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RE: Eclair Cameras: converting Beaulieu R16 to super16
yes, well, i didn't build em :) i think for the market they were created/aimed for, they were built just fine. stabilizing this camera is not difficult, just time consuming. also, most of the noise that comes from these things are them large gears that do nothing more then turn footage and frame counters. removing those and filling the guts with liquid rubber/foam would shut them up. in fact, just about everything in that camera should be taken out except the main rod and shutter mirror pully arm and claw pully are(attached to same gear).
if you want to fix the movement so it does not loose the loop, remove all the attachment screws/bolts in the film bay compartment, remove the plate, then you will have clear access to the left side of the chassis. remove the rear retractable pressure plate so you have access to the pully/claw. remove the 1 screw guide holding the pully claw and tension wire and remove the little guide. take and retension the little the formed/contoured pressure wire that keeps the pully claw pushing forward towards the gate camera, pushing it forward/bending it so it has more recoil spring/tension resistance/whatever you call it. then, take the pull the pully claw arm backward towards the rear of the camera ever so slightly, and upwards/out the left side if need be. then reinstall the 1 screw plate/guide, and screw the two screws for the retractable pressure plate, and run some exposed film through. crank up the speed and see how it responds to your changes.
what happens is if the camera has been run at high speeds without film, those 2 little pully arms get bent out of correct position. remember, one of them controls the shutter mirror, and is locked in to place and is not likely to bend. but the other one that moves the film/advances the film, well, that is simply held into a general position with that 1 screw plate/cover, and IS proned to bending. also, this combined with improper pressure plate adjustment can cause your looping problem. and one other thing that might be a much easier fix, is you actual film spools may be bent, and the film may be sticking when taking up. check these. and if these dont solve the problem, remove hte other side of the body, and take the coiled band, cut out a mm and reattach ... this will provide more tension on the take up slip disk(or whatever its called).
sorry eclair folks ... did not mean to r16 things to death. i will end there. personally email if you need to be walked through the process. eric@earthid.org.
meep.
---------- Original Message ----------------------------------
From: Wade Ramsey <wramsey@bju.edu>
Reply-To: EclairACL@topica.com
Date: Sun, 27 Jul 2003 11:36:29 -0400
I'd be more interested about just fixing the movement so it doesn't lose the loop. We have two R-16s that I have consigned to storage because they were so troublesome.
Also, the use of some sort of mastic to seal the movement to the rest of the body is pretty crude.
Wade K. Ramsey, DP
Dept. of Cinema & Video Production
Bob Jones University
Greenville, SC 29614
jerdog@ou.edu 07/27/03 09:53 AM >>>
Eric
Tell us all a little bit about yourself. Your annoucement that you are
working on a S16 upgrade to the Beaulieu R16 in a Palapa in Cabo San Lucas
is a little un-nerving.
For those of you who are unaware, a Palapa is a grass hut, without walls,
usually on a beach or in a jungle. Just wondering if you speak Spanish
fluently. If so "como esta puedes trabahar tan calor como es en san lucas".
Not to be rude but your email sounds like you may have been smoking too much
weed.
I can think of no benefit to converting a Beaulieu to super16 the pressure
plate probably won't handle it so it will have to be remilled or replaced.
The mirror will have to be replaced, the shutter will have to be remilled as
it is an integral part of the gate mechanism and the gate will have to be
enlarged as well. The internal dimensions of the camera are very critical
and tightly packed. The conversion will be extremely difficult and will have
to be done by a Beaulieu Tech(there are very few left in the world). The
Beaulieu is a light weight machine and should never be worked on by an
amateur. The conversion will cost twice the cost of the camera and probably
only work with 100' loads. I don't get it why not just spend the 3 or 4
grand on an ACL.
Anyway isnt this an ACL discussion group.
So Eric Send me a photo of your engineering Palapa.
-----Original Message-----
From: eric jarvies [mailto:eric@earthid.org]
Sent: Sunday, July 27, 2003 12:54 AM
To: EclairACL@topica.com
Subject: Re: Eclair Cameras: converting Beaulieu R16 to super16
hello,
eric jarvies from cabo san lucas, mexico.
yes, i have had success. however, i am waiting for my mini mill and mini
lathe and liquid plastics/rubbers to arrive from the states so i can replace
duct tape and super glue and roughly cut and modified items with machined
items, and casted plastic parts, and casted rubber parts. also, i have used
mirrors and beamsplitters and prisms from other cameras. when i finish
making the parts for the kit, and outlining the directions, i will purchase
the applicable off the shelf glass/optics from either edmunds, neport, or
perhaps a few or several of them to determine what parts work or how to make
them work correctly, so whoever ends up with my kit, they can get all of
this stuff off the shelf. or, i can exclusively sell the conversion and
make people send the cameras to me ... NOT. i hate that when people corner
a niche market and do not offer kits to other people who want to avoid
shipping costs and labor costs, so you can if you want to do it yourself,
you'll be able to once i have it all outlined. i will post the instructions
online, and will make a DVD that visually walks you through the process(i'll
sell the DVD), along with how to make a video tap for the R16, and mount a
tobin crystal motor onto the side of an R16 and disengage the stock motor
and power it correctly, along with the camera's power requirements. so it
will basically be a R16 DVD that covers the whole camera from taking it
apart and servicing it and repairing it, to making various modifications. i
am currently moving into my palapa from my house, so i will have down time
this next month, but i am hoping to have it all done in a couple of months.
also, another really cool thing i discovered that works on all cameras are
these:
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=2546539901&category=11809
&rd=1
you can take and modify these to mount on your tripod(and you can get them
from 1 foot to 6 feet long), and then mount the camera to the casing. this
allows for some really smooth movement in towars your subject, or away. or,
if you mount an axis mount, you can slant the slide/tripod head, and take
and move from bottom upward while coveringsome lateral gound. these are
made for cnc machines, and the 2' rails can be purchased for $100.00. much
better and much more smooth then a dolly for those short movements. oh, and
did i mention ssmmmoooottthhh? they have resistance controls, and if you
attach a controller to it .. you can literally apply the breaks as smooth or
as sudden as you like.
also, i found some airstrip lights at a local airport that were not being
used. they have 6 and 8 per unit, and these things are BRIGHT as anything
you have seen. if you need soem serious light, these things can be
purchased for cheap($200.00 each) and compare to $20k lighting kits sold by
mole, etc. but a few rolls of filter gel, and voila!
i am working on some npr and acl solutions, namely as it relates to the
video tap ... should have something soon after the r16 kit is available.
again, the only taps out there require the damn camera be sent off. had i
not had to send my camera off, i would have paid the money and bought one.
but now i am having to make one to solve my problem, so i will no doubt
share it with all of you. once i have some basic templates setup on my
mill/lathe, and some measuring charts confirmed(processed film that
resembled s16), i will most likely be able to provide a s16 conversion kit
as well. my eclairs are all 16mm currently, but i found a s16 that was
converted 10 years ago ...or sometime way back, and so once i receive it, i
will see if i can reverse engineer it easily enough to make a kit out of it.
at minimum the plans/specs. but dont hold your breath ... although i will
get around to all of these things, it may be sometime. and then the next
question is ... if they were avaiable, how many of you would actually want
to mess with doing these things yourself? it does take some dedication.
eric
---------- Original Message ----------------------------------
From: david mccallum <davewmccallum@hotmail.com>
Reply-To: EclairACL@topica.com
Date: Sun, 27 Jul 2003 02:12:26 +0000
<html><div style='background-color:'><DIV>
<P>Would the gentleman from Mexico who was working on converting Beaulieu
R16s to super16 please contact me. ( I'm afraid I erased those emails.) I
was wondering if you had had any success with the conversion. Thank you,
Dave </P></DIV></div><br clear=all><hr>MSN 8 helps <a
href="http://g.msn.com/8HMXENCA/2743??PS=">ELIMINATE E-MAIL VIRUSES. </a>
Get 2 months FREE*.
</html>
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eric martin jarvies sr
cabo san lucas, bcs mexico cp 23410
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NOTICE<<<
ANY AND ALL WRITTEN TEXT EXCHANGED IN THIS EMAIL THREAD MAY BE REPRODUCED IN ANY FORM FOR ANY REASON WHATSOEVER, INCLUDING NON AND FOR PROFIT, FOR THE PURPOSES OF MY OWN INFORMATION EXCHANGE AND PUBLICALLY AVAILABLE KNOWLEDGE-BASE / FORUM / JOURNAL, LOCATED AT HTTP://WWW.EARTHID.ORG OR ANY OTHER INTERNET SITE OR FORM OF PRINT/DIGITAL/ANALOG MEDIA, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO; VHS, DVD, FILM, PUBLICATION(BOOK, MAGAZINE, ADVERTISEMENT), AND AUDIO. RESPECTIVE CREDIT, COPYRIGHT, TRADEMARK, SERVICEMARK, OR PATENT WILL BE MADE PART THEREOF ACCORDINGLY. PLEASE REFRAIN FROM SLANDER OR HERESAY, AND CONSIDER ANY SUCH QUOTE(S) I MAY USE FROM THIS COMMUNICATION THREAD A DIRECT REFLECTION OF YOU AND/OR YOUR POSITION AS IT RELATES TO THE DISUSSED SUBJECT MATTER AND YOUR OVERALL OPINION(S) ACCORDINGLY AND RESPECTFULLY, UNLESS OTHERWISE STATED. I GIVE FULL PERMISSION FOR YOU TO EXPRESS THE EXACT SAME RIGHTS IN RETROSPECT.
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