OPTRONIC EYE

FILMMAKING GADGETS & OTHER OBSESSIONS

[optroniceye]

I am happy to announce the first product from the collaboration between Pro8mm and myself. It solves a long-standing problem that they have had with their Classic Pro camera. As a result of Pro8mm's restoration of the camera (originally the popular Beaulieu 4008) there was not any power solution within the camera itself, it had to be powered externally. Also, the original grip had been removed and even tho you were able to use standard grips you still had to be careful in doing so, not to damage the camera itself.

With this new design, not only does the grip follow the original design and uses its original plate but it also incorporates two lithium cell batteries that provide 7.2v and 3.6v to power the camera action and the exposure meter respectively.

It also fits perfectly and has a guide pin so the grip won’t rotate around.

Side by side with the original grip:

The design has gone through a few iterations to make it more ergonomic, truer to the original one and also to make it as functional and practical as possible.

These are some of the earlier designs:

The problem with this original version was that the hand was sitting too far away from the trigger action in the camera and it was hard to reach. It was also a bit too big for some smaller hands. This the 3D print of this first version:

We made a test with an acetone bath to accomplish a smooth look and avoid the lines that the 3D printer leaves behind (the one on the right). I also tried to coat it with Plasti Dip (the one on the left) for a more comfortable feel. Any test with the acetone came out too shiny for my taste and also it was messing a bit with the tolerances.

You can still see the lines on the left grip even tho it was treated with acetone. It gives good results but it is a bit unpredictable.

For the second version, which is the latest, I created a texture on the surface of the grip itself. That way the lines from the 3D printer are not so visible and there is no need for an acetone bath. The look is less shiny and more retro.

The 2 cells fit perfectly and there will be a cable coming out of the grip to power the camera. Pro8mm is taking care of the assembly.

Brass Heat inserts were used to secure the plates on top and bottom.

The top plate hasn’t been machined yet, ultimately it will have holes for the screws, guide pin and ¼ 20 screw that secures the grip with the camera. The bottom plate is the one used on the original grip, it fits perfectly with the new grip.

Pro8mm is presenting this product at the Cine Expo Gear, at Paramount Studios today (6/2) through Saturday, make sure not to miss it!

Thank you so much for reading!

[optroniceye]

Super 8 Video Tap

I always wanted to add a video assist or video tap system to my Beaulieu 40008 ZM4. There is some information online on how to do it on a Super 8 but its either outdated or poorly detailed so I thought It would be great if I shared my experience.

This should work on any Super 8 but the Beaulieu 4008 is one of the best out there so I just focused on that one.

I am using a HD SDI 1080P cctv camera with a 1/2.8''Sony Sensor 2MP with a 6mm lens (MTV or M12 mount).

I ordered this board camera and then changed the pinhole lens to this one and the casing to this one but any HD SDI 1080P should work. That was due to some trial and error, If I had to do it again I would search for a camera that had a metal casing and a 6mm lens.

Probably the SDI output is a little overkill but anyways I was just having fun. And I wanted it to be more versatile so I ordered a cheap SDI to HDMI converter which works perfectly to display the image on any HDMI monitor. The only thing with this particular converter is that it is USB powered and I had to make a custom cable for it. So it might be better to use something like this.

Now to the fun part, how did I attach the camera to the viewfinder? The eyecup that came with the camera was in really bad condition but it had a thread that screw perfectly into the viewfinder so I designed an adapter that would fit that thread and attach to the board camera.

This is the 3d printed adapter that attaches to the thread. I added also three small screws to secure the thread on the adapter. It is specifically designed to fit that thread so for other Super 8 cameras it would require some modification.

The adapter then attaches to the board camera housing with magnets.

I drilled four holes in the housing and added four powerful magnets. 

Usually this type of board cameras always have cables poking out of the case that are very flimsy and breakable. This is why I added the orange back casing with the BNC, DC power and OSD connectors. That way the everything would be more accessible and secure and the system would be more reliable.

The following are some of my original 3d renders before I 3d printed the parts.

I cut the cable to shorten it and rewired it to the new external connectors. The 3d printed case came out slightly thin so I added a bit of tape around it to prevent dust to do inside of the circuit.

Using some spacers I was able to screw the whole thing together.

For the OSD (which controls the board camera settings) I used a 6 pin DIN connector even tho I only needed 5 contacts.

This is the whole set up together.

I am using a very cheap screen fed through the composite video signal out of the board camera because I didn’t have a HDMI or SDI monitor at the moment but I have tested both and it works with either. Actually the best configuration was using the SDI signal straight to a SDI monitor, it was exceptionally sharp and very helpful when focusing.

I did different tests with other m12 lenses to get closer to the image but I settled on the 6mm one because that way I could see the whole thing and with some monitors you can always crop a little closer.

Let me know if you have any questions or if you would like the 3d files available.

I hope you enjoy my post! Thanks for stopping by!

[optroniceye]

3D Printed Camera Slider with Flywheel

First of all I would like to say that I have no intention of selling or making any kind of profit with this project. There are plenty of high quality sliders on the market and I do not want to compete with anybody. This was built with no other purpose than to have fun and to prove to myself that I could do it.

That being said, I originally became obsessed with the idea of creating my own when I saw the iFootage Shark S1 with its cool flywheel system that acts as a counterweight to smooth out the slide. It is a great concept but I didn't feel like spending $700 so I decided to embark on the journey of designing one myself.

I did a lot of research, firstly in regards to the wheels and I could not find anything big enough that would fit the tubes/rails I had in mind. I ended up settling with the Rhino wheels which ended up being the most expensive part of the project.

I am using 5/8 OD aluminum tubes from Orange Aluminum, which were really affordable and their customer service is amazing by the way. This tube diameter is perfect for the wheels but Carbon Fiber 16mm OD would work too and would actually be stronger and better.

Most of the other parts come from McMaster Carr: the screws, thumbscrews, washers, nuts, the handwheel...

Other parts are from Servocity: the 8mm flanged shafts that fit perfectly on the wheels, the belt clamp and a couple of 1/4" shafts.

And a few other things from Ebay, like the 3/8 16 and 1/4 20 thumbscrews and the level vials for the top plate.

This is my first design. I started laying it out in Illustrator and later building it in 3D with Cinema 4D.

And this is how it turned out:

I bought an aluminum block and I cut it using a miter saw to build the top and bottom plate. I also bought a 1 inch wide aluminum bar to build the side plates.

Unfortunately, this wasn't perfect due to the fact that I don't have access to a cnc and I had to drill all the holes by hand making the result unstable. It also had way too many screws which made assembling a pain.

I decided to redesign it so it would be easier to assemble and disassemble and would also have an internal adjustment for the wheels.

Once I finished the 3D designs it was time to build. The side plates and the top and bottom plates had to be perfect. And in order to have everything aligned I only had two options, either have it done with a cnc or 3d print it. Luckily my friends Justin Wilcott and Benjamin Rohel offered to help and I got the side plates and legs 3d printed from them. Thanks so much guys!

The legs can be adjusted and the side plates fit in the tubes which have an internal M8 thread. that way I am only using 4 M8 thumbscrews to hold everything together. Rhino had recently released a new version of their slider and its simplicity inspired me. The top and bottom plates I decided to laser cut them through Ponoko using Black Acrylic, thus ensuring that all the holes would be perfectly aligned. The top plate consists of a bunch of laser cut layers sandwiched together and glued with epoxy.

Similar to the Shark S1, the two internal wheels can be adjusted to be pressed more or less against the rails. The belt clamps from Servocity can also be seen in the picture below. I still haven't removed the paper protection on some of the black acrylic parts.

I am using regular 2lbs gym weights to serve as a flywheel. Ideally I should be using 3lbs or more depending on the weight I put on the slider, but this seems to work for now.

So far it is working great. It is exceptionally smooth and it looks awesome. But because most of the parts are plastic, it is not rigid enough to dampen slight vibrations specially when the slider sits on the legs. It is not something that can't be fixed in post but of course if I had access to a cnc this would be a no brainer, for now I will have to do with what I have.

This is a quick test I shot using the slider, I will be doing more tests soon:

Depending on the amount of interest I will post a detailed list of the parts and tools I used.

Thanks so much for reading!