Bolex anyone!

ic-racer · Sep 27, 2008

Keeping it analog...

Certainly a Rank Cintel scan of one's film and non-linear editing with pro hardware and software is the state of the art. But in a comparison between consumer-grade iMovie and the Bolex splicer, I found the Bolex splicer compared very favorably.

I found iMovie to be a little difficult to use. It was hard to standardize the fades, and setting clip length was difficult. It was hard to establish and maintain a rhythm in my project.

On the other hand, the Bolex splicer is a real gem and nothing like the 'cheapie' plastic splicers that populated home-movie-making households in the 70s.

This fantastic device shaves the film into two overlapping tapers that are then welded together, maintaining the image on the emulsion side and leaving a clear splice. There is a faint line through one frame.

Anyone interested in analog film would do well to pick up one of these splicers.

(I can post a splicing 'how to do it' thread if anyone is interested.)

Greg McIntyre · Nov 17, 2009

I shot a brother-in-law's wedding on Super 8 colour film and then enlarged a few frames to make 5x7 (I think) stills. They were OK. But not up to the quality of shots you'd take with a still camera.

ic-racer · Jul 2, 2010

After many years of putting it off, I finally got a Bolex tripod. The main reason to I wanted to get the Bolex one is that the disks that screw to the bottom of the camera are a pain to take on and off every time I wanted to use a tripod. The Bolex tripod takes the disk, so I can quickly go between handheld with the grip or the tripod. I'll post some pictures.

The other neat thing about the Bolex tripod, vs my regular still camera tripod, is that the Bolex has a fluid head for panning.

ic-racer · Jul 8, 2021

Got a new eyecup for my BOLEX H-8 REX.
The eyecup is essential to limit light exposing the film from the eyepiece and also the single-lens-reflex image is dim. The image is dim, both because of viewing at working aperture and the limited light available from the beam-splitting prism that is always in the film path.

awty · Jul 9, 2021

Nice, I need to get one for my REX4 16mm, actually I should start using it. Also have a couple of plain 8mms double perforated cameras and some lenses.
Have you made many films?
Im still on the look out for a 16mm editor, they seem really hard to find.

ic-racer · Jul 9, 2021

I use mine 90% for 'family movies.' I edit and splice the short 25ft films on to 200 or 400 ft reels. I have quite a few going back to 1999 when I got my first Bolex.

Currently I'm getting B&W reversal processing and splitting from Yale Photo in CA. I only shoot B&W.

I got almost all my Bolex equipment back in the late 1990s and early 2000. People were practically giving the stuff away.

ic-racer · Jul 9, 2021

With the tiny lenses for 8mm I try to never stop down past f5.6 as image quality really degrades with tiny apertures. So I have ND filters for all my lenses for outdoor shooting. I use ND 0.9 (3 stop).

The REX cameras have the variable shutter, but it is only calibrated for reducing one stop maximum.

In case you don't know, many Switar and Yavar lenses use 'drop in' series size filters that are held in place by the lens hood.

ic-racer · Jul 9, 2021

This is the one that got the new eyecup in post #54 above. An early 'round bottom' 8mm REX. As far as I know, these were the only 3 primes ever made for the 8mm REX series of cameras. So I have a Kenko 0.5 Wide Angle adapter on the 5.5mm lens to bring it down to around 2.5mm.

awty · Jul 12, 2021

ic-racer said:
This is the one that got the new eyecup in post #54 above. An early 'round bottom' 8mm REX. As far as I know, these were the only 3 primes ever made for the 8mm REX series of cameras. So I have a Kenko 0.5 Wide Angle adapter on the 5.5mm lens to bring it down to around 2.5mm.
View attachment 279710
View attachment 279711

Tell me how do you use the fixed focus 5.5mm lens?
Cant find anything about and I don't have a D mount in reflex to look through the view finder.

ic-racer · Jul 13, 2021

awty said:
Tell me how do you use the fixed focus 5.5mm lens?
Cant find anything about and I don't have a D mount in reflex to look through the view finder.

The 5.5 mm lens came with a 5.5mm adapter that slips over the end of the side-mounted viewfinder. It extends the 6.5mm view to 5.5mm. I do have this for my non-Rex camera but it needs to come off if using the longer lenses and there is not good place to store it. Maybe I need to make some 3-d printed part to hold it to the camera when not in use.

More information about the adapter here:

https://cinematography.com/index.php?/topic/78888-question-about-bolex-55mm-adapter-for-octameter/

ic-racer · Mar 28, 2024

This is the 5.5mm lens with the 0.5X adapter.

ic-racer · Oct 17, 2024

I came across this thread in a Google search. Seems like many of the images are gone.

This is the Switar EE Zoom referred to in the thread:

FrT · Dec 9, 2024

ic-racer said:
I came across this thread in a Google search. Seems like many of the images are gone.

This is the Switar EE Zoom referred to in the thread:

View attachment 381226

Looks just like mine and same case! I don't have the wide angle adapter though. What is it, and is the adapter ring a custom job?

ic-racer · Dec 9, 2024

The wide-angle conversion lenses are frequently in a 37mm thread. I had SK Grimes make a Bolex to 37mm thread adapter for both my EE zoom and the 5.5mm Switar.

RafCamera could probably make the adapter also.

ic-racer · Dec 9, 2024

This shows another 37mm thread converter. You can just make out the "SK Grimes" logo on the thread adapter.

Bolex anyone!

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