Despite the many options for shooting a short film, or longer on various digital cameras, or Super8 cine film, many people consider 16mm film an increasingly preferable alternative to these formats. The cost of purchasing 16mm Cameras has fallen sharply in the last few years. Many production companies and film schools used 16mm cameras and in the late 90's started selling off their cameras and changing over to digital. These kits are still occasionally coming up on auction sites. Although some 16mm cameras can sell for high prices, many cameras are selling for less. Usually, for consumer to professional cameras, lenses and equipment are very affordable.
Sometimes a cheap 16mm camera is not the bargain it seems. If it is quite old, it may only shoot 2R film (double sided sprocket hole film, not produced anymore) It may be very hard to find lenses, Kinor and Pentaflex for example. If it has a wind up motor, it's Fps rate may vary wildly without a full service. Early cameras use parallax viewing, (not through the lens as per modern cameras) Parallax viewfinders take practice, proper adjustment, and patience. Non wind up cameras use batteries, these will require re-celling, potentially an expensive option. The biggest factor that may affect camera choice is the available resources to repair or service it. Many camera technicians have retired, and those that remain cover camera brands that are still popular and may have parts.
So, a Bolex or Arriflex reflex camera kit may be quite expensive, but it is high quality, easily serviceable in most places, has many accessories, and good lens options. Comparatively, a lesser known camera may be cheaper, but chances are it's lenses are rare, accessories non-existent, user manuals either don't exist or are in another language, and there is likely no-one on earth who knows how to service it. Before any purchase, research how usable the camera is and consider how much effort you want to put in to learning about it.
CON's: Early cameras hard to get parts, possible worn lens turret, noisy.
handy links:
CON's: Heavy, suited towards semi-pro user, very specific running requirements etc. parallax viewfinder. (non-reflex, not TTL) and power supply. 120v converter needed
CON's: 100 ft loads, spring wound, parallax viewer.
CON's: Early models require skilled user, parallax viewfinder etc. Most cameras 100ft load. Note: RX and non RX lenses differ. Rare 400ft magazines avail. See links for more info: LINK1 & LINK2
CON's: 100 ft load only, fixed lens, and rechargeable battery will most likely need re-celling.
CON's: Magnesium body causes oxidisation, early shutter issues caused smear on exposed film, mostly resolved by now. Battery leakage terminally damages circuitry.
CON's: rare, very expensive, rechargeable battery will need to be re-celled or replaced.
16CX-2M
CON's: Only 100ft load, prone to jam if over-wound, easily removable loop formers can scratch film, early cameras had bayonet lens mount, ie less lens variety
Note: For more websites related to Russian cameras, see the following page on this site: "Australian 16mm" and the links listed under "Australian & International websites of interest"
CON's: 100ft mags most commonly available, camera specific lens mount, camera very heavy, accessories expensive.
Note: For D.I.Y service and repair tutorial: LINK
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