Digital Bolex Gives You a Classic Film Look in a Digital Package (Video)

Once upon a time, people shot a kind of video called "film." And one of the most popular film camera makers was Bolex. Their 16 mm and Super 16 mm cameras were the favored tools for indie film makers, low budget TV news operations, and film schools. Sure, there were 8mm and Super 8, but they didn't give you the stunning clarity you could get with 16 mm. Besides that, carrying a Bolex was kind of like telling everyone, "Look at me! I'm a professional moviemaker!" And with the cost of processing 16 mm film back in the late 1960s and early 1970s you pretty much had to be a pro -- or at least have access to a TV station or college film lab if you wanted to do any serious movie experimentation. Obviously, times have changed. You can now buy a fairly serious camcorder at a consumer-level price. Or a DSLR that can do video -- and do depth of field tricks hardly any camcorder can match. Even so, if you are a film junkie, you just might want a Digital Bolex. Thanks to a highly successful Kickstarter campaign, it looks like you might be able to buy one before long. Too bad you can't still get Kodachrome film, which was the perfect film for your Bolex. Ah, well. RAW format digital is more or less the 21st Century equivalent of Kodachrome, so it will have to do.

Comments

Why the need to associate with the name with Bolex

[Anonymous Coward]

Why can't they just call it a RAW format camcorder?

Hipster cache thats why.

Should call it the Instagramcorder.

Re:Why the need to associate with the name with Bo

[Samantha Wright]

Well, it does physically resemble one particular Bolex design.

Also, I feel an overwhelming urge to point out that brand name recognition and hence resurrection is not exclusive to hipsters. There have been five "Atari" companies, for example.

Re:Handheld?

[Rinikusu]

Indeed. I'm shooting DSLR films at the moment, and while not really comparable to the devices you listed, I've done the same thing. I've got a tripod for steady shots, I've got a glidecam for follow/chase shots, I've got a shoulder mount for, well, I dunno what I got it for, honestly, but it was $25, and I've got a pistol grip for run & gun guerrilla shots. Honestly, the last one is the one I like the most, even though it's not as steady/smooth as some of the others, simply because it doesn't take up a lot of space, weighs almost nothing, etc. I've added quick release mounts to everything so I can just move my camera from rig to rig as needed with minimal downtime between shots. I've seen some of these guys walking around with terminator style rigs, and while I can definitely see the benefits, just not willing to spend more than my camera + lenses for a decent one.