Mike Crane

In my opinion the Xenon Elmo GS 1200 with record feature might be worth about 50 bucks give or take a few dollars. BTW - I'm in the market for one of these old antiques in case you care to sell it for around my estimated value :)

Plus, Cinelicious has the less costly 16 gate mod that does not take full advantage of Spirit resolution. Therefore Spectra's 8mm transfers have the potential to look even better. It is also new that Spectra's Spirit gate is the only one that can also do regular 8mm. So, it should be excellent for archives or anyone that still shoots standard 8. Always good to see more Spirits out there doing 8mm HD. It will only help drive the high cost down making it more affordable for average people to get a top notch transfer.

Interesting news from Spectra's site. They are setting up a HD Spirit with dedicated Super/Regular 8 gate for max resolution. spectrafilmandvideo.com Apparently, this is not a modified 16 gate as other places currently offer. The typical mod gates are only capable of obtaining a fraction of the true HD resolution from the Spirit due to insufficient optics. Looking forward to trying this out for some HD work I have coming up in the next few months. It will be interesing to see if they can make a clear difference from the nice stuff I already get from them. In any case it will greatly help with my HD workflow.

Anyone had any experience with Kodak's new 200T VISION 3 super 8? Spectra has it up on their site and I was curious about any results. http://spectrafilmandvideo.com/index.html I am already pleased with the 200T VISION 2. The VISION 3 version should be really good!

Hi Bo, I have done transfers with Spectra several times with excellent results - often better than many of the big budget houses in LA. They are a rare breed of film enthusiasts that really care about the work that leaves their facility. So, I am not surprised to hear your story. I am glad to hear that FotoKem will make good for you. However, I still suggest you speak to Spectra again about the workflow problem for any future job. I hear they are working on an additional HD telecine bay that should help rectify the turn-around. Spectra also has direct to hard drive options (such as ProRes) that you should inquire about.

Spectra processing is clearly better than Yale these days. I have seen some of the best E-6 processing ever come out of Spectra's lab with Velvia and 100D films. Far superior to that of other labs. I should also mention that Yale B/W commonly suffers from over-bleaching and other issues(happened to me twice) not to mention their intrusive Morman censorship policy over what you shoot. So, while you may save a buck a roll at Yale , Spectra quality control and creative freedom is the better choice for most shooters.

If you got the film from Pro8, that might explain the problem. They sell rolls of their brand film that are shorter than 50 feet for "better reliability". I tend to think they are just squeezing more film out of the large rolls they spool down for cartridges to save themselves money... but, thats just my humble opinion :)

I had Spectra install their battery mod on my Canon 814 AZ. Works like a charm. ;)

Comparing the place the Andy recommends, Spectra still appears to be the cheapest with really good shipping and service. Spectra buys editing inventory in quantities direct from manufacturer to try to keep prices low. The Wurker is an excellent recommendation for tape splicer. However, they are extremely difficult to find on ebay and other sources. Again, Spectra usually has Wurker's in stock. You may want to weigh the options after looking around.

Just got the usual Spam-mail from Pro8mm dealing with a number of topics. Of particular interest was the section admitting to making super 8 from re-cans and short-ends. Here it is: "Several Internet sites (including Filmshooting.com and Cinematography.com) insist we use ALL recans or short ends which has not been true for 3 years now. (Let's keep up to date and accurate chat room people if you are advising filmmakers.) Short ends are used only for the Pro8/05, Pro8/17, Pro8/18 and Pro8/12. " Years back (beyond 3 years), I had asked the people in charge at Pro8 about this and was assured the all film made by them was "fresh from Kodak". Now, after years of dealing with mysterious damage and defects (including X-ray damage), I get to hear the truth... possibly. I think this is total BS and feel that a full refund should be offered for their defective products and deceptional business practices They should have never repackaged cheap re-can film as new product to begin with! I am sure this has caused grief to many filmmakers - pushing them away from film forever. Sadly, it appears they still continue to sell re-cans as some films they offer (at new film prices). I hope they at least plan to clearly mark each box that the film is "not fresh" and "made from recans and short-ends of undetermined age". It might give a DP a fighting chance! As for their claim that they now make many of their other film products from fresh film... how do I know I am hearing the truth this time around? How do I know they will start feeling cheap again and stuff their carts with junk to save themselves a dime or two? Of this I am certain - all my future production plans will not be including Pro8mm!

Nice stuff. I especially like the color on the first 1/2. Too bad the Vimeo compression makes it difficult to see better detail.

I saw the photo on Spectra's web site the other day. They did a good job: I especially like the jab at Pro8. :lol: I ordered a 4 pack and can't wait to see how this stock performs!

Just found a really good super 8 music video by Renee Stahl. I wish I knew who did the transfer. These images are truly awesome!

I personally prefer using a credit card since Spectra has a proper secured order page. But, it appears that they also accept PayPal: https://s.p5.hostingprod.com/@www.spectrafi.../ssl/Order.html

I disagree. Kodak does not offer merchants any discount - period. Merchants going to them always pay full pop while they only feed students and experimental filmmakers the discounts. This is, in part, a big mistake. It prevents many camera stores from wanting to sell and promote Kodak film - something Kodak and the film industry needs desperately. Most dealers these days make only a small mark-up which can not support any advertising or shelf space. Since it?s always a bit cheaper to buy at Kodak, dealers sell very little film to the convenience shopper making it a less desirable item to stock. Remember the days when you could buy super 8 at every drug store, camera store or large retail store at competitive prices? Remember the friendly camera sales guy that showed you everything about how to shoot super 8 film? That was when Kodak supported dealers who made up an army of sales people and promoters. Think of how many more people where being properly educated and swayed into using film. Those days are over, leaving but a few small companies to survive on the scraps of profit they can get for selling and promoting Kodak film in their stores. How many soldiers can be expected to fight for film when the general has left the battlefield?

950.00 for a Pro8 Canon 1014 with gate mod? WOW! Thats more than I would pay. But, for those who have the bucks it might be worth considering. I would expect that their camera is fully refurbished and modified with a few accessories thrown in. And, it would be better than having to look for a decent one on Ebay.

Strange you should say this. I've used Flying Spot Film Transfer and had inferior resuts to Spectra. I found images at Spectra to be more crisp with amazing color. So, I guess results can vary. And, prehaps our shooting skills, equipment and exposure come into play as well. I would still use either facility for a job since they both produce the best results around. However, I normally go with Spectra because they have better rates and do a great job. You may also want to know that Alex is correct. Spectra puts back most of what they make into a better facility. They recently just put in an URSA Diamond and 10 bit hard drive system. So, their equipment is quite good.

Those bastards! I think we should blow Spectra up for not delivering Velvia perfection! Seriously, I get jitter and scratches from Kodak loaded carts too. Super 8 has never been perfect. It's part of the deal in this format. I had a 518SV camera that ran Kodak negative and Velvia perfectly, but, Kodak black and white film nearly always had a bad jitter. That didn't stop me from shooting TriX. I like it too much! So, after some experimentation, I found that it worked better in some of my other cameras. Marty, I think it is good of you to let them know whats up. I am sure Spectra is working on improvements to get Velvia to work every time in every camera. They always seem to be working hard (and late) to make their customers happy. Meanwhile, I still plan to shoot their sweet looking Velvia without protest. I have never found a better looking color film and appreciate their extreme efforts to make it available. As an alternative, there are other companies in Europe that sell Velvia. Perhaps you might want to give them a try.

I shot some Spectra Velvia in my canon 814 Autozoom with perfect transport and registration. I wonder if it might be a rogue cart that had a problem. That seems to happen even with kodak loaded cartridges. You might also try the Velvia in another camera. Some cameras work better with certian films than others.

I have shot many rolls of Spectra Velvia with only excellent results. A very nice stock to shoot Not sure about the camera. But, I do know that Spectra Velvia, PlusX and TriX are filter notched all the same. They normally automatically REMOVE the 85 filter when inserted into a camera. I am sure this is just an over ride on your camera. I recommend you review your camera instructions to verify. If you do not have instructions, open the camera door and run the camera while looking through the light path. If you press the filter button inside the camera as you are doing this you should see the light path color shift from orange to normal, indicating that the camera is working normally. Check the switch to see if it is affected. Let us know what you discover.

My info on the cartridges came in bits from John P (when he was with us), the guys at Spectra, etc. My understanding is that all the left over (old) carts made in France were sold to outside vendors (Pro8, Spectra, etc) over a year ago. Only carts from the US are being used by Kodak now. They employ a new process to make the cartridge slippery enough to transport film smoothly. But, in truth, we do not know exactly when the film was produced. Perhaps Kodak is dipping into an old inventory of loaded super 8 film. The only way to know for sure is to have someone from Kodak check the batch numbers. Even if it turns out to be a recent film batch, we still do not know for sure if the jamming relates to lubrication. There could be other problems... ...maybe the parts inside the cart are not properly formed.

Kodak recently switched methods of cartridge manufacture. They have been using another method to lubricate their carts. Looks like they may have to consider going back to the old silicone cart treatments.

Since Pro8 talks about how great their camera is, why not try to sell it back to them. $500 off their list price should be reasonable.

Great to hear this! I've had much better results (stability, transport, etc) since they have been treating their Velvia carts. I've been wanting to buy up some more since then, but Spectra always sold out of it before I could get my hands on it.

Spectra products page has most of the editing goodies you'll need if you care to attempt your own film prep: http://spectrafilmandvideo.com/Products.html However, I do not recommend negative film prep! It is nearly impossible to keep it clean as a lab prep room.