The Arriflex 16BL is
ARRI
Arri Group () (stylized as "ARRI") is a German manufacturer of motion picture film equipment. Based in Munich, the company was founded in 1917. It produces professional motion picture cameras, lenses, lighting and post-production equipment. It ...
's first silent
16mm
16 mm film is a historically popular and economical gauge of film. 16 mm refers to the width of the film (about inch); other common film gauges include 8 mm and 35 mm. It is generally used for non-theatrical (e.g., industrial, ...
production motion picture camera, released in 1965. It was replaced by the
Arriflex 16SR in 1975.
Function
The functionality is similar to the
Arriflex 16M. It is built around the spinning reflex twin-bladed "butterfly" mirror shutter, set at 45 degrees horizontally to the lens axis. It is self blimped and measures 31 dB while running, at a 3 ft distance from the camera.
The 16BL introduced the ARRI Bayonet
lens mount
A lens mount is an interface – mechanical and often also electrical – between a photographic camera body and a lens. It is a feature of camera systems where the System camera, body allows interchangeable lenses, most usually the rangefinder ...
, which was also used in later cameras. This
stainless steel
Stainless steel, also known as inox, corrosion-resistant steel (CRES), or rustless steel, is an iron-based alloy that contains chromium, making it resistant to rust and corrosion. Stainless steel's resistance to corrosion comes from its chromi ...
mount is much stronger than the aluminium Arri standard mount. The
viewfinder
In photography, a viewfinder is a device on a camera that a photographer uses to determine exactly where the camera is pointed, and approximately how much of that view will be photographed. A viewfinder can be mechanical (indicating only direct ...
is located on the gate door.
The Arriflex 16BL can load 1200 ft and 400 ft external magazines, which can be attached to the top. The camera is driven by a 12V crystal control motor, which can be controlled on the right side. It can record between 8 and 48 fps.
The standard
matte box is adjustable to fit the lenses' different focal lengths.
Trivia
During the development this camera model was called Arriflex 16Q, for "quiet". The name was changed to Arriflex 16BL, for "blimped".
The Arriflex 16BL is still popular among independent filmmakers today, since it is one of the cheapest silent 16mm cameras.
References
External links
Instruction ManualProduct BrochureHistory of ARRI{{Webarchive, url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200807221231/https://www.arri.com/en/company/arri-news/news-stories/2017/the-history-of-arri-in-a-century-of-cinema#accordion-45734 , date=2020-08-07
List of movies shot on the 16BL
Movie cameras