A.Oliver

Santo, you really love canon glass dont you!!!!!!!!!!. Sometime back i messed with a kodak ektasound plastic brick camera ( think is was an ektasound 130) bottom of the barrel super 8 camera. Fixed lens, 18fps only. However that fixed focus lens when used wide open was incredibly sharp, as long as your subject was around 6ft from the lens you got amazing images, easily outperforming all my canons and bauers of the time. Proves the theory, prime beats mass produced zooms from the 70's. Tim, look out for the following projectors, make sure they have good belts. Most underated of all the projectors are Noris, they go quite cheaply, look for noris 342,,322,110,410. Also agfa LS1 or LS2 ( made by bauer ). Eumigs tend to hold there prices, look out for a eumig 810hqs dual guage, built like a tank, light output good (100watt) but not as bright as the noris range using the same 100watt lamp. I would recommend Noris and Bauer, bauers tend to fetch high prices.

Hi, go for a canon 814xls or 1014xls, superb cameras, only let down by soft images at f2-1.4. Avoid nizo 4056,4080,6080 etc unless they have a warranty, ultra quiet cameras let down by a stupid drive belt within the camera that stretches over time resulting in no claw movement. Beaulieu 5008,6008,7008 run just as quiet as the canon 814/1014xls.

Hi, thankyou very much for both the replies to my question. Alex at www.filmcamerakit.com came up trumps. The search is now over for my core adapters. This forum is amazing, within a few hours of posting my question i have the item required on order. :)

kodak had a great chance to give us super 8 users a descent filmstock in the super 8 cartridge when they killed k40. Why they gave us what must be there oldest stock is beyond me. If they had to give us a 64 ektachrome, why didn't they choose the e64d. Least it should be slightly less grainy. Sorry if i have gone off topic.

Hi, avoid the canon 514xl-s, i beleive it cannot read the new E64T stock. I think the camera can only read 40 and 160 asa stock. Both now given the chop by kodak. Manual exposure with the 514 is via an EE locking lever, very difficult to hold in place while filming. The 514xls is a great camera but now with no more k40 you really need to look for a camera that can read film speeds from say 50asa to 400asa. In one blow kodak has killed off the last remaining elements of cine for the masses. Not that many people shoot baby on lawn footage on cine these days. The few people i know who did, have cameras that will not expose the 64t stock. With no processing labs in the uk, and no all in one package like kodachrome, i beleive a lot of people will now give up super 8. Be very interested to see just how many 64t cartridges are sold in the next 12months compared to kodachrome in its final year. Be amazed if kodak dont give 64t the chop within three years.

Hi, i have access to a friends arri 16bl next week, but there is a problem. The camera has no core adapters. Please can anyone advise me where i can purchase two or maybe four core adapters for an arri 16bl. Or even hire them for two days. Many Thanks. Andy

I am selling my arri 16s. Camera is in good condition and full working order, serviced by arri-gb approx 3 years ago. Camera has two arri std and one bayonet mount, tv safe viewfinder markings. More info and pictures email me. Open to offers for the camera. Andy

Hi, if you require the leicina 10mm cinegon, then you have to go for the leicina special camera. My opinion is your waisting your money buying expensive prime lenses for the super 8 format. Why not at least try the 6-66 zoom on the special, then decide if prime lenses are a worthwhile option. Like i mentioned before i have tried zeiss primes on a beaulieu, the images were no better than that of the 6-80 angenieux zoom. The bolex 5.5 c-mount lens will only work on a bolex H8 rx.

I admit i have not used 5285, but in terms of 16mm, i found even 16mm k40 appears to be sharper than 7285. As far as 35mm, two options, k64 or k200. I think k64 would a far better performer than 5285, plus k64 wont have the 5285 circus chrome look. Andy

I doubt if 5285 is as sharp of kodachrome. Certainly 7285 does not appear to be as sharp as 16mm kodachrome when projected. I put my money on kodachrome as being more fade resistant than any modern neg stock.

Switar 5.5 and 12.5 are c-mount lenses designed for use with the bolex H8rx ( standard 8 camera) they will not work on say a beaulieu camera. They do cover the super 8 frame if the H8 is converted to ds-8. 16mm switars with rx markings will not work on a bolex H8 or properly on a beaulieu camera. I have used a zeiss 9.5mm,16mm and 25mm lenses on my beaulieu 7008 (via an arri-b to c-mount adapter), image sharpness via these primes was no better than the angenieux 6-80 lens. Really the best super 8 footage can only be yeilded via k25 and switar glass or k40 ( while stocks last ) and cinegon glass, but the angenieux 6-80 and schneider 6-66 come in a close 2nd, the 6-66 being the sharpest super 8 zoom i have ever used. Some years ago i tried a pentax 50mm f1.7A lens on a R16 with 7245, then the angeneieux 12-120, the angenieux blew the pentax prime away. Stick with a lens thats designed for the format.

Hi, i am no super 8 pro, though i have been into super 8 since 1982. Over the years i have used many different camera's. The sharpest super 8 footage i have is that photographed using the leicina special with 10mm macro cinegon on k40. I once read a few years back that the 10mm cinegon was the most corrected super 8 lens ever made. Santo or Sparky will at some point hopefully reply to your post, they are the leicina experts. As the special is equipped with the leica m mount a leica m-series lens of 24 or 28mm should work perfectly with the special, guess that would be a stunning prime lens of the focal length you require. Biggest draw back really is the resolving power of super 8 film. Now i did mention that the sharpest super 8 footage i have is with the 10mm cinegon. I didn't mention that once upon a time you could go one better and opt for double super 8, using a converted bolex with 5.5 and 12.5mm switar primes along with double super 8 kodachrome 25, you will get unsurpassed super 8 images. I have the said outfit, k25 is a far sharper film than k40. Super 8 can look stunning with k25 and switar glass. I have exposed a roll of double super 8 k40 thru the bolex with the switar primes mentioned, and repeated the shot with the special plus cinegon. The cinegon images appeared to be sharper with better colour saturation compared to the switar glass. C- mount switars were available for the bolex H8 rx, focal lengths being 5.5,12.5 and 36mm. Sadly k25 is no more, so until kodak give us a better stock than this 64t, you will never get to see how good super 8 images can be. ( unless you have a fridge full of ds-8 k25 ). Sorry if i have waffled on and sidetracked a bit. Andy

Santo, dont waiste your time, you have the best camera, use the canon as a bookend!!!!!!

Hi, request is super 8 not 16mm, thanks for the advice. Andy

So its best to ride the iris?

Hi, not sure where to post the question, so i'll try here. I have been using kodachrome for a few years now. When required i ride the aperature to give best exposure. Have been using neg stocks on and off for some time, do i need to ride the exposure on neg film. Say i am panning from T8 to T5.6, is there any need to ride the iris, set the iris midway or set to T8 and let the printer or T/K to make the adjustments. THANKS Andy

My noris projector with schneider 1.1 11-30 lens can tell if a camera lens is good or not. Certainly the angenieux 6-80 and leicina 10mm cinegon look very nice and grain free projected, while the canon lenses always have a fizz about them. Canon glass is your s-vhs quality, while the cinegon and 6-80 lens is your mini dv quality.

My usual routine is look thru the gate while running the camera, ( no film in the camera ) move camera to and from a lite source to confirm auto iris is ok. As with your 514 test the camera on various subjects, well lit to poorly lit. One thing i always do is load a film in the camera, lock the camera on a tripod and film a calender of test chart on the wall. Adjust the lite to suit so you can expose with the iris wide open, i then zoom back to see if the subject goes out of focus. If subject goes out of focus with your lens wide open, then the back focus of the camera is out. My late 715xl did go miles out of focus from f2.8 to wide open, i mean the footage was totally unusable.

Hi, been roped into shooting a wedding next year, before i make a wrong decision and sell a newly aquired 1014xls, i would ask the experts the following. Here are the cameras i own, too many i know, which camera would you choose to shoot a wedding. Canon 1014xls Canon 814xls ( owned since new, however think the back focus is out, very soft from F4 to F1.4) Beaulieu 6008 with 6-70 lens Beaulieu 7008 with 6-80 lens Leicina Special with 6-66 and 10mm cinegon lens. Over to you, thanks for any replies BTW, i will not be covering the inside of the church, all filming will hopefully done in daylite on k40 and requested at 18fps

Hi, me no professional too. Look thru your 6-80 are all the iris blades working correctly. Just had mine repaired, the iris was closing down not in a circle but a half moon. That gave me a few funny looking images. BTW, how do you find auto iris mode on your beaulieu can it be relied upon.

Try a roll of 16mm k40 ( use it before we loose it )

Your right, bolex viewfinder is horrible, dim very hard to focus. Infact the only footage i use the bolex for is home movies. Did try a 9-36 ( i think ) switar zoom on the bolex, very good, but the primes have the edge. As for the 6-80, mine was adjusted to the camera by Bjorn, the only time i get vignetting is when on extreme macro and at 6mm. Apart from that it give amazing images, and very good looking images in grubby lite.

I too was using k25 also exposed a roll of k40 on my late ds-8. The images obtained thru my 7008 with its 6-80 lens loaded with k40 looks much better than the canon ds-8 footage. Horrible contrast with k40 on the ds-8. Much better colours and saturation with k25 on the canon ds-8, but still not as good as it could be. Results on my bolex ds-8 with switar primes and k25 are rather nice. If i had not had the bolex images to compare with then i would probably kept the canon ds-8. Comparing bolex and the canon images side by side, the canon ds-8 footage looks very poor.

Hi, dont overlook the beaulieu 5008,6008,7008. Results on a newly purchased 6008s ( only cost me £100.00) with 6-70 lens are superb, yes, beaulieus need a little more TLC than other cameras, they do deliver a far sharper image than other makes of camera. Leicina special certainly gives the steadiest super 8 images i have seen. Finding a mint leicina can be difficult.

If the canon 814xl-electronic has the same lens as the canon ds-8 camera, then i would avoid the 814xl-e. Having owned two canon ds-8 cameras, the lens has to be the worse canon glass i have ever used. Better contrast and sharpness could be obtained from a wine bottle bottom or marmalade pot. ( that will upset the canon fans, i am ready for the verble onslaught)