Camera won't run

[Emma Bird]

Hi! I have a Bell & Howell Director Series Filmosonic super 8 camera. When I bought it it was broken but I sent it to a place to have it fixed and it was working just fine. The other day I was filming at an event and everything was working just fine until I got about halfway through the cartridge. Suddenly it just wouldn't run. I could still see the light when I pressed the test button, but other than that it wouldn't work. I thought it might have just overheated or something, so I took out the batteries, let it sit for a while, and tried it again. Still nothing. I haven't had the opportunity to test it with new batteries yet (It takes six AAs, they were all brand new when I put them in before I started filming), so I don't know if that's the problem.

 

 

Here's a picture of the camera, just for reference

[Dom Jaeger]

It's a consumer camera made out of plastic that's over 40 years old, could be anything. You could pick up another one or something similar for less than the cost of one cartridge..

 

A lot of these Super 8 cameras weren't really made to be serviced, you open them up to fix one thing and a little later something else can go bung. If you read through the Super 8 archives here you'll find heaps of info on cheap cameras that can be reliable, or more expensive models that might be worth investing in. Sometimes you might have to try a few to get one that works well. Avoid buying ones that have batteries left in that have corroded, ask the seller to check if it runs and move on if they won't do so.

[Nick Collingwood]

I'd try to run the camera without the cartridge in there. The cart could be jammed.

 

But like Dom said, that looks like a pretty cheap camera and am surprised you even found someone to service it. I'd try and look for a more common Super 8 camera like a Canon, Nizo or even Sankyo.