Long Shot: Kodak K100 Parts?

[silverhalide]

Hi Everyone,

I realize this is a long shot, but I'm looking for new old stock or mint aperture plate and pressure plate for my beloved Kodak K100, which has developed some registration problems. I've tried Clarence Gass and Jesse Chambless already and Google hasn't led me anywhere.

I'm not averse to undertaking complete camera replacement, if anyone knows of a mint or NOS K100 for sale.

I love the K100 because it fits into a small video bag and is very unobtrusive. When I whip out a shiny Bolex, I have to spend time talking to people instead of shooting.

Regards,
Dennis

[Will2]

I love that camera. The only reason I don't use it very much is the lack of a reflex viewfinder. I love how it can shoot for 60 seconds on one wind.

I have two of the rotating turret version. I'm guessing you're looking for the non-turret version based on it fitting into a small bag.

[slashmaster]

So are the films you've made with this hunting side to side or bouncing up and down? Does yours look like this? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bm_-MCml0XA

[Will2]

Here's one of mine with a reflex viewfinder attached...



This particular lens didn't allow you to do critical focusing; it was just for framing only...I sold it when I figured that out.

[silverhalide]

Yes, my K100 looks like the one in the youtube link. Great camera. My registration problem is vertical. I get a lot of up/down movement.

I understand that the aperture plate wears and gets snaggy or something. But this one has been polished down and still does it. The repairman is confident that a new aperture plate would fix it.

[slashmaster]

Yes, my K100 looks like the one in the youtube link. Great camera. My registration problem is vertical. I get a lot of up/down movement.

I understand that the aperture plate wears and gets snaggy or something. But this one has been polished down and still does it. The repairman is confident that a new aperture plate would fix it.

This sounds like it could be slop in the claw. What happens when you put your finger on the claw and wiggle it up and down?

[silverhalide]

"This sounds like it could be slop in the claw. What happens when you put your finger on the claw and wiggle it up and down?"

I get a bloody finger

Just kidding. Thanks for your reply. That sounds like an interesting theory. I'll check it out and get back to you.

[silverhalide]

Here's a sample of the problem before the most recent service. The most recent service, pressure plate and aperture plate polishing, has made it substantially worse
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AspCoHZiKCg

[slashmaster]

Here's a sample of the problem before the most recent service. The most recent service, pressure plate and aperture plate polishing, has made it substantially worse
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AspCoHZiKCg

So do you have a sample of the latest? This footage is nice by the way! If you've got a good running bolex I would prefer that over this. This one has too much distance between the sprocket and gate. Almost a second after the beginning of every scene the picture bounces up! I don't like the way the film might go between the flanges of the reel it's coming off just before it goes through the gate. Could you maybe have accidentally bent the reel before you put it in? Because the flanges inconsistently touching the film like that can cause bad registration.

[silverhalide]

Agreed - I hate the film path in that thing. It seems like a formula for bad registration.

I didn't have the post-service test scanned because that seemed like a waste of money. But it certainly would help with this discussion!

The problems I have with Bolex 16mm:

- Attracts people like a bright bulb attracts bugs on a summer evening. I don't go out with my camera to meet people, I go to shoot.
- Hard to just toss in a video bag like the K100.
- 20 second spring is kind of limiting
- Dark viewfinder unless lens is wide open.

Don't get me wrong, I treasure my Bolex cameras and wouldn't part with them. But the K100 is more practical when I want to grab something and go.

I still need to check the claw. Haven't had a chance to do that at home yet.

The problem has existed across many rolls, so it doesn't seem to be roll-specific.

Thanks for your reply.

[slashmaster]

Agreed - I hate the film path in that thing. It seems like a formula for bad registration.

I didn't have the post-service test scanned because that seemed like a waste of money. But it certainly would help with this discussion!

The problems I have with Bolex 16mm:

- Attracts people like a bright bulb attracts bugs on a summer evening. I don't go out with my camera to meet people, I go to shoot.
- Hard to just toss in a video bag like the K100.
- 20 second spring is kind of limiting
- Dark viewfinder unless lens is wide open.

Don't get me wrong, I treasure my Bolex cameras and wouldn't part with them. But the K100 is more practical when I want to grab something and go.

I still need to check the claw. Haven't had a chance to do that at home yet.

The problem has existed across many rolls, so it doesn't seem to be roll-specific.

Thanks for your reply.

Indeed it does attract attention! But I would have thought a k100 would attract almost as much as a bolex. I was looking through your other video's. You have an Arri? If it runs good, I think I would just go with that! Unless maybe you're camping and walking miles.

[silverhalide]

"Indeed it does attract attention! But I would have thought a k100 would attract almost as much as a bolex. I was looking through your other video's. You have an Arri? If it runs good, I think I would just go with that! Unless maybe you're camping and walking miles."

Heh, heh, heh...the Arri 416 is a monster. I regretted that purchase instantly and quickly bought an A-Minima. The 416 is just too heavy and too awkward. The A-Minima goes into a large video bag and is handy to shoot with. But it still requires much more effort than the K100. I can just whip out the K100 and shoot. I fuss around much more before I can get a shot with the A-Minima. As for the 416, it takes more time to pry it out of the giant pelican case than it takes to grab a shot with the K100. Of course, there are some quality differences

I also have a 235. I haven't tried to shoot candid with that yet. It is so noisy that I think many of my shots will feature people turning to glare at the camera.

[silverhalide]

Another great thing about the A-Minima is that it uses lithium batteries that can be purchased at Walgreens. So I never, ever have to worry about running out of charge/not being able to charge. That means I could do a 15 day Grand Canyon raft trip if I wanted, which is something I couldn't possibly do with the 416.

[slashmaster]

Nice! So both the Arri and A Minima have pin registration right? Which one do you think has better registration? I saw the film where you used double 8 as 16mm too. Since registration degrades a lot while a 16mm bolex runs at 64 fps, I'm wondering if using double 8 instead would improve it any?

[silverhalide]

The Arri is pin-registered and the Aaton is not. But the Aaton comes close to the Arri. The Aaton sometimes goes out of registration slightly when the standing loop in the camera first goes through the gate, but once fresh film is going through the gate, it's pretty close to perfect. The Aaton doesn't like certain filmstocks:

- E100D has to be lubed by Wittner to run properly
- Orwo "
- Wittner 200D has to be lubed and it has to sit for somewhere between 4 months and a year before the PET base will take the reverse wind. If you don't wait long enough, the W200D doesn't run well and sometimes it even pops the pressure plate open. If you wait long enough, it works ok.

No Wait: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C1uM3Z345fY
4 Months: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jz2FCldULtc
1 Year: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UgWLgok_tQc

Once you figure out how to make a film stock work with the Aaton, the results seem to be repeatable.

The Arri will take anything I feed it, with a smile.

"Since registration degrades a lot while a 16mm bolex runs at 64 fps, I'm wondering if using double 8 instead would improve it any?"

Hmm, I'm not sure I'm qualified to speculate on that. But I suspect more edges bouncing through the gate would probably make matters worse.