Super-8 2x extender

Alessandro Machi · April 29, 2006

If Super-8 2x extenders were never made, what "crossover" extender from a different video or film format could I use?

Ideally I would like it to be a 55mm thread size that just screws onto the existing Super-8 zoom lens.

April 29, 2006

I've previously looked into this sort of thing and found a lot of options. 55m is easy to get to with a common adapter ring if needbe.

Actually there were 2x adapters in super 8. Leica made one that screws onto the front of the Super and RT-1, Angenieux 8 - 64. Canon made a 1.4x teleconverter for the 1014 xls. There may be others out there. Of course the reason there aren't a lot is because so many super 8 cameras already came with absolutely retarded zooming abilities as a selling feature, at the expense of a decent wide-angle shooting ability that was of far more use. A 5 - 25mm would have been a perfect super 8 zoom lens to exploit the intimate shooting abilities that super 8 cameras are so good at.

Modern 2x converters to look at include the cheap "titanium" thing found on ebay:

so for 60 bucks you get a 2x and a .5x wide angle and some other stuff. WHo knows? It might be okay?

Or you can spend a couple hundred and get quality with a Century Optics 2x. This one is 58mm for a ring, but a 58 to 55mm step down ring is easy to find at any big photo place.

http://www.centuryoptics.com/products/dv/2x_tc/2xtc.htm

Probably there are more expensive Century converters in their broadcast and prodDV offerings, but even their "regular DV" accesories are of excellent quality at reasonable prices.

Alessandro Machi · April 30, 2006

Good news bad news.

Good news is that eBay and local photo shops do keep these 2x extenders in stock. The Bad news is the majority of them are 37mm, much too small for a 55mm lens.

However, I have ordered a step down ring, actually two, to get me from 55 to 37 and then what I will do is put both rings on my camera, zoom the lens all the way in and see if I still see the step-down rings. If I don't see the step-down rings, then I know that at least at telephoto I could still use one of these 37mm 2x extenders.

Hopefully I will be able to measure how much I can zoom out before seeing the stepdown ring and then decide it it's worth getting one of these extenders.

I did find a couple of 58mm style of extenders and I may consider those as well, but they are more money, at least double the money and even triple.

Century precision is definitely a consideration as well but I didn't see a price for theirs although there's will probably be well over $200.00

April 30, 2006

You must recognize, even though it is an economic burden, that 2 to 3 hundred is not an outrageous price to pay for a lens. it's actually cheap. and that is what you are really buying, if you are buying very usable quality, you are getting a whole new lens. But if your images suck because you've bought a piece of crap, even 60 bucks is too expensive. you are no stranger to knowing how expensive film is to shoot, as worthwhile as it is. i think it is worth paying a premium, but not an outrageous one.

Alessandro Machi · April 30, 2006

You must recognize, even though it is an economic burden, that 2 to 3 hundred is not an outrageous price to pay for a lens. it's actually cheap. and that is what you are really buying, if you are buying very usable quality, you are getting a whole new lens. But if your images suck because you've bought a piece of crap, even 60 bucks is too expensive. you are no stranger to knowing how expensive film is to shoot, as worthwhile as it is. i think it is worth paying a premium, but not an outrageous one.

I own several Century Precision lenses already, the close up diopter, zoom through wider angle attachment, two stage wide angle adapter, I'm just sort of done for now with spending more and more money on stuff that I might not see an return on, plus, I may want more than one.

So can I tell the quality of the extender telephoto lens. or the image it will produce by simply looking through the Super-8 viewfinder after attaching one of these extenders?

April 30, 2006

So can I tell the quality of the extender telephoto lens. or the image it will produce by simply looking through the Super-8 viewfinder after attaching one of these extenders?

Doubt it. I bet you will after you watch the film, though.