Eumig C16R arrived yesterday

[Chris Dodkin]

This is the big brother of the original Eumig C3R I found in the junk shop in Arizona, and as soon as I saw the C16R online, I knew I'd have to find myself one

1957 16mm film technology - really nice quality (as all the Eumigs seem to be)

Love the retro '50s logo on the brochure - lots of Jetsons style orbit graphics going on

Man, this thing is super complex - definitely aimed at the pro or pro-am market with all of the features and functions.

My model is the C16R - so it has the 0.5x and 2x converters built-in on rotating turrets - looks like something from The Matrix!

Going to have to think about how I shoot his one, as it's so much bigger than all the other cameras - My normal set-up probably won't work.

Still, lovely feel to everything - and the motor and shutter really purr on this model.

Film is $50 for a 100' roll - so I may give it a blast and see what it can do - once I've RTFM of course!

 

[Chris Dodkin]

Knew I'd seen it somewhere before...

 

[Hamish Gill]

Wow that is a awesome looking bit of gear!
Was it expensive?
I find it amazing that so much effort appears to have gone into form and function ... There seems to be less stuff around these days that looks as good! Or maybe we just get blind to what is around us all the time? I'm not sure, either way, that is o e he'll of a cool looking thing

So you shoot this stuff with a 105mm did you say?

I'm thinking I really must go through my camera collection an do the same, I've got some lovely old cameras that are still packed in a box from when we moved house ... I got them out once put them on a shelf and the shelf fell down! So I out them away again ... It's a travesty really!

Pete should do the same with his gear... We would have stacks of interesting kit documented on here! I have a real appreciation for old kit and it would be lovely to have an archive of it all!

 

[Pete Askew]

Wonderful looking thing Chris. And so you just swing accessory lenses in I see rather than switching / rotating. Is that right?

But what next?

http://cgi.ebay.com/Bell-Howell-71Q...733?pt=US_Vintage_Cameras&hash=item3a66671c9d !!

 

[Chris Dodkin]

Hamish - I just love the design and function the same way you do. So much is hidden in software these days, but in this era, it's all out there on display as hardware. The fit and finish is also fabulous, and it weighs a ton!

It was listed on FleaBay for $599, and I talked him down to $299 (which is still a tad high I think) - Did the deal outside of EBAY in the end to make sure I secured the item, although to be fair, you'd have to be nuts to bid $599, or $799 as I see one listed for currently!

There's one for sale in Leicester right now if anyone is interested! http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=370497090961&ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT#ht_905wt_907

This particular shot is with the 28-70 2.8L, which has a 'macro' setting, which is really just a close focus capability - the C16R is larger than the previous cameras by quite a bit, so I'm having to rethink how I shoot it. With my usual 100mm macro lens, I'm now having to shoot from further away to fit everything in, and my background is now too much in focus for my liking.

Thinking I might try a light tent, something like this...

Of course the macro will be fine close up - it's just the complete product shots where I'm scratching my head at the moment.

Basically I'm just talking myself into 'needing' a light tent

Pete - the lenses just swing in as you say - and the mechanism also swings a small lens over the viewfinder, so that the field of view there changes at the same time - very neat.

Before this version of the camera, you'd have carried your wide and tele lenses in your camera bag, and screwed them in place each time you wanted to use them - this was how the Eumig C16 version worked.

That B&H camera is a monster - I'd need a new display shelf!

 

[Chris Dodkin]

Or maybe I should be looking at one of these!

 

[Chris Dodkin]

Ok, I went with the light tent idea, and I'm much happier with these 'product' shots.

The light tent idea does provide very even illumination with suitable daylight bulbs and reflectors.

I went with a three lamp system found on EBAY for about 90 quid - including the 30" light tent and a selection of backdrops.

Will complete the detail shots tomorrow, when I have some time.

 

[Pete Askew]

Nice shots as always Chris and a great looking beast. Who's that weird bloke though in the top lens? Back reflection is always the problem with these lighting set ups You could make a white porthole to shoot through though out of card of textile to get rid of them - or does the tent have one that fixes on the front? £90 for the tent and lights (with stands?) seems quite a bargain and I guess it fold up Lastolite-style.

So, is the film on order?

 

[Hamish Gill]

They are nice Chris, but having been inspired by the last ones, I prefer the style of them ...

the thing with this sort of thing is that you see it all the time, this is why i stopped doing these
http://www.realphotographersforum.com/content/122-Box-Brownie
i was bored by them ... seeing your ones in more natural setting made me realise that doing something between what i was doing before and what you were doing would make for more interesting photography, more interesting images, and more interesting articles ... I dont want to sound like im shitting on your new light box idea, but i do prefer your previous shots a lot more!

 

[Pete Askew]

I'm afraid I probably agree with Hamish. What I miss most is a surface that they are standing on. But, then again, I like the monochrome and the OOF backgrounds too. Sorry!

 

[Hamish Gill]

if you have run out of room to get far enough away... take the dining table out in the garden

 

[Chris Dodkin]

I know exactly what you're saying chaps, and I'm going to keep shooting both styles - I've just been looking for the excuse to get the tent so I can play with it!

I want to shoot a frame or two to reproduce a Eumig poster ad - hence the need for the even lighting and the white backdrop.

Pete - the tent does have a front panel with a slit for the camera - will break that out today to shoot the detail stuff - yesterday was a bit of a rush (to put in mildly), and with the 100mm lens, I was too far away from the subject to use the front panel slit (I think).

£90 all in, including stands - amazing to see what's coming in from China these days. The warehouse place I ordered from sells strobes as well, backdrops, chromakey, tripods, etc etc

http://www.ls-photostudio.com/shop/index.php/

Very similar to the Lastolite, but wayyy cheaper - stands are probably slightly lower quality than the Elinchrom ones I've owned, but perfectly serviceable for a home set-up.

I am impressed with the latest bulb technology. The last time I had continuous lighting was back in the 8mm cine days, and I used big phillips photoflood lamps, which were hot as hell to work around. The latest Compact Fluorescent Daylight bulbs are completely cold in use, and put out an amazing amount of daylight balanced light for a low wattage - literally very cool!

Will be ordering some 16mm film and doing a proper write-up on the C16R - got a little distracted with the studio toys!