Meet the Digital Bolex D16, a small hand-held video camera inspired by the cinema-quality Bolex cameras popular in the 1960s and ’70s.

The Digital Bolex mimics 16mm film, which essentially provides independent filmmakers an affordable alternative to shoot high-quality, raw images that aren’t compressed.

The project has raised more than $262,000 on Kickstarter.com.

The first 100 backers will receive the Bolex D16 for $2,500 — a $800 discount, says inventors Elle Schneider and Joe Rubinstein.

The Kickstarter fund will help the creators develop the cutting-edge camera technology further.

“Think of the difference between a blocky, low-res JPEG image you find online, and a smooth high-res photographic print in a gallery,” Rubinstein said on the Kickstarter page.

“That’s the difference between compressed, normal video footage and raw. It’s a big difference.”

The Digital Bolex D16 prototype shoots completely in raw format files. The filmmaker can then adjust color balance, contrast, white balance and more without diminishing the quality of images.

The camera has a side crank that is easily programmable to control frame rates or other camera functions. The D16 offers high-quality resolution (comparable to the HD-quality of the new iPad).

Its creators claim the D16 is the first truly cinema camera featuring RAW, uncompressed video recordings. The camera stores data on dual CF cards.

“There is no camera on the market that offers affordable RAW quality to consumers and independent filmmakers,” Rubinstein said.

Would you back or purchase a Digital Bolex D16? Tell us in the comments.

Image courtesy of Kickstarter, Joe Rubinstein

More About: camera, kickstarter, Raw, Video

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