Chris Smart

Thank you very much for all the help! 

Damn, that's quite the concealed spot. I was thinking that this might be it but it doesn't budge. The battery must have leaked. Thanks Martin! I wasn't 100% sure this was the chamber until your message. Now I'm not sure how I will get it open.

Hello!

I just picked up a an Elmo Super 106 in near mint condition. It runs but the lightmeter dial doesn't move, even when pressing the battery check button I get no movement on the lightmeter indicator in the viewfinder. This camera runs on 4 AA batteries but the manual says there is also a lightmeter battery but I have no idea where that would go and the manual doesn't indicate where. Does anyone have experience with this camera? 

filmkorn.org says 'some' need a lightmeter battery

https://www.filmkorn.org/super8data/database/cameras_list/cameras_elmo/elmo_super_106_black.htm

super8wiki also says some were 'self charging' ?!

http://super8wiki.com/index.php/Elmo_Super_106

Good to know! Thanks Mark

Hello!

Does anyone have Terry's original posts images backed up somewhere?

Oh very interesting, thanks for the info! My collection of working Regular 8mm cameras has almost reached its limit so I'm starting to look for more reliable Super 8 cameras. Knowing that sound cameras could potentially increase the jitter/jumpy image problem, this is good to know.

Thanks!

Thank you for the reply, Simon! I was afraid someone might say that. I will never stop shooting Double-Eight, I love it, I just really appreciate the ease and convenience of shooting Super-8 in a run'n gun situation. This camera had a full CLA and has been delivering pretty good footage prior and after this instance. Was just curious if anyone else has experienced this before. This is my first Super8 camera.

Hello!

I've been shooting Super8 for about a year now after playing around with regular 8mm since 2019. I recently ran into an issue with one cartridge of Ektachrome 100D. I'm shooting with a serviced Nizo S8T and I'm pretty sure it's not a camera issue but I don't have enough experience with Super8 to say that with full confidence. The reason why i think it was the cartridge is because I shot with another roll of Ektachrome 100D a week later and that footage did not have any issues. The problem I'm seeing is severe image jittering and jumping. Could this be caused by a lack of lubrication inside the cartridge or the film just being wound too tight inside? Anything I should look for before Insert the cartridge?

Looking for any tips or tricks to help prevent this from happening!

Thanks!

3 hours ago, Todd Pinder said:

Didn't realize your focus ring was frozen!

Yea me neither! i've never had a visifocus lens or a telephoto lens for any of my 8mm cameras. 

Thank you for the suggestion! I really appreciate the help.

Thank you very much Dom. I had no reason to believe the lens was frozen. I've never had a lens like this before and the design is so clean, I just assumed it was fine. That ring doesn't budge at all.

Now i need to find a lens technician.

Thank you both for the reply and thank you very much Dom for all this great insight. It's very helpful. Could it be that my lens needs service? There is a ring just below the visifocus dial but it does not budge at all. Not even slightly. This B8 was in mint condition but in storage for decades. It needed a CLA to get the motor working again. I see multiple screws on the lens ring indicated below. 3 very small and 1 larger screw. This camera isn't a reflex camera so I'm not even sure how I would go about adjusting the focus without being able to see the results through the view finder. My Bolex P3 Zoom Reflex is definitely better when it comes to getting an accurate focus. 

I just love this B8 and really want to use this 36mm lens.

My lightmeter is telling me to set the fstop to 2.8 to get the correct exposure. If I set it to 20 feet away then I should be setting the fstop to F22 according to the Visifocus dial on the lens. I would assume my scene would be very under exposed if I did that.

Hello everyone,

First time posting on the forum. Thank you all for taking the time to read this.

I've been experimenting and testing various standard 8mm cameras for the past 2+ years now. I recently acquired a Bolex B8 equipped with 2 lenses. One of these lenses has the Visifocus depth of field scale. I'm having a hard time understanding how to shoot these types of lenses because up until now all of my other cameras have had fixed focus lenses. I've come to realize I still have lots to learn on how to shoot and focus successfully with analogue motion picture cameras, especially with subjects moving towards the camera. I use a lightmeter app on my phone to calculate the proper exposure depending on the shooting speed and this has greatly improved my results over the years.

My question is, if I'm shooting at 24 fps and the lightmeter app says i need an F-Stop of 2.8, but the Visifocus reading indicates the 'zone of sharp focus' is under 7 feet at 2.8, how am I going to focus on a subject that is 20 feet away?  If i adjust the Visifocus dial on the lens to F22, zone of focus says 4-30 feet, then wouldn't the scene be under exposed? 

I give this example because thats exactly what happened to my footage. All of the scenes I shot with the 36mm lens at 2.8 are extremely out of focus but the exposure is correct. All the footage i shot with the other lens on the B8 looks ok. That lens is the Yvar 12.5mm f/2.5 fixed focus lens.

Any tips on how to shoot and expose correctly with these lenses would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you!

Chris