Aaton Cam 35III Users Guide
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CLEANING 61 5 USER 35 US 23/1 -2 1/20/98 19:46 Page 61
5.1 LENS 5.1.1 Lens Elements The front and rear surface of your lenses should be inspected regu- larly and always kept clean of dust particles, smudges, fingerprints, etc. First, blow off any large particles of debris using an air syringe. Lens elements should then be cleaned using lens cleaning fluid with lens tissue. Apply a few drops of cleaning fluid to a fresh lens tissue or directly to the lens. Wipe the lens in a circular fashion, starting from the center and working towards the outter edge. Finish with a fresh dry tissue. If some streaking remains, repeat the procedure until the surface is sufficiently clean. 5.1.2 Lens Exterior The exterior of your lenses should be cleaned of dirt and adhesives as necessary. Use a multi-purpose cleaner or degreaser such as De- Solv-It applied with a Q-tip, lens tissue or cotton cloth. 5.1.3 Mounting Surface Always inspect and keep the surfaces of your lens mount clean using alcohol or a multi-purpose cleaner with a Q-tip. Remember, any debris found on the surface which contacts the lens seat can directly affect the back focus of your lens. Make sure the Q- tip does not leave any cotton fibers behind. 5.2 BODY 5.2.1 Exterior Keep the external body surface clean using a cotton cloth with alco- hol or a multi-purpose cleaner. use a utility brush with soft bristles to clean dirt from tight crevices. 5.2.2 Mounting Surfaces Like the lens mount, extra care should be taken to keep the lens Lens Cleaning Tips Avoid handling lens tissues on the surfaces which will contact the lens. Oil from your hands transferred to the lens surface will make an easy cleaning job tough. Furthermore, never clean a lens element without the aid of cleaning fluid. A good number of scratchs on lens surfaces are caused by poor cleaning methods. 62 USER 35 US 23/1 -2 1/20/98 19:46 Page 62
port ring completely free of dirt and debris. Clean this surface, as well as the threads of the lens lock ring using alcohol or a multi-pur- pose cleaner applied to a Q-tip. 5.2.3 Camera Gate The gate should be cleaned of film particles by means of a pointed wooden or plastic orange stick. The tool used should be of a soft and pliable enough material (like wood) to conform to the grooved side channels of the gate without breaking. Make sure to inspect and clean the right and left channels, the frame of the aperture opening, the lateral pressure plate, the tip of the claw, and the timecode LEDs. Afterwards, run your fingers across the left and right rails of the gate, if your hands are clean. The oil of your finger will provide just enough lubricant for the film to pass these surfaces smoothly. Ins- pect the gate; if the rails are still dirty or are carrying any debris (such as the adhesive from recanned rolls of film), with a Q-tip, use a cleaning fluid that will do the job. Alcohol and lens cleaners are safe to use on the surface on the gate. Make sure the Q-tip doesnÕt leave any cotton threads behind. 5.3 VIEWING SYSTEM The following components of the viewing system should be cleaned whenever dirt particles are visible through the viewfinder. Use lens fluid applied with a cotton or preferably a foam Q-tip for all areas. By cleaning the viewing system in the order described below, you will clean the more dust-prone areas first, which may help you track down most dirt particles sooner. 5.3.1 Viewing Screen Look through the lens port at the reflection of the viewing screen in the miror and check for visible dust particles. Remove the battery and then clear the mirror shutter so that it is rotated safely inside Cleaning the Mirror Shutter Do not attempt to clean the surface of the mirror shutter; any small dust particles visible from the lens port will not come into focus in your view- finder. If large particles of dirt must be removed, do so using an air syringe. Never use can- ned air on this surface. If the mirror is in need of a deeper cleaning, to remove smudges or oil, take your camera to a qualified techni- cian to be cleaned. 63 CLEANING WARNING Remember, the camera gate is a sensitive and high precision area directly responsible for the exact focus of the image; be careful not use hard, damaging materials (like metal) on its surface. Under no circumstances should you perform any func- tion within the aperture ope- ning, lens port or near the claw with power attached to the camera. Accidently running the camera while performing such tasks can cause serious damage to the shutter and mechanism. USER 35 US 23/1 -2 1/20/98 19:46 Page 63
the body. Remove the viewing screen. Clean both upper and lower surfaces of the screen and reinstall. 5.3.2 Eyepiece Clean the eyepiece lens, which is the outermost element closest to your eye, by first blowing the surface with canned air, then cleaning with lens fluid and a Q-tip. Remove the eyepiece and clean the field lens, which is located on the inside of the eyepiece, in the same fashion. 5.3.3 Viewfinder Do not install the eyepiece back right now. First, look inside the cameraÕs eyepiece seat, and locate the two triangular lenses (called the Pechan prism). Clean these two triangular lenses using canned air or an air syringe. Then install the eyepiece back. 5.4 MAGAZINE 5.4.1 Exterior Keep the external surface of the magazines clean by wiping down with a cotton cloth with alcohol or a mutli-purpose cleaner. When a deeper cleaning is necessary, use De-Solv-It rubbed into the magÕs surface with a cotton cloth. Finish with alcohol applied with a cloth to restore its original finish. 5.4.2 Pressure Plates The magazine pressure plates should be cleaned of dirt and film par- ticles by means of a dust-free cotton or chamois cloth. After clea- ning, run your finger across their surface for a slight lubrication. 5.4.3 Interior / Film Path Open the door of the magazine and inspect all surfaces on which the film rides. If any film dust buildup is apparent in the sprocket or roller areas, use alcohol and a Q-tip to clean. Use a utility brush Finding the DirtÉ There is a simple means of locating much of the dirt within your viewing system. Look through the viewfinder with no lens on the camera and adjust the diopter ring. If the dust particles remain in focus, they are most likely located on either side of the eyepiece. If the dust comes in and out of focus as the ring is moved, the dust is probably located on either surface of the viewing screen. Furthermore, if the dust appears to be on the same focus plane as the cross hairs of the viewing screen, it is most likely on the bottom surface on the screen and easily accessible. 64 USER 35 US 23/1 -2 1/20/98 19:46 Page 64
with soft bristles to clean particles from tight crevices. Afterwards, use canned air and thoroughly blow out any remaining dust in the throat and chamber. 65 CLEANING USER 35 US 23/1 -2 1/20/98 19:46 Page 65
SUPER35 67 6 USER 35 US 23/1 -2 1/20/98 19:46 Page 67
6.1 SUPER VS STANDARD 35MM 6.1.1 The Super35 Format Super35 is a comeback to the cinema origins: silent cameras were exposing all the available area between perforations of the 35mm film. When came the ÒtalkiesÓ the picture had to be reduced to give room to the 2.54mm-wide optical sound track. Equipment manu- facturers had to shift the optical axis of all their cameras and projec- tors by 2.54/2 = 1.27mm. Sixty years later Super35 is coming back because it records 16/9 pictures with much less of a waste than the so called ÒWide-ScreenÓ formats. For a camera to handle both for- mats, it must be able to align the lens mount and the viewfinder optical axis either in the middle of the film width (Super35) or 1.27mm away (Standard35). Standard 35mm Super35 6.1.2 Why Shooting Super35 ? If contact prints with analog sound track is not a requirement, Super35 is the unquestionable choice for maximum resolution. This format should always be selected when it comes to shoot high quality 16/9 films for video distribution only ; all telecines are able to ÒscanÓ the wider Super35 pictures with no modification at all. Super35 will be the format of choice for films treated through Kodak Cineon and Quantel Domino, or distributed with digital sound tracks only. For the time being and for normal film distribu- tion (with analog optical sound track), this format requires an opti- 68 USER 35 US 23/1 -2 1/20/98 19:46 Page 68
cal Òreduction and axis shiftÓ at the interpositve stage. 6.2 CAMERA CONVERSION The 35-III camera can easily be converted from Standard35 to Super35 and back. A quick lateral sliding of the viewfinder and lens mount, thatÕs all there is to it. 6.2.1 Lens-Mount Repositionning The lens-mount is on a titanium seat which rests on the camera main chassis ; this seat can laterally move by 1.27mm between two stop pins. To have access to the seat, remove the two front rods and the lens locking ring, unscrew the four retaining screws of the front cap and remove the cap. The titanium lens mount seat is now accessible. Loosen (3 or 4 turns) the three screws which appear in elongated cut-outs ; push the titanium seat against the pin on the VIDEO-ASSIST SIDE to set the camera in SUPER35 (or push the titanium seat against the pin on the DISPLAY SIDE to set the camera in STANDARD35). Retighten the three screws, reinstall the front cap, the lens locking ring and the front rods. Please note: if you are frequently swaping formats, it is advisable to install a Super35 engraved (or Standard35 engraved) front cap ins- tead of the universal front cap delivered with the 35III camera. These format specific caps canÕt be fixed on the central chassis if the titanium seat is not in the position engraved on the cap itself ; this external engraving brings peace of mind to the camera-assistant and to the prep. people. 6.2.2 Shifting the Viewfinder The optical axis of the viewfinder need to be set to the optical cen- ter of the main taking lens. The viewfinder and the carrying handle form a block, which can easily be shifted laterally. This block is attached to the camera central chassis by 4 screws located at the base of the carrying handle. To set the viewfinder to SUPER35, loosen the 4 screws, shift the handle toward the VIDEO-ASSIST side 69 SUPER35 USER 35 US 23/1 -2 1/20/98 19:46 Page 69
(until it reaches its stop), and then tighten back the screws. To set the viewfinder to STANDARD35, shift the handle toward the DIS- PLAY side. 6.2.3 Selecting a Viewing Screen There is a wide choice of Standard35 viewing screens and four Super35 ones to the 1.78, 1.85, 2.35 and Scope aspect ratios. To install a new one, please read chapter II, viewing screen section. WARNING: when shooting Standard35 DO NOT leave the camera in the Super35 alignment, thinking that framing with a Standard35 screen will define the picture to be extracted from the wider Super35 recorded image. As far as video transfer is concerned, this practice could be acceptable because the telecine Ôpan-scanÕ function allows to reframe the picture for the lack of 1.27mm optical center shift, but when it comes to release prints the image would be 1.27mm truncated at the projector gate level: on the left of the screen some objects would disappear and on the right some unex- pected ones would show up (6% of the image width -1.27/22mm- each side). 6.2.4 Adjusting the Video Tap The beamsplitter which diverts the viewing screen image to the video-assist CCD target is mounted on the taking lens mount tita- nium seat, it is thus not necessary to realign its optical axis, but the focus must to be readjusted. Please read Chapter II, video-assist sec- tion. 70 USER 35 US 23/1 -2 1/20/98 19:46 Page 70