I just picked up a 70a at a camera show yesterday, I think it's from 1932. Did exactly this and it's now running like a dream. Very excited to shoot with it.
Thought you guys would be more knowledgeable about camera servicing and would recommend not to drench precision optical equipments in oil... That's not how you lubricate a camera! That's definitely excessive oiling!
Thank you for this! My camera was jammed. I oiled the at the holes within the magazine. I never would've known about that hole by the lenses on the front. I got the camera running, but that annoying squeaking sound (like you had) didn't go away until I popped that tab and got lubrication into that spot. I do have two questions, if you don't mind. 1.) how do you get the camera to operate with the crank? The crank spins when I run the camera with the trigger button, but when I try to use the crank on its own, like you did, it doesn't seem to want to move. 2.) Do you have any suggestions on how to get a dummy roll of daylight film, so I can practice loading? Thanks again!
cant remember, seem to remember theres a setting on the thing somewhere. also get film from Spectra Film and Video. maybe try their black and white film.
Those cameras were used until video was available. "Film at Eleven" was the thing back then. They would rush the film to the lab and have it by 11 pm. The Filmo was also famous for being used as a weapon in tight situations. It was heavily made. No zoom and just a turret. Cool. Singer oil was reputed to be whale oil. Whale oil was used in precision instruments and differed from petroleum oil in some important ways. Keep up the great work!
If im not mistaken Bolex cameras saw more use in commercial film production, while this camera was more for military and industrial films. or at least idk why anybody would buy this instead of a Bolex. haha
This Filmo was a rugged news camera used universally all over the world. Bolex cameras were not meant to be weapons, dragged thru the mud and knocked around. They were both 16mm and both had good optics. I don't know why a Filmo couldn't be used for commercial work other than the fact that it, as I remember, had no tripod attachment, and therefore couldn't be mounted to a tripod. Maybe some did. Perhaps the speed regulation on a Bolex was better. Oh, the Bolex had a zoom lens. No big deal, but it was big in its day. Actually, a zoom lens would have been of more use in the field. Rotating the turret blocked the film gate momentarily and was not usually done while filming. Zooming was okay. Also, the Filmo was smaller and easier to handle, but I think it was pretty heavy. It was a little tank. And I don't know how many incarnations it had gone thru. Yours looked bigger than the ones I had fooled around with. Maybe it was just the video that made it look bigger. You are so right about cranking these cameras at higher rates without film in them. Not good. You are correct that they need the film to keep their speed down. I was going to mention that until I heard you say it first. Good point. And good video. Thanks for all your hard work.
I have both the Bolex and the B&H and love them both. It was said that the B&H was the toughest camera ever made, but I can't comment on that because I've never had any trouble with either. The B&H was a a common camera for war coverage from WW2 to Vietnam. You probably already know that, during WW2 almost all the footage was shot in color, then printed on b&w for theatres. Thanks for the vid!
Side note: By the 1960s CP16s were used because they were "quiet" cameras and could record sound without camera noise interfering with the commentator. By the 80s, the Eclair was "the" camera to have for commercial or independant productions.
i dont understand what you mean by this camera being a weapon, you mean a weapon of information? the Filmo is a drastically inferior machine to the Bolex, or at least what ive seen of them. war films dont matter because that is military, i am talking about local TV studios who want to grab B-roll footage of a news story probably wouldnt go for the Filmo due to how simplistic they are. I think you lack a general understanding if you think the bolex had a zoom lens, because most lenses were bought separately if i understand correctly. so you could just as easily put a zoom lens or a Switar on the Filmo, but idk who would want to have a zoom lens if they have a turret. in fact id recommend only using french,german,swiss lenses since every american made lens ive found has problems. but thats besides the point since we have the luxury of time to tell how well things held up. and no, the filmo is bigger and harder to handle than both my bolex cameras. first off the button on the Filmo is pretty much in the worst position possible, and plus its just very odd to hold. maybe i'll try dropping this B&H from like 50 feet up into dirt to see how it handles. i will agree its simplicity does lend itself to withstanding extreme environments, but unless im strapping it to a dirtbike or a rocket i dont think that helps much.
Just curious, does this 70DL model use the single perforation films like modern kodak film or will I need to buy double perforation film to use with it?
Two methods:First, a measuring tape for close subjects allows you to set the focus according to the lens markings. Second: the ground glass critical focus porthole on the right side of the turret (the winding key side.). Rotate the turret to place the taking lens in alignment with the porthole then look through the porthole, and adjust the lens focusing ring. When satisfied, rotate the lens back in front of the film aperture and shoot.@@RinoaL
It's amazing to think that it is normal for an 80 year old film camera to still work. Camcorders from the 80s still work, but electronics just 10 years old fail because the caps dry out. I might be mistaken, but I don't believe there is any modern equals to the B&H ( perhaps the Leica M8, but that is a 35mm).
I wasn't necessarily just talking about just the camera, it seems like older products were built to last maybe because customers at the time expected to use it along time. nowadays most products seem cheap looking and disposable.
These old cameras were really built to last, it’s a pity that film and processing is so expensive now that it’s become a very specialised media format.
Who wants to go through all the trouble of loading the silent film (if you can find 2perf anymore), wind it, use it for about 3 minutes at a time before having to reload it, waiting around for development setting up the heavy projector and then, the worst part, is having to sit through HOURS of your time listening to your great grandparents narrate Woodstock...AGAIN.
720p? why would i go that low? 16mm is closer to 4k. and are you meaning the films ive already published? yeah they are expensive but i dont do them for youtube
Rinoa Super-Genius I remember reading somewhere that 35mm was around 20mp, but I'm probably not remembering right. And I don't even know if 30fps film equates to still film or if there is a difference. I was just guessing at a number. What are they using in digital theaters? I thought theaters used 70mm and with digital 4k was about as good as they had? Are you waiting on chainsaw parts?
most theatres ran 35mm, 70mm is just the Imax films. most digital theatres display at 1080p or 2k. 35mm film can go up way past 4k (6 to 8k if i remember right) if done right and 16mm normally is 1920x1080 but can easily surpass that with modern film stock. I've been using Agfachrome 200D which has a lot of grain, so its not as good. drive.google.com/file/d/1cVRJNRFEYjjq6jUUkMq5LikQ3vHWsnDv/view?usp=sharing however if i start using Kodak Vision3 then i could easilly get more than 1080p from my bolex.
Rinoa Super-Genius so, we're losing resolution with the digital projectors. I felt like there was more info there to be had. Maybe it was 50mp to 35mm? Either way, it could always be argued that you could get more than a useful 50mp from 35mm with a good lens and light.
I just looked at the Wiki on B&H. This does not look like a respected engineering company to me. What am I missing? en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bell_%26_Howell
+alex tworkowski i agree, B&H is pure junk. if they werent junk they wouldnt have used plastic gears in their projectors that explode. they are just like Kodak. the only good camera companies were in Europe, but most of them put themselves out of business because their cameras lasted so long.
Rinoa Super-Genius You need to apologize for your last statement if you want to talk to me. I have nothing to say to you and I don't want to hear your opinions.
T Komoski That's a good idea. There are so many greases of varying types that there must be a suitable product out there. Singer had used oil for their sewing machines, but a camera is very different. I think you hit on something. This is a link for still camera lubrication. Very good source info. 120studio.com/tech/camera-maintenance.htm#oil And for cine cameras: www.cinematography.com/index.php?showtopic=55730 and this: One of the wonderful attributes of the Bell & Howell Filmo is its simplicity. Unlike the $30K Arris, which are precision machines with extremely close tolerances, the Filmo is a simple, rugged machine designed for rough service and field repairs. A light weight oil such as sewing machine oil or 3-in-1 oil can be used at the oil holes. The shutter mechanism may need regreasing also; my Filmos sometimes howl and shriek to alert me to dry parts.
The shutter does take grease. And here's what B&H said in the manual: "During reassembly procedure, be sure to perfor lubrication procedures noted in the instructions. I not over-lubricate any part. Lubricant must be a] plied sparingly and special precautions must 1 taken to avoid getting oil and grease on optical el< ments (filters, lenses, etc.). Except where specif cally noted, be sure to use only Bell & Howell grea: (part no. 70468) and Bell & Howell oil (part no. 0896'" The Lubricant is both oil and grease of a specific type.
T Komoski I'm sorry. I did not understand your comment. Please explain. Thank you. Hey, not for nothing but she's in a shitty mood today. Fucking rude. "What about it?" WTF is that supposed to convey? That we're bothering her?
ive recorded a good amount of 16mm film already, go watch those videos. and yes i plan to set this filming with some Agfachrome or something and drop it from a tall building to see what footage i get.
I just picked up a 70a at a camera show yesterday, I think it's from 1932. Did exactly this and it's now running like a dream. Very excited to shoot with it.
Ahh! This makes me cringe to see it run at 64fps without film. I know the B&H Filmo cameras are very robust, but there’s no need to tempt fate!
Very helpful. Thank you.
Thought you guys would be more knowledgeable about camera servicing and would recommend not to drench precision optical equipments in oil...
That's not how you lubricate a camera! That's definitely excessive oiling!
Thank you for this! My camera was jammed. I oiled the at the holes within the magazine. I never would've known about that hole by the lenses on the front. I got the camera running, but that annoying squeaking sound (like you had) didn't go away until I popped that tab and got lubrication into that spot. I do have two questions, if you don't mind. 1.) how do you get the camera to operate with the crank? The crank spins when I run the camera with the trigger button, but when I try to use the crank on its own, like you did, it doesn't seem to want to move. 2.) Do you have any suggestions on how to get a dummy roll of daylight film, so I can practice loading? Thanks again!
cant remember, seem to remember theres a setting on the thing somewhere. also get film from Spectra Film and Video. maybe try their black and white film.
Those cameras were used until video was available. "Film at Eleven" was the thing back then. They would rush the film to the lab and have it by 11 pm. The Filmo was also famous for being used as a weapon in tight situations. It was heavily made. No zoom and just a turret. Cool.
Singer oil was reputed to be whale oil. Whale oil was used in precision instruments and differed from petroleum oil in some important ways.
Keep up the great work!
If im not mistaken Bolex cameras saw more use in commercial film production, while this camera was more for military and industrial films. or at least idk why anybody would buy this instead of a Bolex. haha
This Filmo was a rugged news camera used universally all over the world. Bolex cameras were not meant to be weapons, dragged thru the mud and knocked around. They were both 16mm and both had good optics. I don't know why a Filmo couldn't be used for commercial work other than the fact that it, as I remember, had no tripod attachment, and therefore couldn't be mounted to a tripod. Maybe some did. Perhaps the speed regulation on a Bolex was better. Oh, the Bolex had a zoom lens. No big deal, but it was big in its day. Actually, a zoom lens would have been of more use in the field. Rotating the turret blocked the film gate momentarily and was not usually done while filming. Zooming was okay. Also, the Filmo was smaller and easier to handle, but I think it was pretty heavy. It was a little tank. And I don't know how many incarnations it had gone thru. Yours looked bigger than the ones I had fooled around with. Maybe it was just the video that made it look bigger.
You are so right about cranking these cameras at higher rates without film in them. Not good. You are correct that they need the film to keep their speed down. I was going to mention that until I heard you say it first. Good point. And good video. Thanks for all your hard work.
I have both the Bolex and the B&H and love them both. It was said that the B&H was the toughest camera ever made, but I can't comment on that because I've never had any trouble with either. The B&H was a a common camera for war coverage from WW2 to Vietnam. You probably already know that, during WW2 almost all the footage was shot in color, then printed on b&w for theatres. Thanks for the vid!
Side note: By the 1960s CP16s were used because they were "quiet" cameras and could record sound without camera noise interfering with the commentator. By the 80s, the Eclair was "the" camera to have for commercial or independant productions.
i dont understand what you mean by this camera being a weapon, you mean a weapon of information?
the Filmo is a drastically inferior machine to the Bolex, or at least what ive seen of them. war films dont matter because that is military, i am talking about local TV studios who want to grab B-roll footage of a news story probably wouldnt go for the Filmo due to how simplistic they are.
I think you lack a general understanding if you think the bolex had a zoom lens, because most lenses were bought separately if i understand correctly. so you could just as easily put a zoom lens or a Switar on the Filmo, but idk who would want to have a zoom lens if they have a turret.
in fact id recommend only using french,german,swiss lenses since every american made lens ive found has problems. but thats besides the point since we have the luxury of time to tell how well things held up.
and no, the filmo is bigger and harder to handle than both my bolex cameras. first off the button on the Filmo is pretty much in the worst position possible, and plus its just very odd to hold.
maybe i'll try dropping this B&H from like 50 feet up into dirt to see how it handles. i will agree its simplicity does lend itself to withstanding extreme environments, but unless im strapping it to a dirtbike or a rocket i dont think that helps much.
Just curious, does this 70DL model use the single perforation films like modern kodak film or will I need to buy double perforation film to use with it?
Double perforation only.. I’m pretty sure.
Hi, how do you focus on thiscamera? I'm planning to get one, the only thing concerns me is the focusing
by guessing distance really.
Two methods:First, a measuring tape for close subjects allows you to set the focus according to the lens markings. Second: the ground glass critical focus porthole on the right side of the turret (the winding key side.). Rotate the turret to place the taking lens in alignment with the porthole then look through the porthole, and adjust the lens focusing ring. When satisfied, rotate the lens back in front of the film aperture and shoot.@@RinoaL
That one is built like a tank. Oil works wonders... but sometime it wonders where it shouldn't (heh). It may take some doing to get the excess out.
that thing looks like its bombproof, but I wonder what would be more reliable something like this or a modern equivalent.
It's amazing to think that it is normal for an 80 year old film camera to still work. Camcorders from the 80s still work, but electronics just 10 years old fail because the caps dry out. I might be mistaken, but I don't believe there is any modern equals to the B&H ( perhaps the Leica M8, but that is a 35mm).
A bolex is always better.
Given the two, I agree with you; I don't care for the finder on the B&H or the trigger, plus the Bolex just looks cooler.
plus its made in switzerland, so even then its better. jk im biased.
I wasn't necessarily just talking about just the camera, it seems like older products were built to last maybe because customers at the time expected to use it along time. nowadays most products seem cheap looking and disposable.
These old cameras were really built to last, it’s a pity that film and processing is so expensive now that it’s become a very specialised media format.
Who wants to go through all the trouble of loading the silent film (if you can find 2perf anymore), wind it, use it for about 3 minutes at a time before having to reload it, waiting around for development setting up the heavy projector and then, the worst part, is having to sit through HOURS of your time listening to your great grandparents narrate Woodstock...AGAIN.
@@UpcomingJedi me lol
Can it be modded with battery power pack and what's your overall thought about dl70?
There was a motorised drive made for these cameras.
I would have thought that the glue would be water activated.
water activated?
Gonna be some expensive TH-cam videos by the time you convert 16mm to 720p?
720p? why would i go that low? 16mm is closer to 4k. and are you meaning the films ive already published? yeah they are expensive but i dont do them for youtube
Rinoa Super-Genius I remember reading somewhere that 35mm was around 20mp, but I'm probably not remembering right. And I don't even know if 30fps film equates to still film or if there is a difference. I was just guessing at a number. What are they using in digital theaters? I thought theaters used 70mm and with digital 4k was about as good as they had? Are you waiting on chainsaw parts?
Rinoa Super-Genius and I haven't seen them all yet, but I can probably find it. I'd like to see the conversion, have you done video on that too?
most theatres ran 35mm, 70mm is just the Imax films. most digital theatres display at 1080p or 2k. 35mm film can go up way past 4k (6 to 8k if i remember right) if done right and 16mm normally is 1920x1080 but can easily surpass that with modern film stock.
I've been using Agfachrome 200D which has a lot of grain, so its not as good.
drive.google.com/file/d/1cVRJNRFEYjjq6jUUkMq5LikQ3vHWsnDv/view?usp=sharing
however if i start using Kodak Vision3 then i could easilly get more than 1080p from my bolex.
Rinoa Super-Genius so, we're losing resolution with the digital projectors. I felt like there was more info there to be had. Maybe it was 50mp to 35mm? Either way, it could always be argued that you could get more than a useful 50mp from 35mm with a good lens and light.
Bell&Howell - back before it turned into a rebadge brand for dollar store and infomercial junk.
They are just buying the name, Bell and Howell is still a respected engineering company. They are just not making consumer goods.
I just looked at the Wiki on B&H. This does not look like a respected engineering company to me. What am I missing? en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bell_%26_Howell
Volvo09 You are right. When you see that brand you know it's junk.
+alex tworkowski i agree, B&H is pure junk. if they werent junk they wouldnt have used plastic gears in their projectors that explode. they are just like Kodak. the only good camera companies were in Europe, but most of them put themselves out of business because their cameras lasted so long.
Rinoa Super-Genius
You need to apologize for your last statement if you want to talk to me. I have nothing to say to you and I don't want to hear your opinions.
Oil schmoil what about grease !
what about it? you shouldnt put grease in clockwork equipment.
T Komoski
That's a good idea. There are so many greases of varying types that there must be a suitable product out there. Singer had used oil for their sewing machines, but a camera is very different. I think you hit on something. This is a link for still camera lubrication. Very good source info. 120studio.com/tech/camera-maintenance.htm#oil
And for cine cameras: www.cinematography.com/index.php?showtopic=55730
and this: One of the wonderful attributes of the Bell & Howell Filmo is its simplicity. Unlike the $30K Arris, which are precision machines with extremely close tolerances, the Filmo is a simple, rugged machine designed for rough service and field repairs. A light weight oil such as sewing machine oil or 3-in-1 oil can be used at the oil holes. The shutter mechanism may need regreasing also; my Filmos sometimes howl and shriek to alert me to dry parts.
The shutter does take grease. And here's what B&H said in the manual: "During reassembly procedure, be sure to perfor
lubrication procedures noted in the instructions. I
not over-lubricate any part. Lubricant must be a]
plied sparingly and special precautions must 1
taken to avoid getting oil and grease on optical el<
ments (filters, lenses, etc.). Except where specif
cally noted, be sure to use only Bell & Howell grea:
(part no. 70468) and Bell & Howell oil (part no. 0896'"
The Lubricant is both oil and grease of a specific type.
reply
T Komoski
I'm sorry. I did not understand your comment. Please explain. Thank you. Hey, not for nothing but she's in a shitty mood today. Fucking rude. "What about it?" WTF is that supposed to convey? That we're bothering her?
Are you male of female
irrelivant to lubricating a 16mm camera
Ok
It becomes very relevant when servicing 70mm IMAX cameras.
ヾ( •́д•̀ ;)ﾉ
ive recorded a good amount of 16mm film already, go watch those videos. and yes i plan to set this filming with some Agfachrome or something and drop it from a tall building to see what footage i get.