Bolex H8 questions?

[mr_x]

Hi,

Am experimenting with an H8. Last night the tail end (lead-out) of a 25' reel snagged in the film gate, so the footage was safe, I just cut it below the lower sprocket and stored it in the Standard 8 container.

Took me about 1 hour to free the jam though, I had to lift the upper pin on the pressure plate, which then swung out and allowed me to see what was going on. The film leader had jumped and the claw was holding it fast between two sprocket holes. I had to carefully split the leader at this point to free the claw, then the Bolex went back to running normally.

Question: is there a way to completely remove the pressure plate in case this jam happens again, or a clean of the pressure plate is required please?

also -

The 50' round socket metal reel that came with the camera looks very different to both the 16mm 'H' reels with their square sockets, and the Standard8 25' reels with their 3 and 4 tooth sockets. Are all Standard 8 format reels compatible with the H8 please?

Many thanks,

Ric

[bolextech]

To complete remove the pressure plate, just unscrew the lower knob as shown in the pic and lift out.

I would think any regular 8 camera spool would fit in the H8. However, nowadays, 100 ft loads of R8 are usually supplied on 16mm style daylight spools with the square hole. You would need a spindle adapter for that. JK sells them on his website.

Cheers,
Jean-Louis

[mr_x]

To complete remove the pressure plate, just unscrew the lower knob as shown in the pic and lift out.

I would think any regular 8 camera spool would fit in the H8. However, nowadays, 100 ft loads of R8 are usually supplied on 16mm style daylight spools with the square hole. You would need a spindle adapter for that. JK sells them on his website

Many thanks Jean-Louis,

Am in the teething stages of Standard 8 (been there for about a decade) so 25' spools will do me for now

Makes me feel a lot easier with control over the pressure plate.

Ric