Which one?

[Brant Collins]

I just did taxes :o ....basiclly I needed more deductions. So this year I am buying a SUPER 8. My budget will be $1500. I what everyones honest input. Should I get the beaulieu 4000, Canon 1014xls, or Canon 814xls?

 

The beaulieu 4000 can change lens(big plus) but I have heard others swear by the 1014xls......help please.

I want to use the camera for commercial production, music videos, and short films.

 

Thanks for all and any input

[A.Oliver]

Hi, hard question, i have owned all the cameras you are interested in.

Canon 814/1014xls sits better on a tripod, 4008 is great hand held but stinks on a tripod, i found that using a 4008 on extreme telephoto and pulling focus i got wobble due to the small c-mount, basically big lens on a small mount. I did not like the 4008 1/87 shutter speed, moving images look a bit strobie (imo). Even a completely serviced 4008, auto aperature cannot be relied upon, always tended to under expose. Those are the pitfulls i found with the 4008, now providing the lens is properly adjusted to the camera, you will get much better images than with canon glass, i know others will disagree. You can use a 4008 with the lens wide open and get sharp images, i have never achieved this with 3x canon 1014xls and 2x 814xls. The canon has a great auto exposure and is probably the best run and gun camera around, canon are very reliable. My 1014xls were sold, i swore by them for nearly 20 years, i thought theyre were the best optically ( even though the sharpness was poor in low light), that was until i messed with the 4008, once i saw an increase in image quality the 4008 was traded for a 6008 and 7008.

sorry to bore you!!!!

my vote would be the 814xls, or a 6008s not a 4008.

Andy

[Brant Collins]

Not boring at all.....thanks

[Alessandro Machi]

Not boring at all.....thanks

 

 

If you decide not to get a Beaulieu, $500.00 will get you just about any camera you want except for the Leicina. In addition to buying your number one choice, I would also explore buying several cameras in the $50-150 dollar range so you can begin to appreciate the flexibility you can get with Super-8 by owning several cameras that offer both overlapping and unique features.

 

Canon, Beaulieu, Elmo, Minolta, Eumig, Nizo, Zeiss Ikon, Bell & Howell (and a few more dozen brands) are all out there, and they all have something about them that wasn't exactly duplicated by any other Super-8 camera.

 

The other thing to consider, spending money on good quality film to video transfers. If $1,500 dollars is your total budget, I would spend up to $750 dollars on cameras and keep the other half for film stock and transfering costs.

 

Spectra Film & Video is offering cameras for sale, even basic models at very reasonable prices that they have actually checked over. Their goal is to get Super-8 cameras out and working shooting film, since their processing and transfering business is dependent on filmmakers shooting film.

[Brant Collins]

If you decide not to get a Beaulieu, $500.00 will get you just about any camera you want except for the Leicina. In addition to buying your number one choice, I would also explore buying several cameras in the $50-150 dollar range so you can begin to appreciate the flexibility you can get with Super-8 via multiple cameras with overlapping yet some unique features.

 

Elmo, Minolta, Eumig, Nizo, Zeiss Ikon, Bell & Howell (and a few more dozen brands) are all out there, and they all have something about them that wasn't exactly duplicated by any other Super-8 camera.

 

The other thing to consider, spending money on good quality film to video transfers. If $1,500 dollars is your total budget, I would spend up to $750 dollars on cameras and keep the other half for film stock and transfering costs.

 

Spectra Film & Video is offering cameras for sale, even basic models at very reasonable prices that they have actually checked over. Their goal is to get Super-8 cameras out and working shooting film, since their processing and transfering business is dependent on filmmakers shooting film.

 

I have a Saynko but it needs some work so Spectra is actually who I have been talking to. They have a 1014xls referbished for sale.