Cine-Kodak Special II 16mm Camera Test

[@lawrenceanderson2741]

Has that been stabilized in post? If not that footage is bloody phenomenal stable, way better than a Bolex.

[@jamesrhodes7415]

That is great image quality. I have two of the original CKS, made about 1940 and 1945. Very heavy well made cameras loaded with features. Some of the Walt Disney nature films, Gumby, and Paddle to the Sea were filmed with the CKS and CKS II cameras. Well done!

[@Reflex-Technologies]

Hi James, I was a friend of cinematographer Bill Bacon, who shot many of Disney's 'True Life Adventure' films. He said that he loved the Kodak Cine-Special II cameras - especially the quick-change turret lens system and the parallax corrected viewfinders. The 16mm footage was blown-up to 35mm film for editing and theatrical release. He also said that they shot on 16mm to avoid using expensive union film crews which would have been necessary had they used 35mm film. I found the Special II camera and an overhaul manual on E-bay. The camera has many features only formally found on Mitchell 35mm cameras, such as the variable shutter - which makes it possible to create in-camera lap dissolves or fades to or from black. It is also possible to create animations using the single-frame exposure feature. After overhauling and lubricating the camera, I shot this test film using Kodak 7213 negative stock. The gray cards and Macbeth color charts were used to evaluate exposure accuracy and the color reproduction characteristics of the film. The film was scanned at 2k resolution at Reflex Technologies in Burbank, Ca.

[@jamesrhodes7415]

@@Reflex-Technologies That's an interesting bit of history, especially your knowing Bill Bacon and about the studios using 16mm to avoid paying union scale to the film crews. I have some ISO 100 black and white film in my circa 1940 Cine-Kodak Special that I purchased from the Film Photography Project and look forward to seeing the results when I'm done exposing the roll. I would surmise that the Bolex Reflex cameras were heavily influenced by these cameras as they incorporated many of the same features, although much later. Thanks for the information.

[@SplicesAndCelluloid]

Beautiful!

[@Ikgeloofhetniet]

This would make a pretty cool music video honestly :D