Howdy All,
Newbie here.
Just made the switch to Super16...bought a new H16 RX5 S16 from Chambless Cine, an Arri 416 from a fellow in Dueseldorf, Germany, and an A-Minima from someone in the UK. The results from the Arri/Zeiss combo blew me away. The A-minima seems kind of finicky as far as film stock - E100D won't run without jamming. And, of course, the Bolex is as solid and reliable as it could be.
Rather than scannning everything I shoot, I thought I'd get a Super 16 projector. Since the optics on all my cameras are centered, it seemed to make sense to want a projector with centered optics. So I contacted Bernie at Super 16, who I've used before with mostly frustrating results. Since projector conversions seem to be one of his main lines of business, I figured he might be able to give me what I need. I asked Bernie which Eiki projectors can be converted with optics centered, and he told me, "Any Eiki". So I bought a nice Eiki and had it shipped to him. After the work was complete, in his mind, he called me to tell me that he could not center the optics *on that model*. I reminded him of our initial conversation and asked why he called me *after* he'd milled the gate out, rather than before -- because my options for solving the problem were quite constrained once the projector had been messed with. Things went down hill from there. He's now holding the projector hostage and demanding payment for the botched/incomplete/impossible job, and he's changed his story to "No Eiki" can be converted with centered optics.
So here I am, a month later, with no Super 16 projector, wondering what to do. I'd like to spend between up to about $1200, or maybe slightly more, for a high quality, ideally self-threading Super 16 projector with optics (and hopefully, illumination) on the same axis as the frame. Xenon would be ok, but I think I'd prefer halogen. I'm not a big fan of projectors which require assembly, as opposed to unfolding, like some of the old Bell & Howells.
Also, I'm sort of curious what people do when their 24v Arri on-board cell packs go belly-up. The only options seem to be:
- buy a new cell pack from arri for $850ish with 2-3 mo lead time
- buy an aftermarket cell pack from cinepower.com
- use a power supply which is not on-board
Thanks in advance for any tips on projector conversion!
(ps I'm not really a student...wasn't sure which category to select...)