Bach Auricon Pro600

[Ian Korejwo]

Dont worry even with the canon cannon stuff i found a nice page giving me diagrams of the different connectors cannon used

http://www.soundfirst.com/xlr.html

Alright i think I found the exact connector i need is a Cannon X11 connector

I also took a look at the lens and the lens plate. And got some more pictures.
I didnt see any locking screws or set screws and i looked at the other lens mount spots but and didnt see a place to put one in but i could be wrong.

http://imgur.com/gallery/TM2dWXl

I suppose not having optical sound wouldn't be a complete loss after all the camera still works as a camera sound will just have to be taken with something else.

Maybe once i get it working i could use the empty space that would have otherwise been taken up and put a cassette recorder in it
I will have to see what i can do.

I believe I have a 400 foot film magazine i could be wrong but i dont think it looks big enough but then again it is called a pro 600 if that means anything.

Also when i did look at the film magazine i found that the rubber band on it is most likely original as its very much lost alot of elasticity.

That leads to another question, how do i get the magazine open. Is there a screw or do the lids twist off. I was playing with it abit but i couldnt figure it out.

 

[Kino]

Dont worry even with the canon cannon stuff i found a nice page giving me diagrams of the different connectors cannon used

http://www.soundfirst.com/xlr.html

Alright i think I found the exact connector i need is a Cannon X11 connector

I also took a look at the lens and the lens plate. And got some more pictures.
I didnt see any locking screws or set screws and i looked at the other lens mount spots but and didnt see a place to put one in but i could be wrong.

http://imgur.com/gallery/TM2dWXl

.

Look at the back of the lens turret where the partial zoom resides and you'll see a slotted retaining ring just like on the front of a lens. You'll need an optical spanner to remove it (if you want). It appears to be a custom lens turret with a port machined just for that model Pan Cinor Zoom. The other lens ports are standard "C" mount and you could rotate the turret to one of those and use a standard "C" mount Pan Cinor or Angenieux Zoom lens with a dog-leg viewfinder. The smaller holes (ports) were for the matching objective lenses that would have been used had the camera had an internal focusing telescope (which you don't). Leave them plugged...

The one lens port cover that has the extended screw thread stud is designed to lock the turret and not allow it to turn or spring-outward under the weight of the zoom. Always put it back in finger tight (snug) in order to maintain proper focus.

I suppose not having optical sound wouldn't be a complete loss after all the camera still works as a camera sound will just have to be taken with something else.

Maybe once i get it working i could use the empty space that would have otherwise been taken up and put a cassette recorder in it
I will have to see what i can do. .

The camera runs on a AC synchronous motor @ 60 hZ; you must use a tape recorder that also has a 60 hZ synchronous drive motor and have it plugged into the same AC outlet for it to sync. The camera will lose sync with any other type recorder after about 10 seconds, falling progressively behind the sound. Believe me, the issues surrounding sync were huge in film up until crystal sync was invented and implemented...

The problems are legion and many books were written on the subject; get one and read. Look for one published in the 1960's; they are cheap and easy to find on any used bookstore website like abebooks.com.

I believe I have a 400 foot film magazine i could be wrong but i dont think it looks big enough but then again it is called a pro 600 if that means anything.

Also when i did look at the film magazine i found that the rubber band on it is most likely original as its very much lost alot of elasticity..

Yes I think it is a 400' mag, but that's hard to tell from just a photo.

That leads to another question, how do i get the magazine open. Is there a screw or do the lids twist off. I was playing with it abit but i couldnt figure it out.

The magazine covers screw off counter-clockwise; the raised ribs are the handles to turn the lids. However, the magazines are a magnesium alloy and the lids often seize when not used for an extended period of time. Do NOT hit them with a hammer or force them with anything other than your hands! THEY WILL BREAK! Squirt a tiny bit of penetrating oil into the seams of the lids and wait a day or so before trying to spin them off. If that doesn't work, Do it again. Do it until they come off or you'll be sorry... Once they are off, hit the threads with a fine wire brush and take a candle and rub it lightly on the threads (after cleaning off the oil with a good solvent) on both the mag body and the mag lids. Make SURE no oil gets on the fabric lining of the film chambers or you'll have spotted film!

I am digging through my archive looking for my Auricon files, but have had no success as of yet; only one small pamphlet on the 100' load Cine-Voice camera so far.

Tons on Mitchells, Arriflex, Cine Kodak and so on. but no Auricon so far...

 

[gorbas]

We used Auricon Pro 600 and 1200 at our film school in Belgrade, then Yugoslavia. Solid cameras. I liked 1200 the most! We alway used them on tripods and they were fitted with zoom lenses. 1200 had Angenieux 12-120 with prism viewfinder. 1200 had option of running 1200ft 16mm magazine (1000ft magazine is for 35mm), 600 had 400' magazine. They had magnetic sound devices installed in them but we never used them. It has been almost 25-30 years since I operated them and I can't remember did we run them with 220V power or we had transformer from 220 to 110V?

 

[Kino]

The Auricon Camera was one of the most heavily modified 16mm camera systems ever. Not only were there many factory available options available, there was an entire industry that sprang up around the system that made modifications to adapt it to just about any situation. Frezzolini and Cinema Products were two such companies that took the camera and transformed it into a portable newsfilm and documentary camera, much to the chagrin of it's inventor.

He died a bitter man, convinced of being cheated of the recognition he deserved for inventing such an innovative system; and... he was right.

Many of the modifications were to adapt the cameras from mains AC to battery operation and from turret lens shooting with viewfinders and objective lenses to direct reflex shooting.

The CM-72 "Cine-Voice" 100 foot internal spool camera, their "bread and butter" camera, was often modified so heavily as to be unrecognizable by chopping off the top, adding a 400' magazine saddle, a crystal sync driving motor and integral battery packs. It was a rugged, quiet camera that could take Hell and still operate flawlessly under terrible conditions.

I once owned a copy of their "Cadillac" model Super 1200 Auricon with TVT shutter and synthetic Ruby ball bearings in the gate for the film to glide without friction across the aperture. It was near silent in operation and incredibly steady, but not temperamental like an Aaton or Eclair...Heavy? You betcha, but the shear dependability and stability made it a small price to pay for knowing you were going to get the shot no matter what...

That is why it is so hard to talk about the Auricon as a monolithic system; they could be (and were quite often) modified heavily by the factory, outside vendors and their end users.

 

[Ian Korejwo]

hmmm

OK so that's what that is I thought it was part of the regular lens. I will look around to see if I can find the right stuff to put on that lens to decide if I want to take it off or not. for now its not bothering anything and i have two other spots to put lenses on so its fine.

i did get some thin penetrating oil and currently have it sitting on a nice flat table. my father also thought a rubber mallet gently used might shock it apart saying that he had worked with white metal stuff before and it worked out, but I am a little apprehensive about that.

For the sync up inside the camera would I be able to use the motor that's already inside of the camera and use that to govern the speed of the cassette tape? would this still fall behind?

And I will begin looking for books on the subject now.

Well I am really glad to hear these cameras were modified so heavily. I was worried about making small changes because I like keeping old stuff like this as original as possible. I was debating weather or not i would even want to try to modify it to use sound again or just letting that function alone so it stays close to original.

I also thought about maybe putting newer power sockets and sound socket on so its easier to get cables to power it, along with newer amps possibly.

but of course i may be getting ahead of myself on all this. I do apologize for that, like i said before i do like to tinker very much.

 

[btaylor]

The mag stripe film was the way to go when recording sound with these beasts, but that’s no longer made so you would be left with optical which would mean acquiring the camera internals as well as the external amplifier. Far easier would be be to record double system and marry them in post. I believe there used to be a mains attachment for Nagra recorders that would run them in sync, but that is another old technology time and money pit. I know there are computer programs out there that can sync “wild” sound. I think the trick was to slate the head and tail of the shot, but you can do a little research and figure that out.
I remember some years ago the contents of the long closed Bach Auricon were auctioned off, too bad the inventor died an unhappy man, his invention was responsible for a big part of 16mm production in all its forms.

 

[Kino]

Sorry, Ian. I can't lay my hands on the manuals right now. I suspect it is in a yet unpacked box. I will keep looking as I get the time, but don't hold your breath...

 

[Ian Korejwo]

Its Fine you have been exceedingly helpful already Kino
https://imgur.com/gallery/GlKh61v
this is a full gallery cause i accidentally deleted the old ones and i can't edit my old posts after 48 hours

 

[choiliefan]

As an aside, you can pick up a copy of "Professional Cameraman's Handbook" which has an illustrated chapter on Auricon Pro 600 and 1200 cameras for a few bucks from the usual online sources.

 

[handmade film]

I’m excited to hear how you progress in getting your camera up and running.

I also just bought an Auricon and some seperate accessories (hopefully they’re the right ones). I think it’s a chop top - maybe by general camera Corp. I have 2 seized magazines and I’ll try the penetrating oil tomorrow. I bought some random cords and the camera seems to run on AC power - not sure if it is to speed. Does anyone know why there would be a 9V battery connector inside the camera body near the galvanometer? The lamp is 7V. I also bought the NR-40-S7 that I need to figure out how to power. Will this amp work with the CM-72 or CM-72A? I don’t know which one I have. I could send more pictures...

 

[AgX]

Is that 9V blockbattety connector not too modern to be original for this camera?

There are 7,2V reloadable blockbatteries of samec size and connector.