I have also been using a SI2K in conjunction with an old Steenbeck ST16 flatbed editor as a sort of improvised telecine. I have yet to invent and build a trigger generator to sync the frame rate to the Steenbeck.
I have been using a conventional projector with a telecine camera lens (which has a mirror and condenser) in place of the projector lens. Before I had the telecine lens, I was using a box I made between the projector and camera that had a 45-degree mirror and a 5" condenser lens. That did as good of a job but was harder to line up the shot.
I too can go the mirror and lens route with an old Sony 90degree telecine adaptor for old 2/3" EIAJ video camera-recorders. It is okay but not outstanding and a frame sync issue exists.
The SI2K is essentially a 2/3" sensor with a few extra pixel rows around the outside. Because it is a CMOS camera and rolling shutter is an issue, the prism shutter has to remain in the Steenbeck. - Once the camera is slaved to a Steenbeck generated trigger pulse, then the shutter speed can be made faster so that the blurry frame transitions are no longer visible.
There remain optical internal reflection artifacts from the prism. These do not permit scanning of neg film because of the heavy-duty contrast which has to be added after inversion. This amplifies them to the detriment of the recovered image.
Direct imaging to the camera is achieved by removing the screen box, adjustable surface-coated mirror tower and erecting prism from the Steenbeck's optical path. The small 50mm projection lens is replaced by a Fujian 50mm camera lens set well forward of the camera as a camera macro lens. I stacked CS/C-Mount adaptors for a ballpark forward macro offset and shimmed between a few of them for a final trim.
The Steenbeck lens has no controllable iris. With this arrangement and the prism stopped and centred to static tests, the sharpness is acceptable and with careful focus adjustments matches much other HD scanner/telecine imaging I have seen published on Youtube.
With the prism removed, the best sharpness is achieved by using the Fujian lens as a projection lens with the tail of the lens facing the film plane.
I cannot post an image here but here is a link to a post on dvinfo.net regarding the arrangement. If you look at the still image, you will observe a couple of 4x4 filters improvised into the optical path to bring the Steenbeck's lamp down to acceptable brightness and a IR-750 filter to take out the infrared which is very severe from that lamp.
I've owned my share of cameras and I guess this would be a fun place to post all of them. This list is from 2003-present so please excuse the length. I put a little "*" by my favorites.
Currently Own
-*Panavision HD900F (panavised Sony F900/3) [I did some modifications of my own to get the camera back to accepting B4 glass given I dont have PV glass]
-Optex HJ9x5.5 HD Cine Zoom Lens B4 (lens used with Panavision camera)
-GoPro Hero 5 Black w/ Karma gimble
-GoProHero3
-JVC GR-DVM90U (the very first camera I got way back in 1999. Still works!)
-Sony F900/3 (trying to sell as parts camera)
Previous Cameras (in no particular order)
-*Sony DSR-PD150 (my first prosumer camera. i learned all the basics of composing an image on this one. holds a special place in my heart)
-Panasonic AG-DVX100/100A/100B
-*Canon XL2
-Sony HVR-A1u
-Panasonic HVX200 (my first foray into high def 11 years ago)
-JVC HD110u
-Canon XL1s
-*Panasonic HDC27 Varicam (both F & H models) [The in camera frame ramping feature was my favorite thing! beautiful camera!]
-*Panasonic SDX900
-Canon HV20/30/40
-Nikon D90 [my first "HDSLR". had it all of 7 days and returned it.]
-*Panasonic HMC150
-Canon 7D
-Canon 5D Mark II
-Sony FX1 & Z1u
-Sony HC52 handycam (used as a deck for my mac years ago)
-Canon T1i/t2i/t3i
-Sony PD100A
-Pentax K-x
-Panasonic GH1/GH2/GH3/GH4 [the GH4 is probably the best HDSLR i've worked with and im not a fan of those cameras]
-Sony NEX3N/5N/7
-Sony F900/1
-Sony Z7U
-Sony a6000/a6300
-Panasonic G7
-Panasonic HS9
-*Red One MX (the only thing i hated about this camera was it's boot up times)
-*Sony FS100
-*Sony F3 [was able to get some "alexa-like' images out of this thing. beautiful]
-Blackmagic Cinema Camera 2.5k
-Blackmagic Pocket Camera
-Nikon D3200
-Panasonic AF100
-Nikon D5200
I did a lot of camera re-selling and trading in my teen years to get my hands on as many different digital cameras as i could and i was very blessed to have a family who supported me in cinematography when i was younger.
Now, I have about 200 still cameras, having sold off all of my motion picture equipment, except for some Oxberry 35 and 16mm gates, a pair of Acme 35mm gates (pins above and below gate) and a smattering of Super 8 / Regular 8mm cameras.
You should have seem my collection of 14 silent, hand cranked projectors; Mainly Powers 5 and 6 variants with mazda lamps.
Heavy iron is too much for me to collect anymore, but I would like to eventually get another 2709. Sorry I ever sold that pair...
Well, if we're going to roll out the 'have owned' category ... and I've got a spare moment to share while I sip a coffee ....
1. Bell & Howell Super 8 silent camera. My dear Dad and I bought this camera in very early 1979. With it I shot many, many Super 8 productions. The most famous amongst friends and family was 'The Giant', a picture about a marauding .... giant. It included state-of-the-art special effects.
2. An un-remembered Super 8 camera model, also silent, that I borrowed for some months, when the tripod screw thread on the B&H wore out from extended use.
3. Canon 1014 xls sound Super 8 camera. I used this camera again just a few weeks ago to film a wedding.
4. I also used a Canon camera at school, the model of which I don't remember, owned by the Ed Dept. Okay, so I didn't own this one. But it's a fond memory.
5. A wind-up Bolex Standard 8mm camera, two lenses, the label has fallen off. It's not the larger H8 camera. I still have it. I used to buy the Kodachrome K25 film for it at the Kodak shop in the middle of Brisbane CBD. In the eighties 'twas the only place that had the film in stock. I was a trailblazer I guess, as a teenager.
6. My Grandfather's Standard 8mm camera, that I never got around to using. Sadly I now no longer have it.
7. A Bolex H16, non-reflex. Three lenses. It was a great camera.
8. Thence travel forward in time quite some years. A Bolex Rex 5 in S-16. It has a Kern 16mm and Nikkor 50mm on it. Works very well.
9. My teenage dream was to own, or at least use, an Arriflex one day. So how could I resist? I bought a 2C a couple of years ago. I would like to do some 35 mm filming before too long.
10. A Zoom Q8 digital camera, which I bought mainly for the microphone/sound. You see, even I can use digital. It's not all film you know. I think that's it. Maybe there has been a camera or two I've neglected to mention. But the above are the main ones.
Edited by Jon O'Brien, 21 September 2018 - 08:35 PM.
Unfortunately I can not show off with a lot of Cameras but i am a very happy owner of a Arri SR2 Advanced Super16 (advanced as converted by P+S Technic for 12p/s / 75p/s)
I also own a Canon DS8 and a little Bolex D8L which i litterally cary around everywhere in my daily life
I used to have a GH5, but i sold that just recently. The Digital World is not my World.
I love cameras but it's such a burden to collect stuff that I try to keep only what can be used. More important for me is to have an ecosystem of compatible lenses.
Digital
BMCC - bought used, just for fun and learning
Canon 60D - for animation only
35mm
Mitchell NCR
Mitchell GC
Wall
Arri IIB
Eyemo
16mm
Bolex Rex 4 - currently being converted to Super 16
Bolex Rex 3
Bolex M
Revere 103 - homebrew Ultra/Super 16, love this camera!
Super 8
Canon 1014XLS
Elmo Super 110
the cool-looking Bolex
a Eumig sound camera
a tiny Chinon camera
Standard 8
mostly Revere and Keystone from the 30's because of the beautiful craftsmanship
Heavy iron is too much for me to collect anymore, but I would like to eventually get another 2709. Sorry I ever sold that pair...
I would love to see one of these in operation. It doesn't get the love the Mitchell does, but most of my favourite silent comedies were shot on this camera. From what I've read and seen, it's a brilliant, nearly hand-made camera.
The only "real" moving-image camera package I've ever just gone out and bought was a Panasonic AG-DVC200 with Fuji 20x6.4 zoom.
I don't know if there's any way to access posts from the early 2000s on this forum - the software has changed since - but I probably talked about it when I got it. It wasn't something I loved, particularly, I just needed something. I still miss the ergonomics - the grip, the zoom, the location of the controls, the way you could flip open the viewfinder, the balance and weight, even the way you could throw it onto a quick-release plate on a tripod. I'd learned these things on other ENG-style cameras. Most modern cameras are terrible by comparison. About the best thing at the same price is something like an Ursa Mini Broadcast. I still use the tripod I bought to go with it, the quick-release tripod plate that came with it, and the (much-recelled) PAG battery system.
I should have bought a DSR-500, or even the DXC-D35 docked to a DSR-1 DVCAM recorder, which was then becoming cheap. I knew that at the time, and might even still be wringing some value out of a better lens, but fresh out of college it was a financial bridge too far.
It was occasionally pressed into service to do something creative (this is my early work - as we say on the internet, plz, no bully.)
The DVC-200 paid for itself, but when it became time to upgrade there wasn't an affordable way to get an HD equivalent. Eventually I'd become used to not owning anything and the DSLR revolution was in full swing, and as other people have said things move so fast it's hard to invest, so I never have.
I did buy an EOS-40D to demonstrate raw recording with Magic Lantern. The pictures are wonderful; the user interface is not.
Looking to add an Arriflex 435Xtreme 3perf as soon as I can find one.
One of my dreams is to own an Arricam LT/ST at somepoint in my life. Even if it just ends up being a conversation piece in my home. One day, in the words of Wayne Cambell "it will be mine.. oh yes.. it will be mine". lol
The only "real" moving-image camera package I've ever just gone out and bought was a Panasonic AG-DVC200 with Fuji 20x6.4 zoom.
I don't know if there's any way to access posts from the early 2000s on this forum - the software has changed since - but I probably talked about it when I got it. It wasn't something I loved, particularly, I just needed something. I still miss the ergonomics - the grip, the zoom, the location of the controls, the way you could flip open the viewfinder, the balance and weight, even the way you could throw it onto a quick-release plate on a tripod. I'd learned these things on other ENG-style cameras. Most modern cameras are terrible by comparison. About the best thing at the same price is something like an Ursa Mini Broadcast. I still use the tripod I bought to go with it, the quick-release tripod plate that came with it, and the (much-recelled) PAG battery system.
I should have bought a DSR-500, or even the DXC-D35 docked to a DSR-1 DVCAM recorder, which was then becoming cheap. I knew that at the time, and might even still be wringing some value out of a better lens, but fresh out of college it was a financial bridge too far.
It was occasionally pressed into service to do something creative (this is my early work - as we say on the internet, plz, no bully.)
The DVC-200 paid for itself, but when it became time to upgrade there wasn't an affordable way to get an HD equivalent. Eventually I'd become used to not owning anything and the DSLR revolution was in full swing, and as other people have said things move so fast it's hard to invest, so I never have.
I did buy an EOS-40D to demonstrate raw recording with Magic Lantern. The pictures are wonderful; the user interface is not.
P
Completely agree with you on the ENG form factor, it truly is the best.. most modern cameras dont even compare! It's one of the reasons why I still use and own an F900.. i just love the image and the ergonomics of the camera body.
Well you can get any of the modern digital camera,s to mimic ENG shoulder style.. except the C300 of course .. but instead of it being like that out of the box.. you have to give a fair chunk of coin to Arri/Vocas/Zacuto et el.. . 5 years or so after the change over to s35 CMOS there are actually a ton of very good 3rd party accessories around now.. and even a bit late to the party .. the manufactures themselves are doing it.. you pay for them.. but the camera,s themselves are massively cheaper than ENG,s were new..
Well you can get any of the modern digital camera,s to mimic ENG shoulder style.. except the C300 of course .. but instead of it being like that out of the box.. you have to give a fair chunk of coin to Arri/Vocas/Zacuto et el.. . 5 years or so after the change over to s35 CMOS there are actually a ton of very good 3rd party accessories around now.. and even a bit late to the party .. the manufactures themselves are doing it.. you pay for them.. but the camera,s themselves are massively cheaper than ENG,s were new..
True, but I have never been a fan of frakensteining cameras, its just not my interest.
