Just when I was beginning to think I’d seen it all, I recently learned of something I had no idea existed.
The mid-’60’s-vintage Doiflex 16 fits neatly into that category…and it would probably be best if it remained there. Poised as something of a hybrid Arri S – Bolex H16 – Beaulieu R16, it achieved nothing new in the design department beside looking cheap and rickety. It seems to have been quite sophisticated despite the presentation; review some of the information in the ads and you’ll see what I mean. But for me, the form factor alone marks it an instant fail. The fact that across the width and breadth of my career I’ve never encountered one should testify to either its scarcity or lack of demand. Neither inspires confidence.
On the other hand, I do admire the Doiflex 16’s effort to crack a tough market at a sub-bargain-basement price. Someone must’ve been using it. I mean, check out the illustration in the second ad. According to the text, those lab-coated gents are performing brain surgery (in someone’s garage, from the looks of it). Upon whom or what they’re slicing open, it’s impossible to tell. But I do believe that’s some sort of hoof sticking out from under the sheet.
Like I said, instant fail.
Every generation has its Betamax, HD-DVD, Laser Disc… I guess also Doiflex 16 now. Sometimes good, sometimes cheap alternatives that never took ahold, mostly because the tech behind it and/or the user’s work was too complicate.
Maybe their targets were Universities and Colleges. Cheap cameras bought in bulk by schools; they were doing the job, more or less, but at a fraction of the price.
I have actually had the pleasure of dismantling a Doiflex, and having it running afterwards, and I have to say the camera may look like an Arriflex, however there are many notable differences that would distance the Doiflex from being a mere ‘knock-off’ or attempt to undermine a market with an inferior camera. I am guessing the camera’s marketers could not break people’s habits, and Arriflex had dominated the market for many years, and was a standard across all film shooters.
https://aussiecinerepair.wordpress.com/doiflex-16mm/
Gareth – That’s very interesting… Someday, I’d like to see a Doiflex up close.