BOLEX H8 User manual

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BOLEXH 8 MOVIECAMERA
Theonly8 mmmoviecameraonthemarketthatwilltakedouble-
run8 mmfilmin25-ft,50-ftor100-ftspools.
Fig.1

Fig.2.BolexH 16MovieCamera

Fig.3.OctameterViewfinder
m&Bk 16mmfilm
double8 film
Fig.4

InstructionsforUse
ofPAILLARD-BOLEXModelH Cameras
Page
ChapterI : Loadingthecamera3
Previoustoloading— FilmcheckinH 8
cameras— Automaticloading.
ChapterII: FilmTransport6
Footagecounter—Framecounter—Speeds
—Startingthemechanism— Singleexpo-
suredevice— Handcranking.
Unloadingthecamera10
Attheendofa film— Beforethecomplete
reelhaspassedthrough.
ChapterIII: Lenses11
Interchangeability— Lensturretwithfilter
slotforgelatinefilters— OctameterView-
finder—Usingtheviewfinderwithlensesof
variousfocallengths— Parallaxcorrection.
ChapterIV: Howtofilm . . 14
Generalrules— Criticalvisualfocusser—
Adjustmentofdiaphragm.
ChapterV : Howtofilm — Variouspossibilities...18
Colorfilms— Indoorsubjectswithorwithout
artificiallighting— Titling— Illusionof
movement— Portraitattachments,color
filters,vignettes— Ordinaryfades,super-
impositions,lapdissolves— Othertricks—
Cameraidentificationnumber.
ChapterVI: Upkeep21
Oiling.
Eye-LevelFocus22
TrifocalViewfinder24
1

ModelDesignation:
Each modelH camerahasengravedonthefrontoftheview-
finderthesizeoffilmforwhichthecameraisintended: H 16
for16mmfilmsandH8fordoublerun8 mmfilms.
Equipment:
EachmodelH cameraissuppliedwithatleastonelensand
thefollowingaccessories:
1rewindinghandle25
1handcrank
1flat-headedscrew
2stoppersforturret(screwintounusedlensholes).
1eye-piece,suppliedonlyindefaultofeye-levelfocus
H16cameras:
2emptytake-upspools,oneof50ft.andtheotherof
100ft.capacity.
H8 cameras:
3emptytake-upspools(for25ft.,50ft.and100ft.).The
spoolsfor8 mmdoublerundifferfromthosefor16mm
inthattheyhavedifferentholesforthespoolspindles
andaremarkedI andIIinwhitefiguresontheflange.
Preliminarydirections:
1.Readcarefullyallinstructionsrelatingtotheuseofthe
apparatus.
2.Beforeloadingwitha spool,getacquaintedwiththevarious
controlsandpractisewiththeautomaticloadingdevice.
3.Neverworktheapparatusata speedhigherthan32frames
persecondunlessthecameraisloaded,asthereisa risk
ofinjurytothemechanism.
4.Donotrewindthespringmotorunlesslever12ison
"Motor".
2

CHAPTERI
LoadingtheCamera
Previoustoloading:
a.Thestartingbutton22mustbeplacedon" Stop" (Fig.2).
b.Lever12mustbeclearlyseton"Motor".
c.Thespeedcontrol19mustbeplacedon16framesper
second,i.e.thefigure16mustba.oppositetheredpoint.
d.Rewindthemotortothefull,bymeansofrewinding
handle25.
e.Removethelidbymeansofbutton43(Fig.9),givinga
half-turnanti-clockwise(CK—).
f.Pushdownlever37intothepositionshowninFig.8,so
astoclosetheloopguides.
g.Makesurethatthefilmguides34and36arepressedagainst
thesprockets32and38andthatpad33ispressedagainst
gate35.
h.Placethespooloffilmontopspindle29sothatthefilm
willunwindinthedirectionofthearrowshowninFig.5
(clockwise).
i.Thefilmmustnotbecuttoa point(Fig.4)normustitbe
crinkled.Holdthefilmbetweenthethumbandtheindex
fingerofthelefthandandpassitthroughknife41(see
Fig.5 and7).Withtheindexfingeroftherighthand
presshardonblade42,whichwillcuttheendofthefilm
totherightshapeforpassagethroughtheautomatic
loadingdevice.Throwawaythecutendofthefilmto
preventitspassingthroughtothemechanism.
3

FilmcheckinH 8 cameras:
H8 camerasareprovidedwith
afilmcheckwhichpressesagainst
thecoilsoffilmonthefeedand
take-upspools,thuspreventing
themfromunrollingduringloading
orattheendofa shooting(Fig.10).
Beforesettingthespoolsinpo-
sitioninthecamera,openfully
thetwolevers45and46,placing
theminpositionc.
Holdthefullspoolinsucha way
thatthecoilsdonotunrolland
placeitonitsspindle29,thenotch
atthecentreofthespoolfacing
theredmarkonthespindle.Once
thespoolisinplace,regulatethe
positionoflever45accordingto
thecapacityofthespoolbyslightly
liftingknob47.
25ft.spool= positiona ;
50ft.spool= positionb ;
100ft.spool= positionc.
Whenloadingiscompleted(see
page5)andthetake-upspoolin
place,regulatefilmchecklever46
inthesameway.
Fig.10
Whenunloadingthecamera,holdthetake-upspoolinsuch
awaythatthecoilsdonotunroll,thenopenfullylever46
(positionc)beforeremovingthespool.
(SeechapterII,lastparagraph,page10.)
4

Automaticloading:
a.Introducethefilmintothemechanismthroughopening30
(Fig.8).
b.Pressbutton21tosetthemotorinmotion.
c.Assoonasthefilmhaspassedthroughthelowersprocket
38,stopthemechanismbyreleasingpressureonbutton21.
d.Pushuplever37soastobringitbacktothehorizontal
position(seeFig.7).Thiswillopentheloopguides31
and39.Setthemotorgoingonceagainuntiltheendof
thefilmemergingfromsprocket38isofa lengthofabout8
to10inches.
e.Inserttheendofthefilmintothecoreslitofthetake-up
spool,windthefilmaroundthecoreandplacethefilm
onlowerspindle40.
f.Setthemechanismgoingfora secondortwotomakesure
that:
—theloopguidesareopen,
—theloopskeeptheirshape,
—thefilmguidesandpadareclosed,*
—thespoolsareplacedwellhomeontheirspindles,
—thefilmwindsontothelowertake-upspool.
g.Replacethelidofthecameraandlockthisbyturning
button43ina clockwisedirection(-—>F).Ifanydifficulty
isexperiencedinreplacingthelid,donotforceit,but
makesurethatallpartsofthefilmtransportmechanism
areinposition,asinFig.7.
h.Incaseofincorrectloading,removethefilm,windit
backontothetopspool(seepage9),andreloadmore
carefully.Ifneedbe,seepage10.
i.Tocheckupatanytimewhetheranyfilmisleftinthe
gate,proceedasfollows:
Movelever17topositionT (18),switchroundtheturret
soastoseethewindowofthegateandsetlever22on
P(23),thusmovingtheshutteroutofthelineofvision.
Itwillthenbeseenwhethertheleader,filmortraileris
stillinthegate.Ifanyunexposedfilm(yellow)isleftin
thegate,thenonlyonepicturewillbefogged.
5

CHAPTERII
FilmTransport
Footagecounter:
Thecounter15(inmetresorfeet)automaticallyreturnsto
zeroassoonasthelidofthecameraisremoved.Itonly
functionsoncethelidisinposition.Thespaceonthescale
betweenA and0 correspondstothepassageofa lengthof
approximately4 ft.ofleader.Itisprovidedforthepassage
ofthefilmorleaderwhichisfoggedduringtheloading.
Oncethelidhasbeenclosed,setthemechanisminmotion
untilthefigure0 appearsoppositethelineonthecounter.
Ifthefilmusediswithoutleaderorifthecamerahasbeen
loadedina darkroomsoastoavoidanypossibilityoffogging,
"shooting" maybestartedimmediately.
Thecounter,whichisworkedbythefilmtransportmechanism,
addswhenthefilmisbeingtakenupbythelowerspooland
subtractswhenthefilmisbeingreturnedtothetopspool.
Thecounterregisterstheamountoffilmexposedtowithin
4inches.Thepassagethroughthegateofeach25centi-
metres(approx.10inches)offilmsisrecorded
bya slightclickingsound.Itistherefore
possibletoestimatethelengthofa scene
withoutremovingone'seyefromtheview-
finder.A normalscene(portrait,etc.)generally
measuresfromonetotwometresoffilm
(31/2to7 ft.),correspondingto4-8clicksof
thecounter.
Tosoftenthesoundoftheaudiblefootage
indicator,ortoputitoutofaction,seton
0(—>0)thesmalllever49locatedinsidethe
camera(Fig.11). Fig.11
Framecounter:
Upperdial.— Theupperdialaddstheframesinforward
motionandsubtractstheminreversemotion:
from0 to50frames,fortheH 16camera,
from0 to100frames,fortheH 8 camera.

Lowerdial.— Thelowerdialtotalizestheframesinforward
motionandsubtractstheminreversemotion:
in50'supto1000frames,fortheH 16camera,
in50'supto2000frames,fortheH 8 camera.
Beyondthesefigures,thecyclestartsagainandthetotals
indicatedbybothdialsmustbeaddedtothe1000(or2000)
framesalreadytotalized.Itwillbeeasytocheckatany
momentifthetotalsgivenbytheframecounterdialsarea
firstora secondcyclebysimplycheckingthefootagecounter;
bearinmindthat:
1000framesof16mmfilmcorrespondto7,62m (25ft.)offilm,
2000framesof8 mmfilmcorrespondto7,62m (25ft.)*offilm,
inotherwords
1metreof16mmfilmcontains131,23frames,
1metreof8 mmfilm contains262,46frames.
(Thefiguresgivenfor8 mmfilmsreferonlytoonerowof
framesondouble8 mmfilm.)
Settingframecounterbacktozero:
Firstsetthe" framebyframe" dialbacktozerobyturning
milledknobonshaft14forhandcranking.Thensetthe
"totalizator"dialtozerobyturningthemilledknobwhich
isjustunderneathbothdials.
Markingifa partlyexposedfilm
hastoberemoved:
Ifa partlyexposedfilmhastoberemovedromthecamera
andusedagainaftershootingwithotherfilms,proceedas
follows:
Whenloadingthefirst film, marktheleaderwitha colored
pencilorwithink(throughtheaperturewhichisaccessible
whentheturretheadisturned),
*hensettheframecountertozero.
Whenremovingthefilm notethefiguresofboththeframe
counterandthefootagecounter.
7

Ifallthisisdonewiththeutmostcare,itwillbeeasyto
reloadthefilmwhichmuststartattheexactpointwherethe
exposurehasbeeninterrupted.(Seeparagraph: Unloading
thecamera,page10.)
Speeds:
Button19enablesthespeedtobealtered,evenwhilethe
mechanismisinaction,from8 to64picturespersecond.
Neverworkthemechanismata higherspeedthan32pictures
persecondunlessthecameraisloaded,asthisisinjurious
tothemechanism.
Thenormalspeedofmotionpicturesis16framespersecond,
thatistosay,thenormalspeedofprojectionofsilentfilms.
Afilm" shot"ata speedlowerthan16framespersecond
willgiveonthescreenanimpressionofacceleratedmove-
ment.A film" shot"ata speedhigherthan16framesper
secondwillgivea slow-motioneffect.(Seeparagraph:
Diaphragmopeningandspeed,page16.)
Startingthemechanism:
Themechanismissetinmotionbypressingsharplyonbutton
21: assoonaspressureonthisbuttonisreleased,the
mechanismwillstop.Thisisthenormalstartingbutton.
Tofilmwithoutbeingcompelledtoremainneartheapparatus
—forinstance,tofilmoneself—movethelateralbutton22
ontoM (24).Tostopthemechanism,movethesamebutton
onto" Stop".
SingleExposureDevice:
Tomakea singleexposure,movebutton22toP.
Timeexposuresaremadebypushingdownlever17toposition
Tandthensettingbutton22onP.Theshutterwillremain
openaslongasbutton22iskeptonP.
8

Toobtaininstantaneousexposures,movelever17topositionI
andthensetbutton22onP.
Theantinuousreleaseisanaccessoryavailableonrequest.
Itallowsthemechanismtobesetinmotionwithoutjerking
orunsteadiness,whethermovingpicturesorsingleexposures
arebeingmade.
Handcranking(forwardsandbackwards):
Todisengagethespringofthemotor,whetherfullywound
ornot,bringdownlever12to0 (13)(downtotheendofthe
arrow).Incaseofresistancebeingfeltbeforelever12can
bebroughtrightdown,pushbutton21.Thiswilleasethe
operation.Thetransportmechanismofthefilmisthusmade
independentoftheclockworkmotorandmaybeworkedby
othermeans.Tohandcrank,introducethehandleprovided
intosocket14andsetbutton22onM.Towindthefilm
backwards,turnthehandleinthedirectionofthearrow.To
handcrankforwards,turnthehandletheotherway.Thespeed
regulatoralsoactsasa brakewhenthemechanismisworked
byhand,sothatoneshouldtrynottohandcrankfasterthan
thespeedforwhichbutton19hasbeenset.
Whenbeingwoundbackwards,thefilmisautomatically
takenupbydeliveryspool28.Itisthereforepossibletowind
backanylengthoffilm.Whenthefilmiswoundback,the
counterssubtract.Axis14mayalsobeoperatedbysome
othermeansthanhandcranking—forinstance,bya special
electricmotor.
Neverrewindthemotorbymeansofthehandlewhilstthe
motorisdisengaged.
Tore-engagethespringmotor,movebutton22onto" Stop",
detachthecrankinghandleandbringlever12onto" Motor
Safetylockingdevice:
Topreventthemechanismfromstartingandruiningthefilm
whenthecameraisloaded,eitherbyaccidentoronaccount
ofcarelesshandling,movelever12toposition"0" (downto
theendofthearrow).
9

UnloadingtheCamera
Attheendofa film:
Assoonasa reelhasbeenexposed,whichcanbeascertained
bymeansofthecounter,allowthemechanismtoworkfora
littlewhiletomakequitesurethatthetrailerhaspassed
through.Thiscanbecheckedatalltimesasdirectedon
page5,lastparagraph.Getreadythemetalcontainerinwhich
thereeloffilmwassupplied.Openthecamera,preferably
ina shadycorner,andreplacethereeloffilmimmediately
inthemetalcontainer,whichinitsturnshouldbeputintothe
cardboardboxreadytobesentforprocessing.
Beforethecompletereelhaspassedthrough:
Pushdownlever17toT.Removethelid,eitherina shady
corneror,ifpossible,intotaldarkness.Theloopguides
31and39arealreadyopen.Openfilmguide34byslightly
liftingtheknobwhichholdsitinpositionandremovethe
filmfromsprocket32.Closefilmguide34.Openfilmguide
36byslightlyliftingtheknobaswithguide34,andopen
pad33inthesameway.Nowmovebutton22ontoP sothat
theclawiswithdrawnfromthegate,andwhileholdingitin
thispositionremovethefilmfromthelatterandfrom
sprocket38.
Closefilmguide36andpad33.Closetheloopguidesfor
thenextautomaticloading.
(Seeparagraph: Markingifa partlyexposedfilmhastobe
removed,page7.)
Specialnoteondoublerun8 mmfilms(modelH 8
camera):
Whendoublerun8 mmfilmhasbeenpassedthroughthe
cameraonce,ithasonlybeenexposedononeside.To
exposetheotherside,turnroundthespoolsandreloadas
instructedinChapterI.
ThewhitefiguresI andIIonBolexspoolssuppliedwith
theapparatuswillserveasa reminderastowhetherthefilm
hasbeenexposedononeorbothsides.
10

CHAPTERIII
Lenses
Interchangeabilityoflenses:
TheBolexmodelH cameraismadetotakeinterchangeable
lenses,themountsofwhichareprovidedwithaninternational
standardthread.ModelH 16takesstandard1 inchthread
(25.4mm,setting17.52mm),whilemodelH 8 takesthesmall
standard5/8-inch(15.8mm,setting12.29mm).Thusitisalways
possibletocompletetheopticalequipmentbythepurchase
ofnewlensesofvaryingfocusandpowerandofanymake.
Each lenssuppliedwiththecameramustbeaccompanied
bya certificatefromPaillardS.A.,bearingthenumbers
ofthelensandoftheapparatusandguaranteeingaccurate
focussing.Whenlensesarepurchasedafterthecamerahas
beenbought,itisrecommendedthatsuchlensesbesentwith
thecameratothePaillardWorksortotheiraccreditedrepre-
sentatives,anda newcertificateinrespectoftheproperfitting
ofsuchlensesshouldbeinsistedupon.
Thelensesmustbescrewedsecurelyintothelensopenings,
butmustnotbeforced.
11

Lensturret
withfilterslot
forgelatinefilters
PaillardBolexH 16motion
picturecamerasarefittedin
anewversionwitha turret
providedwitha slottotake
gelatinefilters.Thefilters
areslippedinpositionbe-
hindthelensthrougha slot
inthesideoftheturret
supportingplate.Thanksto
thisarrangement,onlya
singlesetoffiltersisneces-
sary,nomatterwhatlensis
inuse.A filterholderispro-
videdforeachgelatinefilter.
Whenshotsarebeingmade
withoutafilter,theslidemask
(withroundhole)mustbe
leftinsertedinthecamera
topreventlightfromentering
theslotandfoggingthefilm.
BolexH 16cameraswithfilter
slotaresuppliedcomplete
withthefollowingaccesso-
ries:
5filterholders,incase;
1slidemask(withroundhole),
readyinsertedinfilterslot;
5sachetseachcontaininga
2"x 2"gelatinefilter,as
follows:

1KodakWratten1 A Skylightfilter
1» » 85Daylightfilter
1» » 8 K2yellowfilter
1» » 15G yellow-orangefilter
1» » 25A redfilter
Instructions
forusingthegelatinefilters
Warning! Handlethesheetsof
gelatineorthepreparedfilters
carefullybypickingthemupat
theedgesonly,asfingerprints
areindelible.
Tocutouta gelatinefilter,place
thefllterbetweentwo d ry,smooth
piecesofpaperandcuttoshape,
usingwell-sharpenedscissors.
Thefiltersarepreparedas
follows:
1.Removethefilterholderfast-
ener,separatethetwoplates
andwithdrawthespring
clamp.
2.Cutouta rectangle,size
T x 6",inthegelatinesheet.
3.Insertthefilterjustcutoutin
therectangularrecessinthe
plate.Laythespringclamp
ontheedgeofthefilterand
fitonthesecondplate.Then
fixthefastenerinposition.
4.Keepthemountedfiltersin
theircase,awayfromdust.
Identificationmarks: The3 groovesonthefasteningclamp
canbecoloredtofacilitateidentificationofthefilterrequired.
Anysuitablecolorcodecanbeused.
13

Filtersforblack-and-whitefilms
Wrattenfilters8K2,15Gand25Aareintendedtoheighten
thecontrastbetweendifferentcolors,translatedonthefilm
asvariousshadesofgrey.Whenthesefiltersareused,the
diaphragmaperturemustbeincreasedascomparedwiththe
normalreading,bythefollowingamounts:
1stopforWrattenfilter8K2yellow
1.5stops» » » 15Gyellow-orange
2.5stops» » » 25Ared
Theeffectproducedbya filtervariesaccordingtothemake
andsensitivityofthefilmandtotheprevailinglightingcondi-
tions.Thecorrectionfactorsjustquotedarethereforenot
absolute,butmerelyserveasanapproximateguide.
Filtersforcolorfilms
The« Skylight»filterisusedtocutdownexaggeratedblue
overtonesandtoimproverenderingofcolorsinshotsmade
intheshadeorunderovercastskies,inviewsoffar-offland-
scapes,andsnoworhigh-altitudescenes.Nocorrectionof
thediaphragmisneededwhenthisfilterisinuse.
The« Daylight»filterisa conversionfilter,andisusedfor
shootingfilmsindaylightwithKodachromeTypeA film
intendedforartificiallight.Insettingthediaphragm,account
mustbetakenofthefactthatcolorfilmdesignedforartificial
light,whenusedwiththe« Daylight»filter,hasthesame
sensitivityasdaylight-typecolorfilmusedwithoutfilter.
14

Correctionoffocusing:
Thefactofplacingthefilters
behindthelensslightlyalters
thefocusingsettingfora
givendistance.Diagrams
oppositeshowthepositions
towhichthefocusingrings
ofKern-Paillard16mm,
25mmand26mmlenses
mustbesettoobtainper-
fectlysharppictures,no
matterwhichfilterisused.
E.g. Fora filmingdistanceof10ft.,
theYvar16mm'sfocusingring
shouldbesetto7 ft.Ontheother
hand,theavailabledepthoffield
willstillcorrespondtothatfora
shootingdistanceof10ft.,i.e. 4,8ft.
toinfinity,ifthediaphragmisset
to1:2.8.
Lenseswithfocallengthof
f=25 or 26 mm f= 16 mm
AB A B
oo feet 60 oofeet 25
200- -50 30- = -13
30- -20
75--12 10- -7
10- :8/a 5--4
7- -6/4
5--4'/* 3- -2'A
4- -3%
3'/2- 3'A 2- -m
3- -23A -m
23A- -2'A
2ya--23/a 1VI- -P/8
2'A~ -2'/o
2- -m ta- -V/B
A= Filmingdistancemeasured
fromfilmplane.B = Distanceto
besettoonthelensscalewhen
usinga slide-filter.
Thiscorrectionisonlynecessarywhenthediaphragmis
openedfairlywide; furthermore,itshouldbenotedthatinthe
caseofthetelephotolensesandofthePanCinor16mm
lens,a correctionis,practicallyspeaking,notnecessary.
Stereomotionpictures
Whenshootingthree-dimen-
sionalmotionpictureswith
theKern-PaillardStereo
equipment,theslidemask
mustbeinsertedinthefilter
slot.Inthiscase,however,
thegelatinefilterscannot
beused,asthestereolens
penetratestoodeeplyinto
theturretsupportingplate.
15