HD-144 Technicians

Many techs who do Super-16 conversions have their own “in-house” method, and do not want to use a third party kit. Some Techs are of the opinion that it is not necessary to install a modified Shutter, such as the 144 degree Shutter that is part of the HD-144 conversion. Most do not re-center the mirror. The HD-144 was designed as a “high-end” conversion to keep the Super-16 ACL up to the same “Factory Specs” as the Regular-16 ACL.  For your convenience, a list of many fine ACL Techs is provided below. Call around and compare and ask questions.

The HD-144 conversion is really aimed at those with a high-end ACL package worth many thousands of dollars (an ACL 1.5 or II running in mint condition), who want to install new, factory-like Super-16 parts that will retain original Eclair Specs for “peace of mind” that exposure of all frames will be 100% even from side to side.

For an older ACL 1 with the smaller single-speed motor and non-orientable finder, a camera worth under $1500, a less expensive conversion may be the way to go – even if the entire frame is not 100% evenly exposed due to the mirror not clearing the edge of the frame in time, the results may be perfectly acceptable for your specific needs, especially on a student film, (or small short for transfer to video where the sides are cropped off anyway), and where cost is the greater consideration over camera specs.

A list of known Eclair technicians can be found on the primary eclair16.com site’s resources page.