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Re: Eclair ACL thinking about purchasing an acl.



Hi Rafael. Like anything else, the trick to being happy with a used piece of equipment is to buy one in really good condition rather than a fixer-upper. If you buy an ACL II in mint condition that is really quiet and works up to specs, then you should be quite happy with the ACL. The ACL 1 had motor problems which gave it a bad reputation. But the ACL 1.5 solved this with the heavy duty motor, and the ACL II added a good handgrip, on-board battery holder, and brighter viewfinder.

As for the ACL being "unable to be correctly converted to Super-16," this is an area that strikes a special chord for me --- since I created new computer engineered parts for this purpose, as you will know if you've been following the list. I've never used an ACL converted by any of the fine Techs who perform their own "in house" conversions so that I am not in a position to tell you anything about those conversions --- although many on this list certainly can --- but I will say at the very least that the HD-144 GOLD conversion will "correctly" convert the ACL to full Super-16 Specs with brand new parts. And because it also re-centers the mirror, if you have an ACL motor with Shutter parking, the mirror will be correctly centered per Eclair factory specs. Check out www.members.aol.com/Super16ACL. I have been shooting a feature for 4 years with a S-16 ACL HD-144, and previously used a S-16 ACL for added scenes in a feature shot with an Aaton and blown up to 35mm by Du Art. There was no difference between the Aaton and ACL footage. With a well-padded Barney (see the Barney page on my site), an ACL at proper specs is totally quiet for sound work on close-up interiors.

The registration is beyond steady, it is like a rock. And when using a 200' mag it is the smallest, lightest S-16 sound camera available outside of the A-minima. In the last 2 years there has been an explosion of third party accessories. And Les Bosher makes just about any lens adapter you can think of, and will custom make any part that you can describe to him.

The only downside I see compared to the SR or Aaton is that the viewing system is less bright. But you can't have it all, and the price can't be beat. Mark.

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