thing to think about is power. Arri up until the SR3 was a 12v company like Aaton. However, after the SRII, they decided to go 24V on all their cameras including the SR3. This means the SR3 batteries are very expensive to re-build and there are no high capacity options. It means the 416 requires a special battery to work OR you're stuck with a battery belt. Aaton on the other hand is 12v and the XTR Prod with a very cheap adaptor can run NP1 batteries, which are cheap because the audio industry uses them nearly exclusively. When discussing camera choices, you've gotta bring up lenses and lens mount. All of the cameras before the SR3 and XTR, had a wide range of mounts from C, to M43rds to aaton to Arri B, the list goes on and on. After the SR3 and XTR, things started to stabilize towards PL mount. The key here is that you can get cheap Arri B and C mount glass, but very few of it will cover super 16 and finding Aaton mount or M43rds mount glass is hard. Remember ANY lens will work, it's just that a decent set of PL lenses will run you several thousand dollars and so will a zoom lens. Where Arri B glass, can be found for less money, but not in super 16. So there is a real tossup for young filmmakers who wish to shoot film on a budget. It's sometimes better to forego super 16 and get an SRII. The later cameras also have much brighter viewfinders. Over the years they switched to a fiber optic system that means there is nearly no loss in the viewfinder. Aaton XTR even goes one step further and allows the user to remove the beam splitter for the video tap if you want the viewfinder to be even brighter. That to me is a great feature because it shows Aaton is thinking about low-light production. Finally, one great feature I love is the built-in light meter so many cameras have. The SR was the first mainstream commercial camera to have it as a feature. Aaton borrowed the idea, updated it to be electronic and has it in their cameras as well. It means you don't need to get a light meter, you can point the camera at your subject and shoot. I've always been impressed with the perfect exposure I get using the built in meter. In the end, a camera is a personal choice. Today sync sound super 16 cameras are very expensive because film has been making a comeback and it's here to stay. I personally have owned nearly all of the major cameras outside of the 416 because they're too damn expensive and Arri's 24v system and accessories are crazy. So I've stuck to Aaton for personal work and the XTR Prod I believe is the best over-all 16mm camera made. It has just enough features to be a weapon on set and not be missing very much. It's light, small, dead silent and doesn't gobble up batteries, even with the tap and monitor running. There isn't much support, but there is SOME here in So Cal, so shipping to here for service is always a possibility. In the end, I love working with these cameras and shooting on 16mm. I'm currently shooting yet another feature on 16 and 35. vimeo.com/315405815

I’m a simple man, I see a analog resurgence video, I instantly like and share.

Another great video! I used to work a lot of ITT Tech commercials and they were all shot on 16mm, usually an Arri of some sort. Sound was on a Nagra at first but by mid 90s went on to DAT. ON TV sets of that time, it was pretty hard to tell 16 from 35, but the step down to Beta SP was a sheer drop. The video assist taps were awful at first. Grainy b&w that was hard enough to see when camera not running, as soon as it started rolling it flickered horribly as most of the light went to the film. A cat could walk across set and you’d never know from video assist, which was frequently captured on VHS. Eventually color taps came and they reduced the flicker. Ahh, the old days.

I have never learned so much from someone half my age. Very grateful.

I have the Aaton XTR XC - the model with no electronics, just a battery. No video tap and no digital readout for the footage etc. Love it.

You should rename your channel to: no grain no gain.

This is the video I’ve been waiting for from the channel all year!

I appreciate every video you put out

I just sniped my first 16mm camera on eBay last week for under $800, and now have an Eclair NPR in hand. While there are inexpensive pro bodies out there, they all end up costing one way or another. I estimate by the time I have it production-ready (cleaned, tapped, ground glass brightened, crystal motor, 15mm rods, etc.) it will have set me back several thousand. That’s just how it is. From what I’ve seen, the single biggest saving is to be had by sticking with regular 16. Springing for Super 16 really jumps up in price. The native cameras are more desirable, and conversions are pricey. I’m planning to DIY a video tap with raspberry pi and self-solve several other aspects like batteries etc. though, which I’m more willing to try on an NPR. If I’d spent the thousands all at once on an SR2, I’d probably be scared to even touch the thing 😂 I suspect I will save big not being shoehorned into PL glass as well. There are satisfactory C-Mount optics around still. And I’m a longtime anamorphic user, so my needs are non-standard in the glass dept. anyway. It also negates the aspect ratio “downside” of not having a Super 16 camera. If anyone has a 15mm rail support solution for the NPR though, that would be very helpful.

16mm film is quite an interesting format

Would love to see a vid on the Krasnogorsk K3.

I have a 1923 hand crank Cine-kodak model A that I like using. Its perfect for that early silent movie look..

I own an operate a fleet of 5 Bolex cameras. (2) H16 EBM 13x viewfinder, 400ft mag, handle grip trigger, tobin crystal sync controller. (1) H16 REX 5, 13x viewfinder, 400ft mag, Tobin Crystal Sync Motor (1) H16 S4. Converted to 13x viewfinder reflex, converted to 400ft mag, Tobin Crystal Sync Motor (1) H16 M5, Highly modified to accept 1000ft Mitchell mag with custom take up and feed motors with resistence sensors on the film path to provide a perfect tension on the film through out the whole load at all speeds, converted to 13x viewfinder reflex, Tobin Crystal Sync Motor. All have a 2k color video tap which records to sd card for video dailies, Sound Blimp for close quarter audio. I am also trained in factory refurbishment of the Bolex line of cameras, which means, i could tear one down on set, fix the problem, and continue shooting, in a short amount of time. To call the Bolex an amateur camera is not very fair. The Bolex allows users of every experience level and can be as professional as you want them to be.

I see a Kodak Disk camera on your table. I had one when I was a kid. fun camera! It would be nice to get a pro camera that can work with sound. I've also been interested in the old Arri cameras. I think Robert Rodriguez used one for his first movie El Mariachi. Not great for sound but rugged and flexible.

Eclair Cameflex made a 16/35mm dual-gauge camera.

tnks for all the information!!

Extremely informative video. 1 used to have a Krasnogorsk-3 16mm Russian camera. 1 only ever experimented with it and never shot any kind of actual projects with it but it was enjoyable to play around with.

I would like to own a ARRIFLEX 16S Camera like Robert Rodriguez used in El Mariachi.

Amazing vid. I'm learning SO much. Thank you for making this👏👏

I got to use a 416 for a music video and it is THE best camera I've ever put my hands on.

Not for sale but used on a lot of TV shows and TV movies in the past was the Panavision Panaflex 16 Elaine.

black swan was shot on Arri 416

I just picked up a Aaton Aminima this year. One thing I learn is you cannot expect or trying to change the camera but adjust yourself to adapt the camera the smaller little camera is real joy to handheld but lacking of the mounting place or modern video tap. but the more I shoot the more I get used to the operation of the camera. Those are old technology and there are some compromise and quirk.

You forgot The Arri SR3 A ( Advanced) it was a MAJOR change from the SR3. Better Optics, IVS Video , Improved gate. All time 2nd Best 16mm next to the 416

I’d appreciate if you make a video on just the arriflex 16s!

It seems, that nobody had the idea, to apply the Vistavision process to 16 mm. I mean to turn the picture 90° and to get double or triple size. It would turn 1 : 1.33 to 1 : 1.5 or with Super 16 1:1.65 into 1 : 1.8, what is close to 16 : 9.

It would be interesting to make a comparison of standard 8, super 8 and 16mm and which on is the most low budget.

Bolex pro 16! Really obscure and rare camera

Aaton ltr can be handheld. They are only a little heavier than bolex. Very ergonomic

I own an arri 16 bl, shooting a short on it soon

I trained on a bolex, then shot student major projects on an arri bl, for handheld follow shots the BL had a waist/shoulder brace, incredibly heavy. Sooo my point is this, a few years ago I bought a beau lieu 16mm set up, I have never tested it, never used it. It was from a medical unit at Leeds teaching hospital. It will work on mains power but I would like to refurbish the batteries and shoot a short. I would be happy to collaborate on an assessment of this camera if you would be interested. Cheers!

Great Video Sir. Keep up the good work

How does this guy know so damn much? I want to cry!😩

Excelent video. Very informative and fun

Aaton's are great but since they don't make cameras anymore if something major breaks then it's really hard to get fixed. I have an SR3 which I love. The 416s for whatever reason are like 30K+ to buy right now. Great camera but a bit over rated IMHO. The minima was cool the hardest part now with those cameras isn't even the rolls it's the spools. The specific spools for this camera are limited in terms of how many their are left. That's the bigger issue. Better to rent that one if you really want it but it is a really fun camera.

Good work mate keep it up!

Got to shoot 100 feet on an Arri with Nagra crystal sync, and it was beautiful if not tremendously expensive.

Great Video.

The cp 16 is a camera I’ve wanted for a while. I want to use it to make my horror film because it was one of the cameras with the Sony hi8 used in The Blair Witch Project.

I have a CP-16 16mm film camera, got it from someone on Craigslist for $200 years ago. Absolutely amazing and complete camera, broken about a year ago so I never got to shoot very much

the Arriflex 16m and 16bl had 1200 foot magazines available

My name is Noah too!

Hi, great video. However I think Black Swan was shot on a Arri 416:D

I know a collector in Hong Kong that wants to sell many of his items including his film gear. He has amazing things like mint new condition 16mm and 35mm cameras and projectors.. some absolutely like new. Hundreds of them.. I have never seen anything like that actually. The other day we were talking and asking me where would be the best place to list his items for sale.. i only know of eBay but surely there are better markets for this kind of stuff. Any advice? He even has stuff like (to my knowledge) the only last brand new (never used) surviving Elmo LX-2200 16mm projector (including a bunch of new original Toshiba extra replacements 2000W Xenon bulbs). He also has (2) Philips DP70 70mm projectors.. all in new condition like the day they were built. No idea where to list items like that.. and how to ship hahahaha.. monstrous equipment..

Great video ! Would love to hear your thoughts on small, portable 16mm cameras, ones that are easy to travel with

I love my 16S

Scrubs was also all super 16.

Hey, Noah. Once again a great video, man. I'm waiting to see more videos on professional motion picture cameras, hopefully more 35mm and 70mm cameras. Also, I have a brand new, unused Olympus OM-2000 35mm still camera sitting inside our cupboard for years. Now that you have sparked an interest in me, I'd really appreciate it if you have any info on how to use that camera, as I know nothing about it and have seen very few videos explaining it. The only things I found were manuals.

CP-16s can be had on Ebay at ridiculous prices and Paul Hillman at Visual Products is still around for servicing if that's an issue. I blew out my board on my U16 converted camera because I wired my DIY battery wrong and he got it fixed right up and a good price.

Why are there no tutorials on ARRI 535A or B's?

Fascinating! 😀

I get the artistic look that some film makers are after. But I was thrown back to hear that modern day TV shows like the TWD and some movies were shot on 16 mil. I wonder why? Is it a cost factor? Or purely artistic? Today shooting in the digital format a film maker could add just about any kind of effect the director wants.

What are your thoughts on the Beaulieu R16?

It would have been nice, if you stated that no more than 400 feet should be exposed on a nominal 400-ft. portion. The limit prevents overspill of reels. So 400 foot, 40 frames to the foot, gives 16,000 frames that last eleven minutes and six seconds at speed 24 or ten minutes and 40 seconds precisely at 25 fps.

hi!! video is great! do you think you can get better image quality like for a short movie, with this pro cameras, over the ''Bolex'' or the ''k3''?. i thinking in shooting a short movie, it would be more convenient to rent something like a Arri sr2 or I can get quality image with a Bolex or a k3.

Shooting with the Arriflex 16s for the first time. Never filmed on film before. Nervous!!

Wich Type of battery does the Bolex K1? My cameras battery no longer works. I have the battery but can't find a precise description on it. It says 3v and nothing more. Thank you.

Can you make a tutorial video on how to shoot with an arriflex 16 s

I live in Burbank and arri is based out here. They don’t even sell film cameras anymore as they concentrate on all their digital cameras. Most film sets I been on TV including shots on arri mini or arri Alexa and now the arri mini LF. So I have no idea what you’re talking about people still shooting 16 mm professionally. It’s still done but rarely. Also it’s always going to shoot on film not because film is expensive but because the processing back to digital. I love film but you no one is using it much anymore.

While searching for an answer to a question I found this video. Most interesting, so thank you. :-) My question still hasn't been 100% resolved: what's the widest shutter angle that you can get on a pro grade Super 16mm camera? The most I have seen quoted is 216 degrees. Can anyone help?

What are the costs actualit for one 16mm cassette of film? What's the costs for developing and digitising?

About time

Amazing

So to get proficient with 16mm one should go from an amateur camera to a professional camera? Also, are Bell & Howell cameras considered acceptable?

Just noticed you've shot this at 24fps..... nice

Hands Down .......

I have an eclair NPR. Is it a lot of work and money to convert it to Super 16? Or even Bolex's going to Super 16?

Do have someone you'd recommend for cleaning and repairing a Bolex?

Any experience with Pathé 16mm cameras? (AT/BTL)

I want to shoot super16, my budget is around $2k. Can you recommend a more pro camera?

I have been looking desperately for months what film cameras Andrei Tarkovsky used -mainly Stalker-. Thus, could anyone enligthen me, please ? I would be really grateful ! Have mercy.

I’d like to see a video on actual analogue cameras, like U-matic or Betacam cameras. These legacy formats were used extensively in professional production for decades but are now largely forgotten.

I am not a film purist, but I have a script I want to shoot on 16.

Have any big movies been shot on Super 16? Is there any advantage to shooting regular 16mm over Super 16?

What websites would you recommend for looking for these kinds of cameras?

Hey I’m thinking of using a Arriflex 16bl or sr but totally confused about recording sound ! I mean can’t I just use a boom and a zoom recorder ?

What would you say about the Beaulieu R16?

hey noah i have a super 8 cam and i want to sell it how much i can sell it

What super16mm camera do you suggest that I can use to shoot with sync sound that’s easy to service and repair if I am on very tight budget ??

get into high speed film cameras

Meanwhile, Panavision is out there making cameras that cost more than my fucking house.

Arri 🎥

I work at a university and we have an a-minima, LTR and eclair sitting around on a shelf. It's criminal.

Would you think about an Argus c3 review?

you sound like that guy from how to train a dragon

Signals are analogue or digital, NOT things.

pelo amor de deus cara, que 100 feet o que, vai usar o sistema internacional de unidades. distância se mede em metros, não aguento mais essas unidades toscas aí. se atualiza cara, estamos em 2022 e não em 1970. século 21.

You have quite a breadth of knowledge on lenses and film, but you also have a 60 cycle hum in your audio. It's hard to listen to this video because of it. Add a low-cut starting at 80-85hz and you'll be fine.

Why would modern producers use film cameras if we live in a digital world?!?

I would like to watch your video but you have a nasty habit off waving your hands while you are talking to me.

Good God, ANOTHER one! It's so frustrating to find a video title that looks interesting but in less than 10 seconds elation turns to that frustration when some goofy, over-animated, disheveled "host" pops up and destroys it. RU-vid has become such a dumpster for video junk.