BY: Andres Vallecilla Jaramillo

In 1920, the founding of the Bolex Paillard company brought with it the first portable cameras that operated using a clockwork spring. These were indispensable for the first newsreels, nature films, and documentaries.

They featured a turret that could hold three lenses, saving time and making them easier to use. They were compatible with 8mm, Super 8mm, 16mm, and Super 16mm film formats.

In 2012, Bolex International granted the rights to the name “Digital Bolex” to the Canadian company Cinemiridian, who undertook the task of bringing the old Bolex H16 into the future and turning it into the new D16, a digital camera that has a Super 16mm CCD sensor and captures in RAW format (Format that contains the complete information, i.e., without compression, of the image as captured by the camera's digital sensor) of 1080p and 2k.

These specifications are ideal for digital cinema films.

The curious thing about this device is that you can mount the lenses from the old one on it. H16, C-mount lenses and other types of lenses, plus, you no longer need to exercise your arm to wind this camera, as it has a battery life of 4 hours.

Currently there are two types of digital Bolex cameras: the one already described and a monochrome version that captures Grayscale images. These cost $3,299 for the 256 GB version (approximately €2,400 Euros and approximately 6,200,000 Colombian pesos) and $3,599 for the 500 GB version (€2,900 Euros and 7,200,000 Colombian pesos).