Bolex 16 Mm Film Camera - How to Use & Get the Most Out of It

To get more out of your Bolex 16 mm film camera, you must like to know every single detail of it and you can get those details by going through very simple yet effective tips outlined in this article.

Want to Know About Bolex

The Bolex 16 mm film camera has been serving the movie fraternity for more than last five decades. It is a kind of hand crank instrument that was first designed for the professional use, which later turned into the personal use too. More and more people fell for its efficiency and quality because it has always been one among the best instruments for creating all kinds of images and stories that appealed to the masses.

Once a craze among the movie and documentary makers, it is still a favorite for all the people, who are even distantly related to the film making, like the students, still in their early phase of learning the different aspects of filmmaking or the individual directors who want to leave their imprint in the history of filmmaking or the multimedia producers struggling to blend the different film textures among each other. On the contrary of its advantages, its handling, for even basic functionalities, is quite tardy and complicated that place it a little lower than the best digital video and HD cameras. For this very reason, a novice finds it hard to manipulate a Bolex 16 mm film camera. So, why not get accustomed with some of the basics of Bolex 16 mm film camera.

How to Calibrate the Zoom of a Bolex 16 mm Film Camera

It is a completely different task to calibrate the zoom of a Bolex 16 mm film camera than that of a digital video camera, given the fact that you will need to first select an appropriate lens for the Bolex 16 mm film camera. This is necessary because a single lens can't be expected to work with all the ranges of field and type of the framing, when you have a Bolex 16 mm film camera in your hand. Next is the setting of the viewfinder, which is immediately followed by the zoom calibration (zooming into the subject, focusing and zooming out). At last, you need to focus the subject on the eyepiece of the Bolex 16 mm film camera.

How to Set the Frame Rate of the Bolex 16 mm Film Camera

The standard speed of the filming is 24 frames per second, which is considered ideal for an average film and it also looks quite good to the eyes. But, when you need to run the film in a slow motion then you need to set the frame rate of the Bolex 16 mm film camera to 24 frames per second, which is twice the frame rate of standard film speed. On the other hand, if you are looking for the fast moving film then you will have to set the frame rate of the Bolex 16 mm film camera to 12 frames per second.

How to Load the 16 mm Film in a Bolex Camera

For this task you will have to take the help of a cutting device, especially designed for cutting the film strip. With such a device, you will first shape the edges of the film stock in a smooth one or even one; otherwise you won't be able to correctly load the 16 mm film in the Bolex camera. If the film is not loaded correctly, the recording will also be of poor quality.

How to Check and Set the Footage Counter of a Bolex 16 mm Film Camera

The last step of setting your Bolex 16 mm camera involves the checking the footage counter to insure if it is on zero or not. If not, then you will have to first set it to zero then only you should proceed with the process of filming. This can be done by rolling the 16 mm film through the Bolex camera, for a few frames. This will ensure that you don't mistakenly use some frames got damaged by some kind of light.

So, you can see now that it is not all to just have a Bolex 16 mm film camera at your disposal for getting a better quality film, instead you will also have to know everything about the handling of your Bolex 16 mm film camera.

Sources:
http://motion.kodak.com/US/en/motion/Products/Production/Spotlight_on_16/16mm_Camera_Information/index.htm
http://www.bolex.ch/NEW/?p=2