Being introduced in 1982 the Arriflex super 16mm SR2 camera quickly became highly successful and revered among those in the film industry, keeping in popularity even today.

Due to having a symmetrical coaxial construction, the SR series had a greater range and manoeuvrability, making it ideal for quick use and ease in fields such a documentation and reporting. Whilst filmmakers tended to stray away from use of 16mm, it became favourable for news and reporting, educational videos, amateur film or more artistic projects, and largely in television – allowing on shoot audio recording and being more mobile. Additionally, this was partially due to Modified film gate, frame and glass to allow for a wider frame, giving the user the option to take advantage of the 16mm’s wider shooting. This would allow for a clearer resolution later on for when compressing to a 4:3 ratio.

SR stands for ‘silent reflex’, which became  a large selling factor and important component as that previous cameras on average would produce noise, operating at about 30dB. Thus, not only was the SR series an improvement visually for 16mm cameras, but allowed for greater audio capture by having almost no interference.