003: A Few Minor Repairs
Welcome to The Bolex Test, a weekly newsletter about making a living with a wind-up 16mm movie camera.
There are a few things that need to be addressed before I can start using my camera.
My first order of business is to reattach the leatherette body covering on my camera. This is a concern because it’s peeling away at the points where I grab the camera the most and will only worsen over time. A replacement cannot be sourced except by removing it from another camera.
The repair was simple. I glued the leatherette back to the camera body with an industrial adhesive and clamped the area for a few hours to make sure the bond was secure. I did this for all the areas where the leatherette was peeling away from the camera body.
I also removed the tape from the handle. The body of the handle was rebuilt with cardboard and paper and I recovered it with black gaffer’s tape. I think the black tape makes the repair look a little less obvious when the handle is folded against the camera.
Here’s my Bolex, all ready to go.
Except there’s one thing missing: a lens.
The Tally
Feet of film exposed: 0
Paid gigs: 0