ABANDONED - The KICKSTARTER Camera: Digital Bolex

[@FrameVoyager]

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[@KK4CNM]

Do I want to buy it? YES! Could I actually afford it? Probably not. What a cool project.

[@laumeconroy4761]

I wanted one then and STILL do!

[@cubax26]

Yes, please bring them back!!!

[@cineffect]

I am saving for it, instead of a new car 😉

[@tanzkatzen]

@@cineffect What are they going for these days? My brother just gave me one to try out, hardly used (1project) with grip, three silver Bolex Kish lenses, a Zeiss Tevidon 35, and the leather bag.. pretty snazzy..I've updated it to the latest firmware I could find. but it's a bit sluggish in use although better than when I first turned it on. He might let it go as there are easier tools available these days.

[@ThatBrendonGuy]

I'd never heard of this Joe fella until now, but now I've got massive respect for him and I hope we haven't seen the last of his contributions to filmmaking...

[@TheInsideoftheBox]

He's very active in shooting with the Sigma FP and sharing his work on various FP pages on Facebook.

[@indierent7168]

He could have been the Steve Jobs of Filmmaking Cameras

[@dextrodemon]

he does have a nice wig

[@theme7363]

i submit. who’s joe?

[@m.f.3347]

@@theme7363 joe mother

[@ankitjojha]

Someone give Joe a hug. He’s such a top dude for going with his gut and actually managing to make a spellbinding product that ACTUALLY emulated a filmic texture on camera. Holy shit.

[@FrameVoyager]

haha for real! Loved the textured look from the camera

[@ankitjojha]

@@FrameVoyager man, if someone can convince him to bring back that Bolex with slightly updated specs and affordability I would probably get it so bad my god.

[@toneohm]

@@ankitjojha 10 years have gone by.. nothing looks as authentic.. why can't they apply that sensor and try again??

[@ankitjojha]

@@toneohm I swear the closest any camera came was the original BMPCC

[@GringoXalapeno]

@@toneohm cus it’s expensive and it’s a niche market but who knows

[@Mananetwork]

I purchased this camera just after the kickstarter. It was a little wild putting the funds down to purchase this camera but it was one of the few cameras that shot in cDNG (raw) that wasn't 15k+. It was a bumpy road for the first few firmware updates put until the last two. Beautifully soft image quality, global shutter, amazing XLR quality and lots of high quality 16mm lenses to play with. I loved the camera!

[@prolost]

As one of the early filmmaking bloggers who picked up on the Digital Bolex story with a mix of skepticism and hope, I’ll say again what I said when Joe and Elle delivered their first D16s to delighted backers: “Holy crap, you made a camera.”

[@FrameVoyager]

😂😂😂 for real though! I can totally understand the skepticism of it all.

[@Jmccabe1111]

Joe taught me what shutter angle was as I sat in his apartment after buying my first Digital camera the D16. I'll never forget that Joe. You're the best man!!

[@asimpletune]

Somebody get this guy a camera company. Thanks for making this! Your best episode yet.

[@noopy4085]

Don't

[@rmediaglobal]

word

[@JBTriple8]

why didnt he sell his camera to film schools

[@RonStratton]

Joe is a great guy who I consider a friend, I proudly use my 2TB Bolex to this day! It’s a fantastic camera and a cherished tool in my collection.

[@FrameVoyager]

I want one now too 😭 would be such a cool camera to pull out

[@photography_night_school]

Had one two, one of the first bakers) Such nice camera. And great story. Sadly, I sold my couple years ago. Regretting ever since))

[@jasonscott526]

Delighted to hear the family Bolex member wasn't immediately rushing out to cash in on the name and took it seriously. Kudos.

[@drewnoirfilmz]

Holy fricken crap!! I worked with Joe in the mid 2000’s! We worked on a film together! I remember him using an old 16mm (I think it was an Arri) he was constantly fixing that thing. I had no idea he was involved with this!

[@FrameVoyager]

Haha yep! Cool coincidence!

[@novelezra]

Never heard of this camera or this story but all I can think about now is hoping that Joe looks past the corporate greed and tries again. He did what million dollar camera companies seemingly struggle to do with all their money. Make magic.

[@TECH3_]

that footage really looked like magic

[@guobadia53156]

Hugged my D16 the entire way through ;-;. It's a truly precious camera.

[@AuroraAtAngelsTen]

I worked at an entertainment camera startup recently and this is just so beautifully done. The powerful musical sequences just brought me to tears thinking about how Joe and crew succeeded, and how hard it was to try to achieve even a small slice of that.

[@joshuabrazile]

Beautiful work all round. I remember seeing these cameras here and there, but I didn't know anything about them. The footage from them is just stunning and it's criminal that they aren't still being made. Such an amazing story.

[@FrameVoyager]

Appreciate it! And yeah, the fact was it was successful and probably could still be running today

[@erick-gd7wo]

This is the most analog looking picture from any digital camera. I love the colors.

[@morkovija]

Ok I was not expecting a 30 minute video to be captivating enough to keep me glued for the whole thing. Thank you for making this

[@KirtFitzpatrick]

I just now realized that was a 30 minute video.

[@Dncyx]

I like to say this is a great piece of documentary. Unlike the hollywood blockbusters of today, Joe's story is one filled with passion and heart. It's a shame it didn't have a happy ending

[@romana8203]

Watching this with my Digital Bolex right beside me on my desk. I have many camera options these days including a trusty Alexa, URSA 12k and all kinds of new gadgets. But you know what... the D16 to this very day produces the goddamn richest, most beautiful colors out there. Dynamic range is poor, sensitivity is poor, many aspects to the day to day utility of using the camera are... poor. But when I shoot that thing with native Super 16 lenses like the super speeds, it produces the most film-like image you could ever hope to get from a digital sensor. It's not a camera for everything but when you have the budget and time to work around it's shortcomings, the payoff is huge. I'll never sell mine.

[@GS-vb3zn]

So how do you correct the dreaded Digital Bolex red shift in post? Or are you one of the owners who don't see it as a problem or don't see it at all (which was always inexplicable to me) or look at it as an enhancement that makes it look like vintage Kodak movie film stock? Legitimately asking because back in the day in the Personal View forum there was a lot of back and forth over this problem.

[@tears2040]

@@GS-vb3zn Every single camera will have a minus , you work around that and bring your most important content which is your *idea. A simple shift in color, moire , etc doesn’t stop creators intent or ultimate vision which 9 out of 10 people viewing your content won’t even notice………

[@romana8203]

@@GS-vb3zn Just saw this sorry. That issue does not exist today. But, I know what you're talking about. When the camera was released there was no accurate way to take its log profile into REC709 color space. NLE's and Resolve improperly displayed colors in a way where everything was a magenta mess. These days though? You can accurate display and manipulate the log footage in ACES color space, you can convert it to ARRI log accurately and use all the many LUTs available for the Alexa, and you can use a very powerful beautiful REC709 LUT created by the community to instantly get proper color for quick work

[@GS-vb3zn]

@@romana8203 Thanks for the answer. The red shift issue was what held me back from actually purchasing the DB. However, when the Monochrome DB came out I wanted to buy two of the units. I contacted Joe telling him I’d buy two immediately. He never got back to me after repeated attempts.

[@MYCRAZYPRODUCTIONS]

Amazing episode, recently found this series and am hooked. This episode in particular was interesting because I remember when the kickstarter went up over a decade ago. One thing this series has shown me too is that the industry should’ve stuck with CCD sensors at the high-end, those images are so beautiful.

[@FrameVoyager]

haha glad we got you hooked! Been a fascinating series to make and glad there is a such a large audience for it!

[@Cheecken]

Great episode! I loved the personal angle in this one and Joseph seems to be a smart and well meaning guy. I hope he can surprise us with another nice indie camera some time in the future 😁

[@FrameVoyager]

Thanks! And yeah, I'd be very interested to see another camera from in him in the future.

[@MrZilminator]

Maybe Joe could team up with Blackmagic to help make a groundbreaking Box Style camera. 🤔😋

[@stevenwhoward87]

Fascinating. I did that heroshot illustration for Joe years and years ago so it is interesting to see where his product went. Thanks for showing my illustration so much in the video by the way!

[@scottmiller5308]

I actually donated $1 to this kickstarter, thought it was going to be the next big thing. It's a shame that the business plan of selling to schools never went through. Awesome video and nice work on the interview with Joe. Looking forward to the next!

[@MrZilminator]

Yeh I thought it was going to be huge at the time, I donated $50 so I’d get a T-shirt, still have it and wear it from time to time. 😊

[@ecmjr]

WOW!!! I like this episode! I'm so sad that Joe ended up leaving the company and the camera not being sold mainstream anymore. It really shows the ugly side of business.

[@FrameVoyager]

The camera business is a very ugly business 😅😅😅

[@Fredrik_Ekholm]

The digital Bolex was and still is one of my favorite cameras of all time! Big respect to Joe and the team behind it. So sad how it ended 😢

[@elizabeth3280]

Joseph seems like a genuine enginerr/developer who put a lot of love into this project. I think I would use that camera present day because based on what is presented it looks high end production. He should be proud of his development.

[@FrameVoyager]

💯

[@videosuperhighway7655]

He is like Wozniak but instead of meeting and partnering with Steve Jobs he partnered with the Oracle CEO😂

[@elizabeth3280]

@@videosuperhighway7655 I see what ye did there haha

[@ivaks2586]

Fascinating episode, loved every second of it! Big props to Joe for coming on, it's amazing to get first hand insight into the production and decisions that were made.

[@laumeconroy4761]

I was so excited for this camera! Barely missed the kickstarter and kept hoping i’d be able to get one. Just re-checked the kickstarter about a year ago in hopes there would be another update. I love the image that came out of this camera, one of the most filmic images I’ve ever seen from digital.

[@FrameVoyager]

Wish I had gotten in on it too 😭

[@pasyensyatv9092]

Its an amazing project that should have been supported, the big companies got scared of it. but looking at the footages i think it has this pure color palette. i wish they could continue it and find another investor

[@Made_by_Matthew]

Out of all the cameras and camera companies in this series this one should have been a success. There's no reason other than greed and mismanagement that we haven't seen a db16-2 or Db16-3 by now. What a shame

[@N4CR]

Wow, they do shoot an amazingly smooth, old school look. I get the hype now. I also love the attention to detail in design of the camera and why he did things, like going the complete opposite way to most designs - deliberately running it hot, keeping many separate boards etc etc. That said, going the opposite way is awesome too, cooled astrophotography cameras kick ass. They now are at zero black noise... nothing, can you believe that?

[@xandersnyder7214]

I love this video series, normally I am captivated by the new innovations and then the abandonment (usually due to the hubris of the company or creator). But this one felt like a gut punch, Joe had a fantastic vision for the Digital Bolex, and by all accounts did it the right way by doing everything above board in the open. Only to have an investor who just didn't see the his vision. You could hear his passion, and pain, I just wanted to give him a hug at the end! And the example footage you included looked fantastic, the Digital Bolex had such a warm, vibrant, and unique quality. It didn't have the antiseptic feel that a lot of modern sensors have now. I am new on my journey into filming, but this was something truly unique and special and I hope that Joe eventually comes out with something new in the future.

[@MrZilminator]

Oh man! Such a fantastic video, Joseph has my respect 🙏🏽 It’s devastating he had his dreams, and all that hard work, leveraged from him. Thank you @FrameVoyager for yet another amazing camera documentary. 👏🏼😀🙏🏽🙏🏽

[@KRAFTWERK2K6]

I remember when this thing was announced and i was very interested in it. The Sensor here really was the crucial part because CCDs just work so much better than CMOS for moving images. This is also what i realized when i compared my SD camcorders to my HD camcorders. The way image sensors are read-out really DOES affect the picture aesthetic and how the light paints it on pixels. And i still really wish i had this Camera because it has everything i'd ever need from a digital movie camera. Except maybe the resolution part. But hey.... do you REALLY need 4K or 8K? However i really hated that it had absolutely no viewfinder at all. Unlike the Ikonoscop A-Cam DII 16mm which was announced around the same time i think.

[@zippymufo9765]

Those Ikonoskops had a beautiful image as well.

[@RyderSpearmann]

The output from that camera is SPECTACULAR... what an amazing look. SO wish I had one.

[@lukelehner9165]

Sean Price Williams (the DP of The Safdie Brothers movies pre-Uncut Gems, all of Alex Ross Perry's movies, and a few Abel Ferrara movies) used the Digital Bolex for two of his most recently shot movies, Project Space 13 (2021) and Zeros and ones (2021) as a cheap alternative to shooting on film when the production didn't have the budget for it. It's one of my white whale cameras

[@ParamSinghYT]

This man's been through a lot, his deep experience and knowledge tells... The fact about Indian cinema he said hold very true...huge respect....he told his story on his own...it's empowering I think the new world today, as much as it has its +ves, the -ves are also increased...one might face difficulties from big players in the field to grow as always... I really wish he launches his company again and make digital bolex cameras again... distribute them to film schools worldwide, provide to rental houses and would really like to make it commercially available in short slots...the picture quality from this DB camera looks so amazing..if it's not graded and straight out of the camera...really like the texture and film look. Masterpiece ahead of its time imo. And I'm a fan of this channel with this abandoned series. Kudos to the creator. From a fellow filmmaker ;)

[@TECH3_]

this could have been the go to camera for indie filmmakers with low to no budget who wants to shoot something that looks like film

[@philipbloom]

Very interesting video, I didn’t realise I sold him all his cameras. I’ve still got mine. Now you just need to spell my name correctly! 😀

[@FrameVoyager]

I used 2 "L"s didn't I? 😩 Funny enough I spelled it correctly in the Fran 8k video 😅

[@philipbloom]

@@FrameVoyager be great if you could add a credit in the description with a link to my channel...and yes, you used two Ls when I only have one.

[@FrameVoyager]

@@philipbloom will do! Apologies for not having already done that

[@Tamajyn]

I almost picked one of these up back in the day but ended up taking a chance on the Terra 4K which is still my A cam to this day. In hindsight I should have grabbed one 😅

[@timbrosius]

What I miss most about the Bolex days from film school was the lens turret. I would have bought the Digital Bolex on Kickstarter if they showed it that way but I’m not sure it supported any lens turrets. Either way it was sad to see this camera abandoned, it was a great product with a lot of passion behind it. Thanks for bringing this episode to us!

[@JOEDPIP]

I actually designed and 3D printed a lens turret for the D16! It was one of the accessories that never made it to manufacturing :(

[@timbrosius]

@@JOEDPIP Oh damn, you were really out there building my dream camera! 😩 Side note, thanks for being directly involved in this video and sharing your valuable insights and wisdom from lessons learned. I love this series in general but you made this particular episode uniquely special!

[@borderlands6606]

Turret film cameras could barely be given away. Then the micro four thirds people discovered inexpensive adapters, and Angenieux and Swiss Kern lenses. If I had that time machine...

[@guaposneeze]

FWIW, I've met Elle a few times. (Never met Joe, AFAIK.) We aren't besties or anything, but I've met her and talked to her. She's legit. If Vitaly from "Personal View" told me the sky was blue and Elle told me the sky was green, I'd honestly think the sky was green. She generally knows what she's talking about. Vitaly, OTOH, has always been a bit inclined to conspiracy theory nonsense. If you look at his website in the last few years, it is less about hacking color profiles on the GH1, and more about Covid vaccines, climate change conspiracies, and WWIII. He's one step away from full on paranoid delusions like thinking the government is using the radio to send secret messages to his teeth.

[@FrameVoyager]

Oh nice! Yeah, stuff like this is hard to be able to get everyone's perspective on. But she seemed like what you said in some of the videos I saw her in. And yeah, Vitaly is something else 😂 he already shared this video

[@ludovicavice3496]

Damn....what a beauty, I saw it while it was released and at that time I was more into animation and price was already insane but not as insane as video cameras of it's time haha. Thanks a lot for time and research put into this..I am sure the price is going to go even crazier now 🤯

[@HTOP1982]

I always loved the fact that these guys built a 2K CCD camera when everyone else was running towards the inferior CMOS. I *almost* ordered one. I should have ordered one.

[@pilsplease7561]

CMOS is still inferior CMOS is noisier, has a slow readout, CCD is instant as the entire sensor is read at once, and CCD has superior sharpness and color accuracy. Old Nikons with a CCD sensor produce images better than new CMOS nikons with like 10X the MP

[@GFMstudios]

This episode had a very interesting turn on mood with one side of the story, the side of Joseph. I think he had a clear path, and manage to carry the hardest part of the camera development. I would love one just for the style. I have seen this camera on behind the scenes footage and never knew what brand it was. I thought was a true 16 film... lol The fact that now is way more worth... is the proof that this became a iconic and unique product. Now part of the digital cinema history.

[@matthewneiman]

The image from my X-T4 is absolutely gorgeous, sharp, and completely clean up to 2000 iso, but the gosh darn rolling shutter is that one remnant manufacturers of consumer level CMOS video cameras seem unwilling to address. it completely changes the feel of the image every time the camera is moved, and for the work that I do I would much prefer a softer image from a universal shutter to a super sharp and sensitive, but wobbly CMOS. IBIS helps mitigate the CMOS wobble a bit but takes so much of the handheld character away from the image. It's the last vestige of the 'film look' that so many modern cameras still just don't have. I've been thinking about trying to pick up an old Digital Bolex for a while for this very reason.

[@C.I...]

Global shutter is criminally underrated as a feature. It's insane how limiting a rolling shutter is to the creation of moving images - and that's the key point, because what is the point of owning a camera whose job is to capture movement, but forces you to avoid certain kind of movement? Whip pans and zooms and other quick dynamic movements are now avoided by so many, simply because they look awful with rolling shutter. Ditto with hard mounting the camera onto moving objects like cars, because vibrations make the image become a warped wobbly mess. A whole gimbal industry has bloomed due to the need for complete steadiness at all times. Imagine if an audio recorder recorded the sound one frequency at a time with a delay - nobody would put up with that. The Blackmagic Production Camera 4K, and the older 2K one also have a global shutter. I just wish they had their controls on buttons/dials instead of a touch screen.

[@JonathanBondu]

Joe is a genius. we need that guy to make cameras for the world. That story makes me so sad. it's a camera i wish i could have used.

[@13lake]

I emailed Joe years ago with a question about the lcd monitor on my D16. We Skyped for about 15 min so I could ask him about it. He also answered an email about some of his favorite lenses at the time. I appreciated that.

[@christykail3314]

It's a nice little hangover/momento that when importing CDNG files into Silverstack, it still shows the "Camera Type" field as "Digital Bolex".

[@Standbackforscience]

It's amazing that in 2022 we still don't have a camera that has this look. Everything today is overpriced hard digital crap. What a legend.

[@MANUELHSTUMP]

This has been the best episode of the series so far, congrats

[@FrameVoyager]

😅😅😅 Appreciate it!

[@toneohm]

I was in my junior year at Temple University when that Kickerstarter went up... When I saw that test footage of that little girl reading the book, I was blown away... I always wondered what happened to this D16 project.. I would love to have a Digital Bolex... To this day.. nothing looks more realistic to film.. I would love the get that grainy old 16mm film stock look like this camera offered.. It kills me that it isn't around.. Why hasn't it been tried again yet?? Does anything else give such a film look today?

[@expiredgamer_ugh]

bring it back, but dont bring it back as a way for people to just replace their box and keep using their old accessories....bring it back for the people who want to shoot in this format and not have to hassle with finding a good source for developing films......it shoots in 16mm, has the vintage look in what it shoots, gives it out as raw as possible and accepts old accessories. This is literally a dream camera.

[@nessriden4512]

BEST episode yet! Love that you were able to speak to the creator of this, cool to hear some of the inside story!

[@nessriden4512]

Also the footage from the camera is maybe my favourite from any digital camera

[@toddpeterson5904]

Well done! I've been watching this series since the beginning, and it's really finding it's style and voice. Can't wait for more

[@FrameVoyager]

Appreciate it! Would be great if we had a guest for every episode like this but very rare look and interview time spent on this one!

[@davidmichael2011]

Wow! I am truly amazed of what he was able to accomplish. I remember hearing about this camera. I never gave it much thought other than its name. I've shot with film Bolex's before may moons ago and really like them. I even bought 2. But I remember hearing that this wasn't actually from Bolex. Now after seeing this Abandoned episode I am totally amazed. I would love to get a hold of one. Some of the footage here really does look nostalgic like from a 1970's 16mm film. It's too bad that he was not compatible with his investor, who knows what else they could've accomplished. This sounds similar to the Steve Jobs and Apple situation with John Sculley. Well hopefully Joseph Rubinstein catches a second wind because he definitely shouldn't call a wrap on developing his vision for a camera or anything else for that matter. Awesome episode!!!

[@JP-qq2wy]

This camera is one of those camera that I want to have it.

[@FrameVoyager]

Same!

[@vipadventure]

I've been trying to buy a used one for awhile now but they're so expensive :( Love the colours of the footage.

[@FrameVoyager]

Yeah, would love to get my hands on one too! Would be a great travel camera just with that interesting image it puts out

[@tgrey_shift..mp334]

Guys we need to make this technology more known. Tell this to everyone. Get people to know the creator of this. This is too beautiful and revolutionary to be lost to history.

[@javebjorkman]

Perfect length for my lunch break. You. Just. Keep. Killing. It.

[@FrameVoyager]

😅😅😅 Appreciate it!

[@TheEvox81]

Well... This video was certainly a pleasant surprise, as KZbin autoplay black holes tend to go. I had never heard of this camera or the story of it.. But I'm certainly glad that I do now.

[@FrameVoyager]

Glad to hear! Trying to make content about cameras and the industry fun!

[@TECH3_]

i knew about the bolex i knew about the digital bolex existed as well but this story, was really fascinating , and massing respect to joeseph. the camera really looked like it was close to perfection

[@JKHFilms]

Maybe it's a bit premature since not enough time has passed, or for the fact that it's an analog camera, but I think it would be interesting to see an episode on abandoned cameras regarding the Kodak Super 8mm camera. I feel like there's not been enough information released regarding this camera, and it would be great to see if you'd be able to do an in depth breakdown as to what happened/is happening with it

[@FrameVoyager]

Oh for sure! That one is on the list

[@pinmag]

Yes!

[@tony92506]

what a cool camera, I remember when it came out, I had started saving for it, then all of a sudden you couldn't buy one. Now there are other cameras out there but still this is still such a great camera and origin story. Thank goodness for people like joe.

[@joelmulder]

I love this kind of formfactor, I wish more manufacturers would play with more different designs.

[@Ataraxia_Atom]

I really like the warm grainy image coming out of the digital bolex. It would be super fun to play with

[@FrameVoyager]

Absolutely!

[@vinarkmp]

Awesome episode. As a film maker I remember being at SCAD when this camera was almost released (2012). I think the BMPCC 4k and 6k picked up where this camera left off.

[@benmcnights1763]

I love this series, what am I missing here? He didn’t want to sell at B&H? That doesn’t sound like a deal breaker, and why would you need any marketing on B&H side? The cameras sold themselves.Sounds like there’s more to the story. I thought the CCD went out of production and that’s why they couldn’t go on?

[@FrameVoyager]

It was more of that the camera was not originally made for that. It was made to sell to film schools and now best buy and b&h. They sold to B&H and eventually B&H just dropped them. Tbh, the market research on where to sell the camera was solid.

[@JonPais]

At the height of the pandemic, Vitaliy Kiselev claimed KZbinrs were growing beards at the behest of their sponsors, endangering public health. He’s special!

[@cineffect]

Love the color science of the 3CCD sensor, wish they would bring it back.

[@pilsplease7561]

CCD sensors are cleaner by nature than any CMOS sensor and have way faster read out speeds, they take all the sensor in 1 go, and have no rolling shutter, and vastly better colors. A fun fact is that CMOS is older than CCD and that CMOS existed was found to be inferior, they invented CCD Used it for years but it was expensive and technologically superior and then the industry moved back to CMOS for the cost savings its cheaper to make and inferior and has a lot of cons that CCD doesnt have.

[@slickyboy667]

What a heart warming story. I have tears in my eyes from joy and I am a little sad about the outcome of the story. Thank you for telling it. Thank you Joe for this camera and the story. I hope you (joe) find someone who wants to realize your new plans and gives you the freedom that you need. I keep my fingers crossed! Subscription is made. Thumbs up as well!

[@robertolelli8809]

INCREDIBLE... I live in Italy about 100 Km from Torino and I discovered that, a film rental company there, has one D16 I could rent! It costs 120 Euro a day without lenses. That one has a PL mount. So, no problem fo lenses.

[@mygorgeousmedia]

This company deserves high praises! 🙌🏾🙏🏽💯

[@photography_night_school]

I always believed in creators of D16 and was hugely inspired by company goals, and camera itself. Never give-up waiting, and was totally happy then I got my d16 back in 2014) Glad to see episode about story behind) Thank you, and creators of D16)

[@benmcreynolds8581]

We need this camera to come back!!! We need more creative products like THIS!!! PLEASE!!!

[@HoustonBass]

I need this camera to make a big comeback, now!

[@FrameVoyager]

I know 😭

[@lorenzoarrigoni4155]

I'm not really a prolific writer on KZbin, but this is a great video and the best episode of this series so far. Bravo!

[@FrameVoyager]

😅😅😅 Appreciate it!

[@billycausey4277]

God... despite it all ending badly, Joe is my hero with this. He just had an idea and did the damn thing.

[@tears2040]

Love this camera , Global shutter excellent and most importantly “color” is beautiful. Should have been higher resolution was the main problem, but honestly this camera when used properly can/has produced amazing imagery. *Of course speaking on independent projects, but that’s where many film makers have passion/love

[@CreepyCoolPictures]

I would still love to get my hands on the D16. It came out right after film school for me, and I could never actually afford one. But, that image is what I’m always trying to recreate with filters and overlays. Still, such a great image…

[@billyoung9538]

This was the one camera I just missed getting, really, really wanted & still actually want. By the time I was ready to buy one the Digital Bolex was out of production and Blackmagic was filling the void this left.

[@iunboxstuff635]

That was a very interesting video, such a cool camera. Major respect for Joe. I have the original Bolex that my dad bought in 76 and it still works like a charm! :)

[@beauslim]

What they were able to accomplish was really very impressive. Really it failed because the big players realized that there was a demand for this kind of camera. When someone's marketing budget alone is bigger than your gross revenue, they are going to crush you.

[@iSleepDoc]

Pure genius…. I really respect his pure intentions…. It’s not about money….life is all about being happy!!!!

[@malutorres-pestana3023]

this video has made me want to shoot my next project on this camera

[@FrameVoyager]

Me too 😭

[@deadpool6072]

Joseph is a visionary. Very intelligent man.

[@FilmsByPJD]

We have a handful of these for student use at my school. I will admit it wasn't my favorite camera in the world (the form factor was especially a turn-off) but it wasn't horrible for me

[@LukeZalvino]

I've never wanted a camera so bad. Excellent engaging video

[@FrameVoyager]

Thanks for watching!

[@SamHarrisonMusic]

This product is utterly amazing - I wish I could afford one! ) Maybe one day something like this can come back to us?

[@johnorozco9332]

Man! I was eager to watch this episode! I actually came across this camera some years ago and I always wonder about it. Greetings !!

[@FrameVoyager]

It's a pretty cool story! Really interesting insights into what it's like to build a camera

[@Anomaliayt]

Man I remember when this camera came out. I loved the image, and seeing it again, it’s still insanely filmic. It looks amazing, and appears to have some natural looking bloom and halation at times. I seem to remember there being an issue with maybe hot spots on the sensor when filming the sun? I could be recalling it incorrectly… maybe it was the line in the image that was mentioned. Anyway, great video ! I enjoyed the deep dive as I remember seeing it make a big splash online and then fade out into obscurity pretty quickly

[@caballorojo]

The Black Sun Hotspot was an issue with the BlackMagic 2.5K. This had two issues, the vertical line as mentioned and a red tint bias that some people found a bit off putting.

[@apologeticajosecarlos]

@@caballorojo Frame Voyager adviced to record in ISO 1000in daylight with the bmpcc 6k but did not mentioned the settings of the ND filter. Can you advice?

[@Anomaliayt]

@@caballorojo yeah I thought I got it mixed up with another camera

[@pinmag]

Wow that was amazing. I love all of these episodes but this camera is one that I’ve always wanted. I also think this camera would do better now than it did back then (aside from investor issues)

[@FrameVoyager]

😅😅😅 Appreciate it! Was such a cool look behind the curtain

[@disarmingdan]

So glad you did this episode and the one on the ikonoskope. Had no idea about these two until last year when I was going down a rabbit hole over c mount lenses. Someone totally needs to remake this in practically the same format. I don't want 4k, I don't want stabilization. Just the colors this thing puts out with even more dynamic range, and 16mm format to utilize awesome old cine lenses.

[@FrameVoyager]

Thanks! Glad you're enjoying the series. And agreed. Would love a camera like this again

[@aristotle_4532]

@@FrameVoyager May I ask if you seek permission before working on an episode? I started a camera project that predates some projects you have presented and I would prefer to not get an episode.

[@FrameVoyager]

@@aristotle_4532 which camera project did you work on?

[@aristotle_4532]

@@FrameVoyager It is not important. The design itself was interesting because some things were new at the time and everything was a challenge. From a storytelling point of view it wouldn't be much.

[@aristotle_4532]

@@FrameVoyager You have put some serious work on researching cameras. I got involved in 2006, and the most interesting thing in the digital cinema boom was what it showed about people and society. There are two kinds of people who try to innovate. The first kind are people without money that want to join the upper class by exploiting.a product, but sometimes it is upper class people that just want more money and recognition. This kind is about proprietary technologies, nonsense patents, small tightly controlled.distribution, tight control of even used gear sales, ridiculously expensive prices, expensive accessories, expensive media, etc. This approach contradicts nature itself, stagnates technological progress for decades and hurts society. Sometimes these people do not even have innovation, they may well be faking it. The second kind of people are those that want to move technology forward. They may have enough money already or they may not value money. Even hardcore capitalists may belong to this group. People have been doing technology like this since man was a primitive animal that did not resemble his modern self. This is the natural thing to do and even animals do it. When this type of person innovates, he seeks the widest possible adaption, open solutions, sharing of information, and substantial technologies. When these technologies appear to fail at an application, they have usually helped in other areas, and live on through other applications. When these two kinds of people meet, things get ugly. They don't understand each other. The first type may find people that have similar goals but no innovation. We call this type a technology influencer today. Of course, nature is a strong force. Think cameras. Closed systems will die because they have defective genes. Anything proprietary will expire. Open media will be everywhere. Wide standards will emerge. Accessories will have to work on different systems and compatibility will be enforced by nature itself. Even when something better than the wide standard is needed, as is the case for durability in connectors, it can only be implemented through a simple adapter. Anyway, keep up the good work.

[@melvinharris1210]

I literally have a picture of me holding a working camera, this camera from SXSW! I loved this thing but I had just ordered what would become the original BMCC and was tapped out for cameras! Great video!

[@ezrarichardson279]

This is the most uplifting and some what hopeful abandoned camera you’ve covered yet!

[@FrameVoyager]

It was nice to have a human side to it! Not all of the stories have one narrative like that

[@ezrarichardson279]

@@FrameVoyager Yeah, I really enjoyed this one because it felt like it wasn’t a complete loss compared to the other ones!

[@buknar456]

Right! I mean if you're gonna only cover gear definitely choose relics/niches like this camera...if FV made one more vid about BM pocket cams I was just gonna flip out scream...screen

[@FrameVoyager]

😂😂😂😂😂 been a while since I've made a balckmagic video 😂

[@Magmafire]

This is the best episode of the Abandoned Camera series.

[@FrameVoyager]

Appreciate it!

[@Dahrenhorst]

I remember that Kickstarter project well - I contemplated to buy such a Bolex, but didn't had the funds at that time.

[@Deathbynature89]

This is the first camera I thought of when you started doing the abandoned camera series. I remember Indie Mogul doing coverage on this like eight years ago.

[@noopy4085]

I think Joe had good intentions when starting this business. But notice how he mentions that at his first job he got removed from customer service and “placed in the back” (interesting). When you start a crowdfunded business that it based and driven by a small community but lack basic people skills and customer care isa good recipe for failure. As a previous owner of a D16 I had the opportunity to shoot and own a very unique camera that shot lovely footage! But owning the camera and investing in the brand we had to also put up with allot! I (like many others) had to send my camera back and forth 3-4 times because of faults and repairs. Essentially we were all paying to be the BETA testers for the brand. Joe was selling the cameras but also peddling random vintage lenses and gear on the side to his Digital Bolex “community”. Upon his recommendation (as the creator of the camera, owner and face of the business) he suggested I purchase some of this (none Digital Bolex) gear off him only to find out after receiving the gear that it was none compatible with my Digital Bolex camera. Joe’s attitude was more or less “tuff cookies” after approaching him about it. I was very disappointed in this, I explained what had happened and my disappointment to the community. To my surprise I received more then a dozen DM’s of people telling me similar stories about Joe (none of them shared any of this info publicly, and probably for good reason) Quickly after I made the critical post I was “booted out” by Joe removed from any means of receiving updates, news, support or repair (and you know you gonna need the repair sooner then later with this camera) for a camera that was now obsolete to the general public. Essentially forcing me with no option but to sell my camera… Joe can dream up and think of 100 cameras for “todays market” I will not be investing in a single one of those 100 cameras! I would not do business again with a person like Joe Rubinstein. So what is the moral of this story? ….Never do business with a hipster who walks around with a fake gun holster and a Jennifer Anniston hair cut!

[@noopy4085]

Even more interesting reading these comments (and there are allot of positive ones!) But there are also some critical ones much like my own.. I just read the post by 'James DeRuvo' Where he says "can say this video only covers half the story. The other half is broken promises of rewards, banning and removing complaints and going silent for months on end" To this Joe Rubinstein himself comments "I didn't personally ever ban or remove any users or comments" LOL really Joe? EVER? .....well I guess we know you are a god damn lier... it makes you wonder what else is he lying about? ...This was a great KZbin video! I really enjoyed watching it, it's a brilliant story... unfortunately I think we only got half the story.

[@noopy4085]

[retracted]

[@FrameVoyager]

Dude! No clue what you're talking about. I'm out of the country and barely been monitoring these comments the past week. I don't "hide" or remove comments on my videos 😂

[@noopy4085]

@@FrameVoyager Like I told you there are comments that I can see from my account but other people viewing will not see them. (yet the reply count is correct but the number of visual comments don't ad up). If this was not you it must be YT so in that case I retract my statement and apologies to you sir!

[@luca__3044]

You can say about the camera what you want but those images do have a feel to them 😯

[@wakkowarner8810]

It was so awesome that you interviewed the person who made the camera.

[@FrameVoyager]

It was amazing to get to talk with Joe! So much more knowledge about cameras in his head than I will ever know!

[@mx5am945]

Crazy interesting! This guy has his head screwed on properly. Amazing