Paul Ash

Further to the above post, I have decided to drop the price of both cameras significantly: The Beaulieu 4008 ZMII is now offered at $300 (GBP195, 245 Euros). Price not negotiable - this is a bargain price for an excellent example of this fine camera. The Canon 514 is offered at $40 (roughly GBP25, 30 Euros). Prices for Sony WM-D6C and mic stay the same. Cheers for now, Paul

I am selling a lovely Beaulieu 4008 ZMII and a decent Canon 514XLs. The cameras were bought to complete a documentary shoot in Mozambique but in the end were not used. Beaulieu: Schneider 1.8 6-66mm lens with new Hoya 81A filter and lens cap. New battery, always kept fully charged. Lenshood, charger, original manual. The camera is in excellent condition. It was bought fully serviced (by the Beaulieu expert in Sweden) and has had only one roll of film through it since. 350 Euros / GBP 280 / $430 obo Canon: Bought as a back-up camera. Not tested with film but runs nicely and all functions working. In original Canon box. 40 Euros/ GBP 35 / $50 obo Sound kit: Sony WM-D6C Professional Walkman and Sony mid-side ECM 909A stereo mic. The Sony deck is in fair condition. It has been serviced and all functions are working properly. The heads are in excellent condition. A non-standard mic-gain pot was added during the service. The stereo mic is in excellent condition - it is amazing quality for such a small mic. Powered by a single AA cell. Would prefer to sell deck and mic together (GBP50 / 65 Euros / $80. All the equipment is in Johannesburg, South Africa but will send by insured post or courier (your choice) worldwide. I will be in London for a week at the end of July 2012 so will happily deliver the cameras in person at no extra charge to anyone in London or surrounds, or send via Royal Mail from there. Will happily send photos of all the gear. If interested, mail me at wheeltapper@yahoo.com or phone +27 11 280 5133 0r mobile +27 83 493 6824. Thanks very much. Paul Ash, journalist, Johannesburg

Canon 514 XLS in good condition. Was bought as back-up camera for a Mozambique film project, but never used. Camera runs well. Good, clean overall, complete with original box. Asking $120 or 81 euros or best offer. Please reply here or email me at ashp@sundaytimes.co.za

Lovely ZMII with new battery. Recently serviced in Sweden. Includes charger, lens hood and manual. Asking 600 euros or US$835. Have optional brand new Storm waterproof hard case to go with camera - 158 euros/US$220. Case will add to the shipping cost but will also protect the camera. :D Film project is done, hence the sale. Reply here or contact me at ashp@sundaytimes.co.za.

This lovely Beaulieu is for sale. Schneider-Kreuznach f1.8 6-66mm lens, new battery, charger, manual and new Hardigg Storm Case. Camera was bought in early 2008 for a documentary project in Mozambique. Priorities have changed, however, and the project is on hold. The camera was serviced by a Beaulieu expert just before I bought it. Since then I have run one roll of film through it, and kept the battery fully charged. Asking $950, negotiable. I am in South Africa but will ship worldwide, with shipping and insurance to be paid by the purchaser. Replies here, please or work email ashp@sundaytimes.co.za or work phone +27 11 280 5133. Thanks, Paul

Hi, I am moving to sound production so my lovely Beaulieu 4008 ZM II with Schneider Optivaron 1.8 6-66mm lens is for sale. The camera was CLAd in 2007 before I bought it in late 2007 by the highly Mr Andersen in Sweden, and is in excellent running condition. A new (2007) battery came with the camera. Includes the charger, lens hood, manual and a waterproof camera case. Asking: GBP650 / 730 euros / $920 or best offer. I am also selling a Hasselbald X-Pan panoramic camera. Complete with 45mm lens, centre filter, and manual. Asking GBP 1000 / 1125 euros / US$1415. Buyer to pay for insured shipping by courier from South Africa. I will be in London from Thursday 5 March and will be able to deliver the camera(s) in person to any buyer located in London. Contact details: Phone 00 2711 280 5133 (work), 00 2783 493 6824 (mobile) or e-mail ashp@sundaytimes.co.za Cheers and thanks, Paul Ash

Hi Brian, Thanks for ther Shure link. There are a couple of dealers listed in London - I'll check them out. Cheers and thanks, Paul

Hi, I'm going to be in London next month, partly to buy sound gear. I'm looking for some decent audio stockists, preferably a place that would stock good equipment gear like the Sound Devices recorders. Thanks in advance. Paul

Richard, Will, Thanks for the advice and the article (Richard) - nice one. In fact, I am going to shoot a couple of test rolls, using auto-exposure on the ZM and also my Hasselblad X-Pan (my travelling stills camera) as my handheld light meter. I'll let you know how things pan out. Cheers Paul

Hi, I was about to buy myself a (pricey) spotmeter when I read on 8mmfilmstock.com that I should not use a handheld meter, but should trust my ZM4's meter instead. Any thoughts on this? Thanks, Paul Extract below: WHEN TO USE A LIGHT METER An incident light meter is a standard tool in professional cinematography, but with Super 8 film, it's a liability. 16mm filmmakers who come to Super 8, be forewarned. We have seen more unevenly, imperfectly exposed footage from filmmakers who have set their exposure with a separate light meter than from those who haven't. Why? Super 8 cameras have unusual exposure logarithms. You cannot count on an exposure set according to an external light meter, especially a reflected or spot reading type. The zoom range setting, the viewfinder's beamsplitter prism and the internal exposure metering system all affect the light reaching Super 8 film. The best exposures come from apertures set with the internal meters reading the area of most importance in the scene at the focal length (if possible) of the particular shot. Long zoom lens extensions will cause the aperture to open up 1/2 to 2 stops more than a medium extension would indicate. We do not recommend separate light meters. Those who ignore this advice are urged to test carefully their own equipment for its particular, idiosyncratic variations and to maintain their sense of humor when their exposures are wrong. The place to use a light meter is where you have control over the lighting and can use the meter to help balance the lighting. (Remember the contrast inherent in reversal filmstocks.) Use an incident meter (with a white dome) to keep the main light level within one-half stop in the entire action area, from above head height to waist height. This is more difficult than it might appear, but it is necessary if the lighting is not to draw attention to itself when the scene is filmed on projection contrast film, as are Super 8 reversal films. An easy-to-use low cost meter for this function is the Sekonic L-246; slightly more complicated (and versatile) is the L-398.

Oh, no, this is too bad :( Why, oh why??? I only started subscribing this year. Jurgen, thanks for a great magazine - it's really fired-up my Super8 dreams. Sadly, I can't read German ... Maybe I should learn. Cheers, Paul, South Africa PS Issue 5/2008 ("Spaced Out") got soaked in transit and arrived with all the pages firmly glued together. Any chance you could send my a fresh copy? Please ...

Hi, I bought my Beaulieu ZM4 from Julian at www.super8ireland.com. It was expensive but the service was fast, and dealing with him from South Africa was easy. I also tried to buy a Bauer from the super8camerashop, but the bank transfer bounced. Reading the comments above, I'm quite relieved. cheers Paul

I am seeking (urgently) a pressure plate/film guide for my Zeiss Moviescop editor. The plate has gone AWOL and I am thoroughly stuck as a result. Any help or advice gratefully received on this forum or at wheeltapper@yahoo.com. Thanks Paul

Hi Fran, Michael and Jim, Thanks for the ruminations. I think it's a bad cart and the dealer agrees. FWIW, I have pasted his comments below. QUOTE: Hi Paul I further enquired into this issue to try and shed some light on it. This is what a Beaulieu specialist replied: "Hello Julien I agree with your theory. It sounds very reasonable that a faulty cartridge can cause this problem. Another thing might be that the cartridge need much higher take up friction for winding this cartridge. There can be two reasons for blocking cartridges: Film can stick before the claw. Film can stick after the claw and stop the take up spindle. I use to do like this when I put a new cartridge in camera: I put a finger on film in the opening to see if the film ?is stacked to the pressure plate?, I also shake the cartridge to hear if film is rattling in cartridge and finish with turning the take up spindle to tightening the free film around the take up spool. It´s only possibly to turn the take up spindle, in cartridge, one way." ENDS I believe Bjorn did the CLA on my camera and in all other espects it seems to be running perfectly. Anyway, I'm going to roll some B&W through it at a wedding next month, and then probably switch to the negative stocks for the doccie. Michael, yep, there are only rose-coloured specs for the Nizo and that particular job (you'll understand when you see the story in Super 8 Today :rolleyes: ). Otherwise, I had some real issues with that camera. Of course, I didn't help things along when I lost the base plate screw in the Mozambican bush which meant we couldn't mount the thing on a tripod thereafter. Cheers for now PK

Hello everybody, Took my newly-arrived, newly-CLAd, spiffy 4008II out for a shoot and lo, halfway through the first roll of E64, the frame counter stops counting and the viewfinder goes dark. Pull the trigger again, the camera runs but the frame counter does nothing. So I remove the cartridge and find that one of the perfs has torn. I wind the film on slightly by hand, put the cartridge back in and run the camera. It seems to be OK, but the experience left a bad taste in my mouth. It was an extremely hot day (plus 35degC) and the camera became quite warm in the sun. Would this have been a factor? What could cause this? And are torn perfs and lost shots something I will have to live with? I don't ever recall having a problem on my Nizo 4080 (and then in horrible conditions - high humidity and very hot and dusty). Cheers and thanks PK

Ray, I have a manual in pdf form. Send me a mail at wheeltapper@yahoo.com and I'll send it to you. Hey, how about you buy another 514XL-S, you know, for spares ;) I have one needing a good home now the 4008's arrived. Cheers PK

Hi Michael, Sorry about injecting a note of panic into the debate. Actually, the moment's passed (although I did wonder on my trip to the bank whether I'm being a lunatic by buying a ZMII). The first part of the film was all shot on K40 (12 years ago) and I was hoping to retain that Kodachrome effect, so I'd like to use E64. However, having chatted to you, I am also keen to try one of the negative stocks, although this is going to blow further big holes in my budget. But I intend to make this camera work for its dinner and anticipate running all the various films through it at some point. Ja, second camera is a Bauer A512. No problems or fears there. Thanks again for the help and advice Paul

Aaaargh no! I am about to plunk down a HUGE amount of cash (well, certainly in soft-currency terms) on a serviced, ready-to-fly 4008ZMII. Should I be afraid? And is there any way of solving the problem? PK

What happens to film shipped, say, from Germany to somewhere else in the world? Surely air freight is x-rayed to the max? I ask, because the only way I'm going to get film to me (and back to the lab) is by post or courier. Thanks Paul

Years ago I found a place in the US that converted Sony Pro Walkmans into one-track sync sound recorders. That outfit seems to have shuufled into history long ago. Trawling the web, though, I found this: www.super8sync.com/English/R1008MD.html Do any shooters here have experience with, or opinions about, these devices? I have both an MD recorder and a Pro Walkman in good shape, and I'm hoping this will be the asnwer to my sound needs. Thanks again. cheers Paul

Hi, Does anyone have any contact details for Bjorn Andersson in Sweden? I wanted to bounce a question or two off him about Beaulieu repairs. Thanks in advance Cheers Paul

Hi Dave, Check out the gear reviews on Transom.org. It's a radio-related group with a "helpdesk" and it seems to aspire to the same independent-minded ethos that makes Super 8 great. The recording device reviews are at www.transom.org/tools/ cheers Paul

OK, so Super8 Camera Shop has one 4008, a couple of Bauer A512s and three Nizo professionals. All have a 90-day warranty. Would I be correct in assuming that all the cameras are also sold with a fresh CLA, ie done by the dealer? Thanks, everyone - I'm nearly there. :rolleyes: cheers PK

Hi Michael (and Andy, Jim and everyone), Thanks for the kind welcome and the useful words. This has all been excellent advice. I have cooled my boots on the Leicina for now while I explore the other options. Not many 4008s for sale (super8ireland has one -- with a new battery to boot -- but they never, and I mean never, answer my e-mails). Actully the 4008 was one of the first cameras I looked at when I first started the landmine doccie in Mozambique but my budget in 1995 didn't stretch far at all. We spent most of our money on K40 and a Nizo 4080. In the following weeks, I plenty of time to indulge in full and complete regret for selling my mint 1014XLS just three years before for GBP100 to a dealer in Tottenham Court Road just because I was desperate for an air-ticket :angry: I have been in touch with Chris at Super 8 Today about writing a feature on my experiences in Mozambique and hopefully I'll finish writing it this week. In a couple of months I'm heading back there on a recce to see if we can pick-up where we left off. So I need a tough camera that'll not mind the humidity and 40degC temps too much. At least, it must mind them less than I do. :rolleyes: Thanks again for all the advice - it means a lot. I'll let you all know how the camera quest goes. cheers for now Paul

Hi Jim, Andy, Well, this does put a new spin on it. I'm paying over the odds - $1347.05 - for a Special with the (standard?) Schneider-Kreuznach OPTIVARON 1.8/6-66 mm lens. Maybe, over the odds in Europe of the US. It's hard to gauge things out here in SA because there is no market in Super 8 at all. Nothing, nada. That also means getting, say, a 4008, serviced here is impossible, so it would have to be done at arm's length, adding time and complexity to the issue. The link to the dealer in Germany (if you guys have heard of them them) is www.super8camera-shop.com/shop). They've got a couple of Specials on offer, but I'm prepared to pay top whack for an excellent camera. The film's budget allows for it, thankfully. Anyway, the camera is being sold as Mint, with a 90-day warranty. What I want is the best camera I can buy, both optically and ruggedness. My budget is $1500, so the Pro8 Beaulieu "copy" is a no-go at $2500. If not the Leica, which other cameras should I look at? The Beaulieus, I guess. What about the later Canons (814XLS and 1014XLS?). Sorry to bother you with a newbie's flounderings, but I want to get this right. Cheers and thanks Paul