I have been asked by many if I will modify their Keystone 16mm cameras and this has got me thinking of whether a modified Keystone is the way to go to raise funds to build a completely new camera. As I believe that with some work, these simple and somewhat forgotten cameras really do become great machines that can be relevant Super 16 cameras for today’s filmmaker.

There certainly are lots of existing 16mm cameras about, professional ones, semi-professional ones and amateur ones. However, I don’t think that many existing cameras really meet the needs of today’s filmmakers, I know that most of today’s filmmakers want to film in widescreen and here Super 16 would be ideal, but the vast majority of 16mm cameras are not Super 16 and can only produce images in the 4.3 ratio. A modification to Super 16 is possible on most cameras, but in this day and age this can be expensive. The biggest issue I find is that 16mm cameras are old, even the most sought-after professional camera - the Arriflex 416 is now old, as they stopped making it in 2006.

There’s no denying that film is expensive, and it’s three essential components, buying the film, processing it, and then scanning it, can cost over £120 for just over 2 minutes of screen time. So, I think it’s essential to have a camera that is running in optimum condition. Most of us buy cameras from people who say that when pressing the trigger, it runs as it should, most of the time we have little choice, but to rely on this, but this is sort of meaningless, as we really need to see film shot through a camera to properly assess how it functions. Most older cameras will need some sort of servicing, and this aspect can be a daunting challenge as there aren’t many people left around the world who can work on the vast majority of 16mm cameras, as a result it can take a very long time and can be a very expensive affair.

In my opinion the biggest issue with any 16mm camera these days is servicing, repairing and upgrading as spare parts are virtually non-existent and trained technicians are fast disappearing, meaning that owning and maintaining an old 16mm camera can be far too challenging and demanding. Technicians and engineers who knew these cameras intimately have either retired or passed away taking their expertise and valuable knowledge with them. Since most 16mm cameras are old finding spare parts has become a huge nightmare. Most amateur and prosumer cameras weren’t really designed to be serviced so servicing them is a novelty, an unchartered territory and a scary prospect.

I think a new camera is needed, a camera that speaks to today’s film makers, a camera that’s Super 16 and works with modern lenses and accessories and a camera that is much easier to maintain. Making a new 16mm movie camera isn’t easy, nor is it cheap, the market is small and that’s probably why no major company has made one, we can look to Kodak’s new Super 8 camera, it certainly isn’t cheap and has taken them years to release. There have been announcements from other companies, who’ve said that a new 16mm camera will cost over £20,000 - that’s too rich for most of us and after coming to terms with the sobering reality that a 16mm camera will be too expensive people lose interest and the companies seem to abandon building one.

There are however many engineers and enthusiasts like me tinkering away in their workshops, trying to build one. I have studied so many cameras, not just 16mm, but Super 8 too, I have learned about the history of mechanics and manufacturing shutters and intermittent movements. I have opened up professional cameras, amateur cameras, those that are very old and those that are recent, and I have made many modifications. I made a small magazine to take 100ft spools for the Éclair ACL, I also modified and used a smaller optical viewfinder for the ACL as well as building a small onboard battery system. I modified the Revere 101, the Kodak K100 and the Bell and Howell 240 into Super 16 cameras. I also worked on many 16mm magazine cameras, but the impracticality and unpredictable nature of magazines remains an issue. More recently I worked with the Movikon 8 and made it into a small Super 16 camera, the main issue was the impracticality of using only use 33 feet of film.

All this tinkering has led me back to an old idea, but with a major new twist - I keep coming back to the Keystone’s single perf spool cameras especially the ones with fancy names like A9 Criterion, the A12 Criterion Deluxe and the Newport Deluxe from the 1950s. I have a few A9 Criterions [the grey ones], I’m sure the grey was their last production run colour in the 1950s before they stopped making 16mm cameras altogether.

December Update 2

The simple fact is that the Keystone 100ft spool cameras are cheap and surprisingly they are very reliable, and most importantly they are unbelievably simply constructed, the engineering is so basic, a mechanical design that the company didn’t really change during the 30 years or so of production. With these Keystone cameras, we don’t need to worry about finding a technician for servicing as most of us can easily do most and if not all of the servicing, and since all the parts are simple, as there’s not many in them, there’s only 3 moving parts, there’s a big gear that’s linked to the large sprocket in the film chamber, this big gear turns the claw and the shutter it also has a belt to turn the take up and that’s it. All the gears are metal apart from the shutter gear but if it’s damaged fabricating and 3D printing it is so much easier and cheaper.

Whilst working on a new camera I began thinking whether I could modify my Keystones and make them better, easier and practical to use. So, I started to heavily modify one, the first thing I did was deal with the original spring motor which didn’t work accurately or properly, it ran ‘sluggish’ at all speeds, I couldn’t repair it and couldn’t find anyone to repair it either. So, I removed it and all its associated paraphernalia, such as gears and the speed governor. I replaced it with a small motor powered by a common 7.4v battery taken from a digital camera and inserted a micro-processor module to control and set the speed of the motor, so the camera ran precisely at 24fps.

By cleaning the gears and adding an electric motor to the camera I did lose all the additional speeds that came with in the original configuration, but I have made the camera runs much more quietly [not silently] and smoothly producing great images with no flickering or pulsing. A major benefit is the reduction in weight - the original spring motor was considerably heavy; removing it has reduced a lot of weight. The new weight and the vertical shape mean the camera sits and balances comfortably on a small gimbal and I really love this aspect and now I can easy use many other small accessories too. Adding the electric motor has also made this camera easier and more fun to use, although finding the correct fps was a challenge and time consuming.

Secondly, I decided to modify mine for Super 16, but the Super 16 modification wasn’t a straightforward matter of just widening the aperture in the gate, it was more involved and challenging. I machined the gate wider, but the original shutter disc was short by half a millimetre and didn’t fully cover the new wider Super 16 aperture. I took this opportunity to make a new shutter gear using 3D plastic and made a slightly larger disc. The original shutter gear is the only plastic gear in the camera and can be vulnerable, it is often clogged up with dirt, grime and debris. I created room for the slightly larger shutter [which is only larger by 0.5mm] so that it could rotate freely without negatively impacting on the other mechanics. I think eventually I will redesign and make a better gate that has support rails, but that’s another major challenge requiring even more precision machining.

These cameras are quite elegant and beautifully designed, cleaning the gears, fabricating the shutter, adding the electric motor and a Super 16 gate has really raised the usefulness and relevance making the modified Keystone into a very serious tool.

Thirdly and finally, I looked at whether I could make this into a reflex camera, , my initial research and experiments indicated that reflexing this camera was not an easy task and would be fraught with difficulties. I could only think of two methods, firstly by using a ‘Pellicle’ mirror and secondly by using a beam-splitter like the Bolex Rex series, while both would result in some light loss, there were other major concerns and challenges with them.

‘Pellicle’ mirrors are very thin less than 0.1mm and they’re expensive, you can’t just stroll into a shop or get one from Ebay, you need to have them specially made in large quantities. The main issue with them is that they are fragile and break easily. The Kiev Alpa was a 16mm camera made in the 1970s and uses a ‘Pellicle’ mirror for the reflex viewfinder, it was said that if the ’Pellicle mirror’ broke it was easier and cheaper to get another camera than replacing the ‘Pellicle’ mirror. Apart from these issues there isn’t any room to place one in the Keystone as we need a 7.5mm space after the lens and before the shutter which we don’t have.

The Bolex beam splitter may work as introducing it between the lens and film plane extends the Focal Flange Distance which gives us the much-needed room, but it has its own issues - mainly the much talked about ‘spherical aberration’ and the need to use RX lenses. I discovered that such optical anomalies don’t occur with the ‘Pellicle’ because these are so much thinner and only exist with the Bolex beam-splitter because it being over 9.5mm thick. I realised that beam splitters are easier to get in all sorts of shapes and sizes, they aren’t as expensive as ’Pellicle’ mirrors’ and they are more durable than ‘pellicle mirrors’.

I bought some new, smaller and thinner beam-splitters and I started to think whether these would work in a Keystone and if there would be any potential issues from them. My initial experiments have been promising, and so far I haven’t seen the issues of ‘spherical aberration’ that we normally associate with the Bolex beam-splitter, I think this is because the beam-splitters that I am using are a newer technology and much thinner. I have just used my heavily modified Keystone in a workshop and I have been pleased with ease of use and performance, the results are very good. I will put some test films online very soon.

A new 16mm camera for a new generation!

June 2023 Update 1

I’ve been reminded that there haven’t been any updates recently about the new camera and what is happening with it, so this month there are two. I am now very close to finishing, there’s been lots going on, designing, building and filming tests, lots of stopping and starting, sometimes things work well but many times they don’t and little tweaks and changes are needed. It often seems like an endless process, needless to say it’s a very slow, time consuming, exhaustive, challenging and expensive. I wish had more funds to work with, this will definately speed up things.

I was fixated on creating a coaxial design, where both feed and take up spools sit side by side, but after some arduous experiments I have concluded that while the coaxial layout looks modern, it’s actually quite awkward for fast moving film, the level of precision required is huge and one needs a higher torque motor and more power, all this adds to the costs and complexity. I have been questioning if this design is right and have been looking at different design options which are easier, kinder to film and cheaper to build. I am looking at a vertical design where the film spools are placed on top of each other, this layout does create a much easier path for the film.

The vertical design was the most popular and common layout and has been used in all those older amateur 16mm cameras apart from those by Kodak who for some reason opted for a horizonal layout. Such a design is a lot easier to make than a coaxial one, as it allows a more simple and straight forward film journey, putting no strain on the film and loading film is easier.

June 2023 Update 2

Well, a lot has happened and is still happening. I am still on target to building a Super 16 camera as soon as possible. I have done a lot of work in developing the camera, and I have hit a major stumbling block and have recognised a few issues with my smaller horizontal camera. The horizontal design which was heavily inspired by the Zeiss Movikon 8, sticking to this design is the problem it means we can only use small spools with a maximum of 33 feet of film and that’s the major issue, the small amount of film means we’ll have less than a minute of filming.

No one supplies 16mm on 33 feet, as it’s only available on 100ft spools or on 400ft rolls, so the user/filmmaker will have to spool their own film. Perhaps a bigger problem is how to get the small 33ft processed? As most labs have a 100ft or 400ft minimum order requirement, one could wait until they use/shoot three small spools and meet the lab minimums by sending in all three spools together, but film needs to be processed immediately after shooting. For this to work - the user/filmmaker needs to be a dedicated DIY enthusiast who will spool and process film at home, this approach is only suited to a very small minority and therefore I have had to rethink my idea.

March Update

I have almost finished building a 16mm camera and have named it the Cine Smart Special, I have used the Movikon 8’s body and styling, [which looks like a photographic stills camera] but this is new 16mm camera as all the mechanics [the essential moving parts like the gate, claw and shutter] and electronics are new. It has a new precision gate for the wider Super 16 ratio, a reflex viewfinder - giving the filmmaker absolute control over accurate focusing and framing. It has variable speed control with a 24fps setting, it is super small and easy to use and most importantly it is affordable.

The camera has the incredible and versatile ‘c’ mount for lenses, there are literally millions of ‘c’ mount lenses out there, some are very expensive and others ridiculously cheap. The main advantage is that the ‘c’ mount allows an unlimited choice of lenses, as we can shoot with either cheap or expensive high-quality lenses and it also gives us the option to use high end PL mount lenses via adaptors. So, we can get a range of dynamic looking shots!

It’s a budget, a beginner’s camera, and very affordable, there are no complicated menus or a vast array of confusing buttons, just a simple start and stop and a speed dial. It is a very capable camera built to the highest standards to create great Super 16 movies that can be made with ease.

The form factor, unlike any other 16mm camera is one of its great advantages as it will work with most of today’s accessories such as cages, handles and gimbals that many who are heavily invested in digital DSLR’s already have.

I am developing a complete eco-system for it; like an essential spooler, an easy-to-use device that will split the 100ft spool into 3 equal parts and load them on smaller daylight spools for the camera, as most film manufacturers only supply 16mm film on 100ft spools and 400ft cores. I am also building an optional HD video assist with a monitor that will fit in the camera’s hot shoe and becoming an integral part of the camera.

I want this camera to be attractive to young filmmakers, educators, and more! Because of the small size it will be easy to travel with and will be ideal for travel blogs and perfect for shooting documentary films! There is the standard ¼” thread mount allowing the camera to be quickly set up on a tripod. It is small enough and its ergonomic design will make it inconspicuous when shooting outdoor nature projects and the remote control will allow even more flexibility.

Anyone can use this camera on any type of production! The compact size gives extra versatility and mobility to get shots from any angle. Best of all, because the camera is so small and includes everything needed, it’s perfect for run and gun, guerrilla style shooting, to be able to work faster than ever and to get the that much needed shot or shots easily, quickly and discreetly and to get out quickly!

In the past few years the popularity of 16mm film has grown considerably. It has become vitrually impossbile to get good deals as prices of existing 16mm cameras, [which are all older than 15 years] have increased making them less affordable. Maintaining them and keeping them running is becoming a major issue as their are fewer people who can service them and sourcing spare parts is becoming a major challenge. That's why a new affordable 16mm camera that resonates with the newer generation of filmmakers needs to be produced.

Update 2 January 2023

So why have I upgraded the Movikon 8 into a 16mm camera? The ‘lone’ filmmaker needs a small and light camera to carry around, especially when out and about, it’s about ease and being confident. The Movikon 8 has a very unique design which allows the filmmaker to be discreet and use modern grip gear like handles and gimbals.

When out filming with a typical 16mm cameras it can often feel a bit awkward as most cameras are big and heavy, especially when we compare them today’s digital filmmaking tools. When we look at professional cameras like the Arri 416, while they are considered light and fairly compact they are still quite big by today’s standards and therefore they can be intimidating.

Older 16mm cameras especially amateur ones are smaller, but most are incredibly heavy and can't film in Super 16 [unless modied], most are limited as they have non reflex viewfinders and only have wind up spring driven motors which also present challenges. The Aaton Minima is a modern small camera, it uses very distinct, hard to find spools which the user has to load and this is not an easy task as the film is loaded differently. If we go back and look at older 16mm magazine cameras from the 1930s, these are certainly smaller, but again they are noisy and heavy, non reflex and spring driven, perhaps the single biggest issue with them is loading film into their complicated magazines.

Update 1 January 2023

For a while I have been working on the Movikon 8 camera to see if I could modify it to 16mm, a lot of people have been telling me that it's a bad idea as there's lots to do, but that hasn't deterred me. It's been challenging and after a lot of tinkering I have successfully modified the camera into a 16mm camera, I did a few things; I adjusted the pull down movement of the claw, which was easier than I thought and now the claw's movment is doubled to catch 16 mm perforations instead of 8mm perfs. I machined the gate, and enlarged it to the Super 16 aspect ratio and have created a new mount for C mount lenses, I inserted a new electric motor to run off a small 7.4 V battery from a digital camera and added a potentiometer for variable speeds. So far I have tested the setup using 'dummy' single perf film loaded on to the small 8mm spools, the film runs though the camera perfectly. For a real test I need to shoot new film, but there have been many delays, not just by me re-thiinking ideas, experimenting and things going wrong but there have been other delays beyond my control, things generally happen much more slowly during the Christmas period, I am still waiting for new film to arrive so I can test the camera properly, I have bought a roll of Fomapan Standard 8 film, because processing the small length of B/W film is simpler, it's an easier way to test the camera before commiting to filming with Vision 3 as I have to use at least 100ft to meet the minimum required by labs, obviously the perforations in the Standard 8 roll will be visible in the Super 16 image area, but this is fine as I can check the stability.

Update - November 2022

I have come across a very unusual looking camera from the 1950s - the Zeiss Movikon 8, it looks like a 'photographic stills' camera, it's definitely a clever design for a movie camera, but it's an 8mm camera and not 16mm. After some serious tinkering I have been successful in modifying this little wonder to use16mm film.

This success has led to a different approach and for me to make a new design with simpler mechanics, the nique design is similar to the Movikon 8 as it too is shaped like a photographic stills camera, it will be small & compact, battery operated, Super 16 and reflex with a c mount for lenses it takes single perf or double perf 16mm film on small daylight spools.

It's a budget - a beginner's camera, and is affordable; there will be no complicated menus or a vast array of confusing buttons, just a simple start and stop and possibly a speed dial and a simple start and stop remote control. It does not have all the professional features, like sync speed, pin registration or a PL lens mount, but it still will be a very capable camera as it's built to the highest standards to create great Super 16 movies that can be made with ease.

The form factor is unlike any other 16mm camera as such it's one of the great advantage is that it will work with most of today's accessories such as cages, handles and gimbals that many who are heavily invested in digital DSLR's already have.

I want anyone to be able to use this portable camera on any type of production! The compact size will give the mobility to get shots from any angle, while allowing me to accurately frame for Super 16 via its reflex viewfinder giving me absolute control over the focus and framing and in addition I will make a HD video assist with its monitor that fits in the hot shoe and becomes an integral part of the camera.

I want the final price to be attractive for young filmmakers, educators, and more! Because of the small size it will be easy to travel with, and will be ideal for travel blogs and perfect for shooting documentary films! I will add the standard ¼" thread mount allowing the camera to be quickly set up on a tripod. It will be small enough and its ergonomic design will make it inconspicuous when shooting outdoor nature projects and the remote control will allow even more flexibility.

The camera has the incredible and versatile c mount for lenses, and there are literally millions of C mount lenses out there some massively expensive and others ridiculously cheap. The C mount gives unlimited choice, as we can shoot with either cheap or expensive high quality lenses and still gives us the option to use high end PL mount lenses via adaptors. So we can get dynamic shots! Best of all, because the camera is so small and includes everything needed, it's perfect for run and gun, guerrilla style shooting, to be able to work faster than ever to can get in position, get the that much needed shot or shots, and get out quickly!

Update - October 2022

Firstly, a big thanks for all the support, every contribution is important. There are no over complicated mechanics or a maze of bespoke electronics, it's just a simple and small Super 16 reflex camera running at a single speed of 24fps with a c mount for lenses. As I've said before I have been refurbishing older cameras for years and have accumulated a lot of knowledge. I am hearing that more people want to use 16mm but working with older cameras is not a practical option for many. Earlier this year there were two announcements for new 16mm cameras - while this is super exciting, it seems that both cameras will be far too expensive for anyone starting out with 16mm.

I have used all kinds of 16mm cameras, the modern SP-16 is a favourite, but servicing it is a nightmare as parts for are. I have a soft spot for many older amateur 16mm cameras; for instance a Keystone A9 Criterion [my first 16mm camera], they are the simplest cameras I know of with only three gears inside, [besides the motor] there's the sprocket gear, the claw gear and the shutter gear and that's it! Of course the build quality leaves a lot to be desired.

I know that for teaching it is crucial to have ease, durability and cheap maintenance, where you don't need to be a technician to sort cameras out, because most of the time it's almost impossible to find any technicians locally, and it's hard to justify the huge cost to send cameras across the world to fix them and sadly many cameras can't be fixed as parts aren't available and in many cases the expertise required has long disappeared.

I think all film cameras show us that most of the job is done by the lens and film stock and that the camera is doing its job when it moves the film properly and simpler cameras can do this quite well. Obviously the camera plays a crucial role if it's out of calibration, but I think if it is setup right and working properly, the differences between different cameras can be very limited in the grand scheme of things.

I can't wait to show it! I am nervousy waiting for some parts before finally filming wiith it. While a few parts are modified from several existing cameras; most are new and are made using 3D design, laser cutting and CNC machining. I have been working out the costs and I think this camera will cost just well under £5000, which I think is pretty good.

It is built to take the popular 100ft daylight spools placed side by side in a coaxial configuration like the older Kodak cameras such as the Model B, BB Junior and K, this allows the camera to be very small and is only 15cm long and 6cm wide. I have kept the mechanics to a minimum to make maintenance much easier, the camera should last decades. Fewer moving parts also keep the noise levels down. I haven’t tested the final noise levels yet, but already this is a very quiet camera. An additional leather soft blimp will reduce for sync sound scenes. I have built an inner spine, consisting of the motor, drive transport, reflex optics and the intermittent movement. I have used an off the shelf motor [which will be easy to replace, if ever needed], there are no fancy electronics just a small module to reduce and regulate the power.

Camera specs

Target price: £5000 [excl. shipping, duties & taxes]

I am hoping to have the final prototype with some sample footage very soon.

Update - August 2022

I have always felt that there should be a new 16mm camera, this will give the format a boost and make it current for a new generation of filmmakers. In my 16mm workshops most of the participants are often very keen to pursue 16mm filmmaking further, but at the same time a lot of them get confused and are unsure about what 16mm camera kit they should get and use in the future. This happens after every session and the needs are always the same, young people want a camera that is Super 16 and want that camera to be quiet enough for sound recording, ideally a camera that is light and is compatible with modern lenses and accessories, basically they want 'ease' just like they get with digital, and many don't want to stray too far from their comfort zone.

For me it's been many years of research and experiments, in that time I have used all kinds of 16mm cameras like the simple Victascopes, Stewart Warner, Keystone, Cine Kodak, the Revere and the Bell and Howell 100ft spool cameras as well as the smaller 16mm magazine cameras from the 1940's and 1950's. I have used older professional cameras like the Arriflex S, and the Éclair NPR and even had the opportunity to use the infamous Bolex Pro and of course the legendary Bolex H16's as well as the Canon Scoopics and not forgetting the newer professional cameras like the SR series, the Aatons, even the A Minima. I have had a lot of help too from camera historians, technicians and engineers. I have been trying to find that perfect beginners 16mm camera for today's generation, and basically there isn't one. I have learned about different types of pull down claws and movement desgins too. I have learned that making one, designing one, understanding the logistics of maufacturing and legality has been a huge challenge.

In my workshops most participants have never used film so we start by using a simpler cameras just to get familar with the format, it used to be the Ikonoskop's SP-16, this has been a popular camera because of its looks, it's a small, fairly new and has a groovy design, but it's usually an older cameras like the Cine Kodak K100 that prove to be more practical. Participants often progress onto the Éclair ACL [modified for Super 16] and finally [if we're lucky] we get to use an Arri SR2/3 or an Arri 416.

While there are a lot of standard 16mm cameras out there, most young people see them as tools from and for another era, but at the same time I find that many will use older cameras that can be easily converted to Super 16. Unfortunately there are not many Super 16 cameras out there and the ones that are Super 16 or have been converted to Super 16 are usually bigger kits and they are getting quite pricey. Ideally people new to 16mm want a small camera, one that's simple and easy. A major complaint about the SP-16 apart from its lack of a real viewfinder is that it isn't very easy to thread film, its odd shape means it can't be mounted on small DSLR gimbals.

I was working on one of my cameras which had a few electrical issues, the motor had burned out and the circuit board was fully damaged. My initial plan was to fix the camera and add a reflex viewfinder and motorize it, but during this long journey and I decided to work on a new design and make a new and simple camera with better and easier mechanics and electronics.

I first looked into this in 2016 and since then I have worked closely with engineers, technicians, collectors and enthusiasts and have learned a great deal, but in many ways making a camera is something that I have been avoiding for all sorts of reasons; instead I have been 'making do' by refurbishing older cameras for my workshops, but working with older cameras is not always ideal as there's often a lot to do and it's difficult to fabricate essential parts.

Earlier this year two companies announced that they were making a new 16mm camera - this is exciting, but for many enthusiasts both cameras might be too expensive. For training and for people like me and most enthusiasts a cheaper camera is needed. I have decided this new camera will be small and compact, taking 100ft rolls of 16mm, precision Super 16 gate, reflex optical viewfinder with a C-mount for lenses, multiple crystal sync speeds and hopefully it will cost around £5-6k.