Yet another newbie to Super8

[Andrzej Ford]

Hi im very new to Super 8 cameras, but believe i've been doing a good job researching and reading as much as possible without actually having one without going crazy. I've come down to planning on buying a NIZO due to the price and instant use of EKTACHROME 64T film.

 

However i was hoping on some advice from this forum about which of the following, my choices range from Professional - 801 Macro - 561 Macro; http://www.super8camera-shop.com/shop/ is the website i intend on buying from since i'm not a fan of ebay and have discovered there's not a large choice of online shops in EU.

 

Anyway my questions range from which would be best for newcomer, are there any worthwhile differences between 561-801-professional as initially from the spec's i can't see a large difference.

 

Thanks in Advance, Andrzej.

 

p.s. sorry if any of these questions are overasked or stupid.

[Steve Phipps]

Hello Andrzej,

 

Any of those three should be excellent.

 

If price is no object, then the order you list them in, Professional-801 Macro-561 Macro, is the order I would put them in for desirability. Of course, what you want most is a camera that works reliably. I would much prefer a 561 which always worked to a Professional that was unreliable. But assuming the cameras are in similar condition, that is the order I would put them in. And here’s why:

 

The Professional needs only AA batteries. Both the 801 and 561 will require an additional, special light-meter battery -- originally a 1.35v mercury cell, which is now discontinued and unavailable. Many users report fine results substituting hearing-aid batteries, and there is also a voltage adapter, but it’s a nuisance. I think the battery issue means it’s a big advantage to have the Professional. Also, you can mount the body on a tripod head with the grip folded back. Minor advantage. And if I remember correctly, the Professional will do 24 fps and also 25 fps. If you’re working in PAL, that’s an advantage. I think the Professional is also the only Nizo to offer pilot tone. Of little consequence today, I think. Other than that, the Professional and 801 are similar.

 

The 801 has a longer zoom than the 561. Big advantage. Other than that, the 801 and 561 are similar.

 

Hi im very new to Super 8 cameras, but believe i've been doing a good job researching and reading as much as possible without actually having one without going crazy. I've come down to planning on buying a NIZO due to the price and instant use of EKTACHROME 64T film.

 

However i was hoping on some advice from this forum about which of the following, my choices range from Professional - 801 Macro - 561 Macro; http://www.super8camera-shop.com/shop/ is the website i intend on buying from since i'm not a fan of ebay and have discovered there's not a large choice of online shops in EU.

 

Anyway my questions range from which would be best for newcomer, are there any worthwhile differences between 561-801-professional as initially from the spec's i can't see a large difference.

 

Thanks in Advance, Andrzej.

 

p.s. sorry if any of these questions are overasked or stupid.

[Andrzej Ford]

Hey, thanks alot for your help. I never thought about the prospect of batteries and this has put me off the 561 and 801 macros. So at the moment i'm considering the professional and Braun NIZO 156 Macro because of price and it uses purely AAs aswell. However in terms of simplistic 1st time use do you know if the 156 supports EKTACHROME 64T film without any alterations?

 

thanks again in advance

[Steve Phipps]

You’re welcome.

 

I don’t really know the 156. I was not aware that the 156 does not require the separate 1.35v light-meter battery, and I also don’t know about it’s facility with 64T. Often, if there is a problem with metering 64T, there is a simple workaround. It might be an advantage not to have to deal with that, but I wouldn't be completely put off by it. And with the Nizo, I would expect you to be able to simply manually adjust the exposure for any systematic auto metering error. But I don’t know the 156.

 

One thing is, I don’t believe the 156 has the Auto-B, or the time-lapse flexibility of the 801/561/481/Professional. I don’t know what your shooting aspirations are, but I think those two features, Auto-B and flexible time-lapse, are highly desirable. If you are only shooting live-action 24 fps, there’s no point to them, and they are not worth paying for. But if you are only shooting live-action 24 fps, there is no need to limit yourself to the Nizos. There are many excellent cameras that should suffice.

 

Hey, thanks alot for your help. I never thought about the prospect of batteries and this has put me off the 561 and 801 macros. So at the moment i'm considering the professional and Braun NIZO 156 Macro because of price and it uses purely AAs aswell. However in terms of simplistic 1st time use do you know if the 156 supports EKTACHROME 64T film without any alterations?

 

thanks again in advance

[Andrzej Ford]

Thanks again for your advice. Think i've decided that i'll get the professional, and just to be a pain i was wondering i don't suppose if you know if there's a great difference in Ektachrome 64T and using negative film if the plam is to take it to telecine.

[Matthew W. Phillips]

Thanks again for your advice. Think i've decided that i'll get the professional, and just to be a pain i was wondering i don't suppose if you know if there's a great difference in Ektachrome 64T and using negative film if the plam is to take it to telecine.

 

I've taken a long sabbatical from this forum but I'm happy to see that people are still considering Super 8 to be a valid medium to shoot projects on! I shoot S8 exclusively for all my projects but I'm thinking of moving up to 16mm.

 

Anyhow, to answer your question, as far as the 64t vs. Color neg comparison you will want to consider the following:

 

64t Pros: processed film is a viewable print since its reversal; because its a viewable print, you can use a workprinter or any form of low-budget transfer you want...granted you wont get as good of a result as a RANK but it all depends on the budget you have and the look youre going for.; 64t tends to be more easy to find locally; many cameras can detect 64t and meter for it.

 

cons: reversal film is not as forgiving of exposure errors as negative film. Negative film might be better to learn on since you have more latitude with it.

[Guest Kevin Thomas]

Hi Andrzej.

 

you will find a list of cameras that will or will not meter with 64T at http://super8wiki.com/index.php/Super_8_EK..._in_old_cameras

 

If you are in the UK you might like to look at http://www.sendeancameras.co.uk/sendeancameras-Nizo.htm

 

Good luck

[Andrzej Ford]

Thank you both Kevin and Matthews, i mean i understand it must get repetitive with newbie questions over and over again. But i have now ordered a Nizo Professional managed to find a nice deal from a german seller. Now just have to wait for its arrival then i can get going with learning the ways of Super8. As i'm planning on going back to my course hopefully with strong basic understandings and i'm lucky as in the city i study in there's a super8 competition annually.

 

thanks again

 

Andrzej

[Matthew Johnson]

I think you'll be VERY happy with the Braun Nizo Professional. I'm a newbie myself really and bought one of these at the end of last year. It is a beautiful camera.

 

One piece of advice I would give though is make sure you get a good telecine transfer. After I shoot a few test rolls of Super 8 I had them processed and telecined and excitedly got them home to watch on my computer. To be honest I was crestfallen and depressed. The images were washed out with a pink tinge and my initial excitement with the camera started to fade rapidly.

 

It was only after buying a cheap viewer (and Agfa Family) that I saw the real beauty of the film and the Nizo Professional. The colour balance was spot on and beautifully rich with perfect contrast. In fact I was so excited by waht I saw, which was just as I had hoped and imagined I would get from the Nizo. Fantastic!! So this was a real shot in the arm for me, to realise the camera was working as beautifully as I had hoped.

 

So ... please make sure to view your Super 8 film on a decent projector or viewer as well as getting telecine'd. It make pay dividends to look around and test out a few services first.

 

But congratulations on your purchase. I think you have made the perfect choice and will be very happy indeed

 

 

 

 

Thank you both Kevin and Matthews, i mean i understand it must get repetitive with newbie questions over and over again. But i have now ordered a Nizo Professional managed to find a nice deal from a german seller. Now just have to wait for its arrival then i can get going with learning the ways of Super8. As i'm planning on going back to my course hopefully with strong basic understandings and i'm lucky as in the city i study in there's a super8 competition annually.

 

thanks again

 

Andrzej