Digital Bolex Stops Manufacturing Cameras – End of a Dream Digital Bolex, the small independent camera manufacturer of the D16 cinema camera sadly announced the end of camera production. In a Thank You post published yesterday by one of the founders, Elle Schneider, she describes what led to that decision. Elle is openly describing the hurdles small business face, let alone a business in our very competitive industry. With so many open questions surrounding their camera manufacturing line, the team at Digital Bolex decided to no longer produce cinema cameras after June of 2016 or as Elle describes it: After much deliberation, our team has recently decided that, for us, it’s the responsible decision to leave the table before any of those questions begin to affect our company and our customers. It is important to stress that Digital Bolex is promising that their “website, forum and help section will continue as a resource for existing customers and those renting the camera from private owners or rental houses who need assistance.”

When I last talked to Elle during NAB 2016 I would not have imagined that it’s the last time we were talking about their bold venture, which raised more then $262,000 during a very successful Kickstarter campaign. All of us at cinema5D are sad to see the end of a dream and the fate Digital Bolex is facing. We truly wish the dear people behind this project to recover fast and come back with new, fresh ideas for the benefit of the filming community.Digital Bolex to stop making cameras The proverbial 'little engine that could' has, sadly, decided that its last time around the bend is in sight. We've just heard some rather sad news concerning one of our favorite indie outfits. According to this post on the company site, upstart camera maker Digital Bolex is calling it quits...sort of. Digital Bolex will close its online store on June 30th at 11:59PM Pacific, effectively shuttering its camera making business. In service of those that purchased cinema cameras from Digital Bolex, the company will honor all warranties and continue to support its user base.

As said by D16 co-developer Elle Schneider, "our in-kind support of filmmakers, film initiatives, and our grant for women cinematographers will also still be active, and we will also continue to support owners by sharing rental information and locations for interested filmmakers." The Digital Bolex website will continue to operate, as well, as an enduring resource to its community of filmmakers and cinematographers that own and use D16 cameras.Buy Kenda Tyres Australia If you want to reach out to Digital Bolex for sales, here is a link to the shop. Whirlpool Refrigerator Ice Bucket StuckAgain, this link will only be live through June 30th. Craigslist Rvs For Sale Tulsa OkAnd if you want to say 'hey' to the folks behind Digital Bolex, they will be holding a final UStream Hangout on June 30th at noon Pacific.

In the comments, let us know your thoughts on Digital Bolex's decision to cease making cameras. We're especially interested in hearing from those that have used the D16. Have you tried RedShark SoundIf you love audio, you’ll love our new website. The Home Page For Audio. Patrick Jong Taylor is the North American Editor of RedShark News. He is also a Strategist for bigSTORY, a business consultancy specializing in agile communication strategies. What will we see in VR's next wave? Is this the new GoPro Hero5? An easier way to stream 4K - USB! Blackmagic's Fusion 8.2 coming to Linux in both free and paid versions Atomos firmware update brings HDR support to non-HDR displays Opinion: Why Apple should jump into HDR video - and now! Digital Bolex back in 2012: 16mm for the 21st Century? Five lame excuses companies give for not paying invoices on time The raging and ongoing battle for net neutrality What Brexit means for UK and European film production [Opinion]

Just as the world couldn’t get any more messed up, indie darlings Digital Bolex have added to the overall mood of pessimism, announcing they are pulling out of the camera market. Digital Bolex were quite special along with Ikonoskop and Blackmagic in offering raw shooting Super 16mm format digital cameras. This is a timeless format for filmmakers which will always have a place and I hope it see it live on. However with the demise of CCD sensors (which have an analogue look) and Kodak who designed the Digital Bolex sensor, seemingly one of the problems they encountered was getting hold of future sensors at an affordable enough price. The sensor in the Digital Bolex was manufactured by Truesense after Kodak pulled out of the market, but that company has now been acquired by Omnivision. In my opinion the camera market has a dangerous lack of smaller successful independent manufacturers, both in terms of sensors and cameras. On the lenses side we do have several very successful smaller companies, SLR Magic being one of them, but still I’d like to see more. 

Innovation is suffering and 90% of the competition exists only between the conglomerates. I also think the manufacturing and design base is far too centred around one country (Japan). We need to make it easier for UK, European and US startups to build cameras. There’s already a lot of management, design and programming skills here. The question is how viable the margins are. The Digital Bolex D16 was made in relatively small quantities for a niche of artists, enthusiasts and pros. I don’t think such a camera can quite manage to be mass market again like Super 8 was in the 70’s. I’d just like to wish Joe and Elle all the best for the future and hope our paths cross one day.However Digital Bolex as an active entity are sticking around – even though the camera production has ceased for now. “While we aren’t going to be making cameras anymore, we’re not going anywhere—you don’t have to go home, but you can stay here. Our website, forum, and help section will continue as a resource for existing customers and those renting the camera from private owners or rental houses who need help, and as a way for filmmakers to promote their D16 projects.