The Arriflex 16BL is
ARRI'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 and 35 mm. It is generally used for non-theatrical (e.g., industrial, ed ...
production motion picture camera, released in 1965. It was replaced by the
Arriflex 16SR
The Arriflex 16SR is a motion picture camera product line created by Arri, introduced in 1975. This 16SR camera series is designed for 16 mm filmmaking in Standard 16 format. 'SR' Stands for Silent Reflex.
In 1982, Arri released the 16SR2, for i ...
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, in 3 ft distance from the camera.
The 16BL introduced the ARRI Bayonet lens mount, which was also used in later cameras. This stainless steel mount is much stronger than the aluminium Arri standard mount. The
viewfinder
In photography, a viewfinder is what the photographer looks through to compose, and, in many cases, to focus the picture. Most viewfinders are separate, and suffer parallax, while the single-lens reflex camera lets the viewfinder use the main ...
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
In photography and videography, a matte box is a device attached to the end of a lens in order to prevent light leakage. It performs and mounts essentially the same as a lens hood, but usually includes adjustable fins called ''French flags''.
A ...
is adjustable in length to fit the different focal lengths of the lenses.
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