Beaulieu super 8 or Canon 1014XLS

Brant Collins · July 18, 2005

I want a Canon 1014xls but are hard to find and I have had a hit and miss when it comes to buying on e-bay. I found a guy in CA that says he has all the parts to make me a Beauleiu camera. I do not know much about them are they good? Or should I try and find a 1014XLS?

A.Oliver · July 19, 2005

Hi, well i will start the ball rolling, firstly i am no pro, just an amateur. Have owned a canon 1014xls and 814xls since 1985. If you can live with an 8x zoom and no lap dissolve at least consider the 814xls. Both cameras have never let me down, the canons are extremely reliable cameras, very sharp lenses, beautifully made and imo a superb auto iris. The only real downside for me is the two speed zoom ( prefer a variable speed zoom), no proper iris on lens barrel, and the images tend to go slightly soft in low contrast lite at around f2 on both cameras, mainly when shooting on infinity subjects, close ups are ok. Now for the beaulieu range of camera, there are a few to choose from, over the past few years i have owned a 4008,5008,6008,7008. Me current beaulieu is a 7008 with 6-80 lens, images appear much sharper overall than the canon, auto iris is ok but not as good as the canon. Results yeilded from previous beaulieus were all superb, lenses being 8-64,6-66,6-70. My experiance with beaulieus is take your time, manually set you exposure and you will get some of the best super 8 images, providing the camera has been set up ok/serviced. Did not like the 4008 shutter speed of around 1/87th. Nicad batts on 4008,5008 range of camera can pose a problem. Reliability of the beaulieus has been good, but i must stress each one had a full service after purchase.

If your project is newsreel type footage, ( seen the epression run and gun used on this forum )and you need to rely on auto exposure then buy the canon, however imo if you want the best possible super 8 images buy a beaulieu with either 6-66, 6-70, 6-80 or 6-90 lens or even a leicina special with 10mm cinegon lens.

Matt Pacini · July 19, 2005

"...says he has all the parts to make me a Beauleiu camera..."

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Huh?

Besides the quality differences of the cameras, I'd say that the choice between a working camera (Canon) and some guy with a drawer full of "parts" that he's supposedly going to throw together is a pretty obvious one; go with the already working, assembled camera.

The only thing that the Beaulieu's have going for them, is the interchangeable lens, and the mirror shutter/vewifinder, instead of the beamsplitter (which loses some light that is diverted to the viewfinder instead of the film.)

Personally, I think the Canon is the better choice. The lens on it is as good or better than anything you can get for the Beaulieu anyway, and with a 6.5-65mm lens, it's a nice range for Super 8.

MP

David Mullen ASC · July 19, 2005

Not to mention the XL shutter, which would come in handy for dealing with slow Super-8 stocks.

However, isn't the Beaulieu the only one that can be converted to crystal-sync?

Jason Maeda · July 19, 2005

i love the canon 1014xls, and use it constantly. make sure to get the wide angle screw-on adapter. "c-8" i think it's called.

jk :ph34r:

p.s. the canon has a flash sync, and i think that makes it "crystalable", using an after market product i've seen. sorry but thats all i can remember off the top of my head...

Edited July 19, 2005 by jasonkollias

July 19, 2005

I think the Canon is one of the cameras that The Film Group can convert to crystal for around $500.

One thingf the Beaulieu has over the Canon is an actual ground glass focussing screen.

Brant Collins · July 20, 2005

Thanks for all the info. I have a Saynkyo(600 xls I think..can not remeber right now) that is real nice and shoots well. Got lucky on that e-bay buy. But I have had a lot of flops off e-bay. Were can I buy a 1014 that I know will work and then were do I get it serviced?

A.Oliver · July 20, 2005

Hi, i know of nowhere in the uk where a canon cine camera can be serviced, may be another matter in the US or Germany. If you find a good 1014, put a film thru it before spending money on a service, the canons are very reliable. And as i mentioned before don't overlook the 814xls, same camera body etc. Ebay is a good place to start, read the ad carefully, make sure the seller has good feedback, make sure the camera is in full working order, no fungus or haze on any of the elements of the lens, has the seller used the camera etc, etc. Yes i have been done 5 times on ebay with cleverly worded descriptions.

John Hyde · July 21, 2005

I have had some real bad deals on ebay as well. In the end, it was cheaper and easier for me to buy from a legitimate source that backs up what they sell. Especially if I have a shoot scheduled with no time to run tests (which also cost me additional money).

"Spectra Film" in North Hollywood specializes in Canon super 8 cameras. Everything they sell is rebuilt. under warranty and fully tested. They also service Canons and other super 8 cameras.

www.spectrafilmandvideo.com

They only list the full camera outfit with accessories on the web page. Be sure to call in to find out what the have in their "other" camera inventory (not listed on the web page). They usually have some good discount deals going there if you are on a tight budget.

July 21, 2005

Hi folks, Only my second post here... so here goes.

I own a Beaulieu 4008zm2 and Canon 814xl-s. I also have owned a 1014xl-s at one time but this wasn't one of the best examples. Although still a solid camera with clean less... the auto exposure was dire! and as i bought this cam as my point and shoot cam... this was no good.

I got a 814xl-s from Ebay 2 weeks ago... now this was a gamble on my part...(as is everything on ebay) as when i bought from the seller he had 1 positive feed back... i'm inScotland and he was in Germany and i sent cash through the post... i think what i'm trying to say is Ebay is always a gamble and i've even had problems with folk with high feedbacks... but anyway this thread isn't about ebay bargains... but here's the link anyway.

Ebay link:

The Beaulieu i have is spot on... i use a Sekonic L-308s with and you can get great results with K40... i feel the beaulieu is a cam you take time with... so i tend not to use it as a point and shoot... although the auto exposure gave pretty good results close to what the Sekonic gave me.

So my opinion is... if you can get a good Canon, don't forget the 814xl-s its a bit lighter... you'll have a great cam

I think if you have the time when your filming... Get a Beaulieu, the results that i have are better and i only shoot for fun... but the Beaulieu needs to be serviced and in good condition with a recon' battery, you've gotta pay for that privilage.

So my final word is... as was the advice given to me about 2 years ago on another 8mm site... BUY BOTH. so i did. (But it took me a while) :ph34r:

July 21, 2005

I think if you have the time when your filming... Get a Beaulieu, the results that i have are better and i only shoot for fun... but the Beaulieu needs to be serviced and in good condition with a recon' battery, you've gotta pay for that privilage.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

the battery thing only applies to the early beaulieus. the 5008,6008,7008, and 9008 take double A batteries.

IMO the later Beaulieus are the best super8 cameras around for "proper" filmmaking. for run and gun the canons are great, as are the braun-nizo 6080's and the nikon r-10's. the Leicinea special is a great camera and with its narrow film gate and ziess lenses will give the sharpest s8 images that are attainable, but it is very loud.

quite a few s8mm cam's can be crystal sync'ed but the beaulieus were available that way from the factory

Matt Pacini · July 25, 2005

Film Group will crystal sync the Canons, the Nikon R-10/R-8, and I forget what other cameras.

MP

November 23, 2005

I want a Canon 1014xls but are hard to find and I have had a hit and miss when it comes to buying on e-bay. I found a guy in CA that says he has all the parts to make me a Beauleiu camera. I do not know much about them are they good? Or should I try and find a 1014XLS?

Hello, I have an almost new canon 1014 XLS for sale, used only 10 hours.

If you are interested, you can fone me on mobile 00-32-477 34 03 14

I am from Belgium

Greetings,

Alex

Rab · November 23, 2005

Hi folks, Only my second post here... so here goes.

I own a Beaulieu 4008zm2 and Canon 814xl-s. I also have owned a 1014xl-s at one time but this wasn't one of the best examples. Although still a solid camera with clean less... the auto exposure was dire! and as i bought this cam as my point and shoot cam... this was no good.

I got a 814xl-s from Ebay 2 weeks ago... now this was a gamble on my part...(as is everything on ebay) as when i bought from the seller he had 1 positive feed back... i'm inScotland and he was in Germany and i sent cash through the post... i think what i'm trying to say is Ebay is always a gamble and i've even had problems with folk with high feedbacks... but anyway this thread isn't about ebay bargains... but here's the link anyway.

Ebay link:

The Beaulieu i have is spot on... i use a Sekonic L-308s with and you can get great results with K40... i feel the beaulieu is a cam you take time with... so i tend not to use it as a point and shoot... although the auto exposure gave pretty good results close to what the Sekonic gave me.

So my opinion is... if you can get a good Canon, don't forget the 814xl-s its a bit lighter... you'll have a great cam

I think if you have the time when your filming... Get a Beaulieu, the results that i have are better and i only shoot for fun... but the Beaulieu needs to be serviced and in good condition with a recon' battery, you've gotta pay for that privilage.

So my final word is... as was the advice given to me about 2 years ago on another 8mm site... BUY BOTH. so i did. (But it took me a while) :ph34r: