800ft Mag for Aaton XTR Prod

[Alexander Boyd]

Hi everyone,

 

recently purchased an Aaton XTR Prod and got offered two 800ft Mags instead of the regular 400ft Mags.

 

Considering what I intend to shoot (ethnographic/experimental films), having the possibility of shooting 800ft - given the lab manages to stick two 400ft rolls together - would be ideal.

 

Yet I've read that if you want to shoot regular 400ft rolls - which will be the case most of the time - one would still need those 3 inch cores. Only problem: where do I get those 3 inch cores, since Kodak only delivered them with their 800ft rolls.

 

To sum things up: would you go with the 800ft Mags or is it not worth the hassle? Again, most of the time I'd shoot regular 400ft rolls. Though it would be nice to have the possibility to shoot 22min if needed.

 

Thanks for your thoughts, much appreciated as always!

 

best regards,

Alex

Edited May 11, 2017 by Alexander Boyd

[Satsuki Murashige]

If you can still order the 800' rolls from Kodak, and you think the larger mags will come in handy for some of your projects, then I say go for it.

 

You can still purchase the regular 400' mags separately from places like Visual Products for normal shooting. I would stick with 400' mags for regular stuff.

 

Alternately, go with the 400' mags and offer to also buy one or both of the 800' mags in addition. Then you would be covered.

[Alexander Boyd]

Thanks for your thoughts, Satsuki, some good points!

 

I actually just found some places to get the 3 inch cores for the takeup. Can anyone confirm that I can still use regular 400ft loads if using those 3 inch cores?

[Tyler Purcell]

The problem is, 800ft loads are special order, they aren't sitting on shelves. So where Kodak can make them for you, they will only do so as a special batch AND it will take a while to get there. Also, there won't be ANY discount, they will charge full retail pricing for them.

 

I personally don't see the benefits of working with the 800ft magazines, unless you're doing a speciality production that needs 22 minute loads, which is rare to say the least.

 

The 800ft mags are also pretty darn big, making the camera an entirely different beast.