Steven Adams Posted February 12, 2009 Share Posted February 12, 2009 I like the wide gate mod Pro8mm offers on their C814. I was wondering if any one here has bought a camera from them? I'm seeing a lot of bad press on their film stocks I'm hoping the same isn't true with their cams. Steve A Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Charles Doran Posted February 12, 2009 Share Posted February 12, 2009 Pretty sure this topic has been covered here. Do a search. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Hyde Posted February 13, 2009 Share Posted February 13, 2009 Pro8 are nothing but crooks. There are much better alternitives for good super 8. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ray Friera Posted February 14, 2009 Share Posted February 14, 2009 I have done business with Pro8mm in the past and unlike others I only have praise for them. As far as I am concerned Pro8mm helped save and pushed the format to what it is right now, and for that Pro8mm earned my greatest gratitude and respect. You can always buy your gears on ebay for a lot cheaper, but let me warn you that you are taking a lot of risk and future expenses to have the camera refurbished. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marc Guerriero Posted February 14, 2009 Share Posted February 14, 2009 I have done business with Pro8mm in the past and unlike others I only have praise for them. As far as I am concerned Pro8mm helped save and pushed the format to what it is right now, and for that Pro8mm earned my greatest gratitude and respect. You can always buy your gears on ebay for a lot cheaper, but let me warn you that you are taking a lot of risk and future expenses to have the camera refurbished. Do you work for Pro8mm? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ray Friera Posted February 14, 2009 Share Posted February 14, 2009 Do you work for Pro8mm? I have no business relations with Pro8mm. I am just pointing out that some of us student cinematographer who use super8mm as a primary format deserve a camera that works and performs the way it was originally designed, if not better. I myself have purchased super8 camera on ebay and by the time I had it serviced to a working condition I have spent just as much as buying it from Pro8mm. I am sure there are other companies out there that sell super8mm camera cheaper. Tell me do you have experience dealing with pro8mm, if so please do tell. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Hyde Posted February 14, 2009 Share Posted February 14, 2009 I have no business relations with Pro8mm. I am just pointing out that some of us student cinematographer who use super8mm as a primary format deserve a camera that works and performs the way it was originally designed, if not better. I myself have purchased super8 camera on ebay and by the time I had it serviced to a working condition I have spent just as much as buying it from Pro8mm. I am sure there are other companies out there that sell super8mm camera cheaper. Tell me do you have experience dealing with pro8mm, if so please do tell. I for one have plenty of experience with Pro8mm. They are crooks - period. Stay away from them if you want to keep your film safe and your money in the bank. They sell a refurb Canon Autozoom for 800 bucks! I know of several more reputable places that will sell the same refurb camera under $400.00. They also sell on Ebay for under $200.00 with shipping. I have processed film with Pro8 and can say without question that it is the worst out there (very dirty). Yet they have the gall to say they are the best with their B.S. Kodak "quality assurance" award. In fact. any lab can easily get this award without a single on-site visit. Pro8mm greed tactics (they think of a fee for EVERYTHING) only serve to sway shooters into using digital instead of film. It is the other companies out there that put in the effort to keep them coming back. I only hope they will prevail to keep shooters into film a while longer. Many other reasons not to use Pro8mm. Too many to list. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marc Guerriero Posted February 14, 2009 Share Posted February 14, 2009 (edited) I for one have plenty of experience with Pro8mm. They are crooks - period. Stay away from them if you want to keep your film safe and your money in the bank. They sell a refurb Canon Autozoom for 800 bucks! I know of several more reputable places that will sell the same refurb camera under $400.00. They also sell on Ebay for under $200.00 with shipping. I have processed film with Pro8 and can say without question that it is the worst out there (very dirty). Yet they have the gall to say they are the best with their B.S. Kodak "quality assurance" award. In fact. any lab can easily get this award without a single on-site visit. Pro8mm greed tactics (they think of a fee for EVERYTHING) only serve to sway shooters into using digital instead of film. It is the other companies out there that put in the effort to keep them coming back. I only hope they will prevail to keep shooters into film a while longer. Many other reasons not to use Pro8mm. Too many to list. What I find funny about them is their ads from the early days when they would say something to the effect of, "....You get four times more film out of a strip of 35mm. Using this format is very economical...." . Economical for who? Them of course! With the prices they charge you get a better deal using 16mm with the more reputable establishments. I can see how the whole work flow process through them can cost as much if not more than an economically planned 35mm shoot! Edited February 14, 2009 by Marc Guerriero Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Premium Member Oliver Christoph Kochs Posted February 14, 2009 Premium Member Share Posted February 14, 2009 The widening of the gate - making it somewhat more widescreen than before - is problematic in every aspect. The cameras in their original design aren't made for this and neither is filmstock and developing machines. Exposing single perf film to the edge may result in emulsion scratches coming from the cartridge or lab. In the camera refurbishing the lens and viewfinder must be recentered. If that's not done properly your footage may have strange uneven vignetting or zooming off-center. I've had a couple of widescreen conversions for my cameras and there us only one that is usable. I am not recommending tweaking a camera to do things it wasn't originally designed for. Best is to use high quality low grain filmstock filming regular 4:3 and then telecine in 16:9. In the case of Pro8mm i really think that their negative stocks are a great achievement for the whole super 8 community. The format just shines in telecine. If you get a camera from them: go for the canon, just not the Beaulieu. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alan doyle Posted February 27, 2009 Share Posted February 27, 2009 (edited) As far as I am concerned Pro8mm helped save and pushed the format to what it is right now, and for that Pro8mm earned my greatest gratitude and respect. quote.. and what is the super 8 format right now a very expensive unstable dirty film format,that has lost it's best film kodachrome. more often than not the new stocks look worse than the old.. pro 8 make money that is why they still exist,somebody is using them. i assume they charge what they think the market will tolerate. super 8 is surviving just,there is know renaissance wide gate mods on a 30 year old consumer camera,seems silly to me.. buy a normal camera off ebay or buy 4 with the money you will save. Edited February 27, 2009 by alan doyle Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andries Molenaar Posted February 27, 2009 Share Posted February 27, 2009 As far as I am concerned Pro8mm helped save and pushed the format to what it is right now, and for that Pro8mm earned my greatest gratitude and respect. quote.. Yeah right. The format saved by one expensive shop in LA. Super-8 saved itself by becoming hip which was promoted by the spread of Internet and the lust for something with a genuine feel in a time where everything is becoming sterile and digital. In Japan analog photography is as lively as ever as people seek something with a real feel to it. Imagine plenty real photography goods available in every photography shop and even in large general stores. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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