Power Handgrip

Bolex Product Code:- 261.001 PONAL

Sideview of Bolex Power HandgripThis is my favourite handgrip from Bolex. Mainly because of the way it's been designed to the contours of your hand. Previous handgrips tended to make you just grip a central handle which would mean all the weight of the camera rested on your thumb and first finger. After a while both would become sore from holding it.

This handgrip is contoured so all your fingers and your palm takes the strain of holding the camera. You can also rotate the handgrip into the most comfortable angle for you to hold it as well as keeping the camera level at the same time. When holding the camera for prolonged periods of time you can stop your arm tiring out so quickly by letting your elbow press into your hip so as to spread the weight.

The handgrip can be fitted to any Bolex flat base camera using the standard Rapid attachment disk method. It has principally been designed though to power (Hence the name) the ESM external drive motor which you can attach to any camera which has the 1:1 drive shaft. Or it directly attaches to an EBM camera body as this camera already contains within it all the circuitry of an ESM motor.

The power handgrip uses a Varta Deac 10 x 1000 DKZ battery.

Power handgrip attached to REX5 powering ESM motorYou set the camera running by pressing the button on the front of the handgrip which supplies power to the ESM motor via a small L shaped cable which screws into the ESM's external motor or directly into an EBM's camera body. The other button is used to open and close the diaphragm of a POE lens if you have attached the diagram pre selection cable to the handgrip. The Power handgrip can also power the light meter of a POE lens using a specially supplied cable and a bell type adapter.

Because it is such a great handgrip I still use it when I don't need to use an external motor for a shot, and when I can get by with just using my cameras spring motor. I often remove the battery from the handgrip (to loose some of the weight) and the ESM motor from the side of my camera (now it's not needed) and just use it with the cameras spring motor or even with the rexofader attached. I start the camera running using the front camera release button.

The bit of L shaped cable that sticks up to attach to power an external ESM motor or connects directly to an EBM can be turned round to point down so it doesn't look that disconcerting. If I get fed up of this I can go back to using the mechanical handgrip, but I don't often!

The power handgrip can also be quickly placed on a Bolex tripod by screwing a rapid attachment disk into the base of it. The handgrip also functions as a place to charge the battery in when it is Backexhausted by attaching a lead to the front of the grip which attaches to a transformer plugged into the mains which trickle charges it over about 14 hours.