Freya Black Posted January 3, 2016 Share Posted January 3, 2016 I really like this little camera. Does anyone have any experience with it? It's also a little strange however. I don't seem to be able to make the zoom motor work without the camera motor running. Is this normal? How does the lens hold up against other canon super 8 cameras? I was going to get a Eumig mini 5 but this little camera is almost as small! Freya Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jean-Louis Seguin Posted January 3, 2016 Share Posted January 3, 2016 Yes, it is normal. There is only one motor for both film advance and zooming. Using the power zoom allows the main motor to drive the lens barrel from wide to tele. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Freya Black Posted January 4, 2016 Author Share Posted January 4, 2016 Thanks Jean! I thought that might be the case. I guess they have cut a lot of corners in this camera. I'm just hoping there is not so much of that in the actual optics department! I kind of wish they had added a different feature than the Self Timer. Run lock would have been useful for starters. I found out something else interesting about this camera. When you are in single frame mode the camera speed seems to also affect the exposure time of single frames too. So if you want longer exposures, set it to 9 I guess! Freya Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark Dunn Posted January 4, 2016 Share Posted January 4, 2016 Thanks Jean! I thought that might be the case. I guess they have cut a lot of corners in this camera. I'm just hoping there is not so much of that in the actual optics department! I kind of wish they had added a different feature than the Self Timer. Run lock would have been useful for starters. I found out something else interesting about this camera. When you are in single frame mode the camera speed seems to also affect the exposure time of single frames too. So if you want longer exposures, set it to 9 I guess! Freya IIRC I ran up a cable release out of a 2.5mm jack plug and a bit of twin-core. I don't think I even bothered with a switch, just twisted the ends together. But it would be handy. The manual says it only meters correctly on single-frame with the switch at 18. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Freya Black Posted January 4, 2016 Author Share Posted January 4, 2016 IIRC I ran up a cable release out of a 2.5mm jack plug and a bit of twin-core. I don't think I even bothered with a switch, just twisted the ends together. But it would be handy. The manual says it only meters correctly on single-frame with the switch at 18. My version of the camera doesn't seem to have a 2.5mm socket. Just an old style screw in cable release socket. Maybe I can screw something into that and use the on/off button to start the camera. Interesting what the manual has to say. I've been wondering about metering on Super 8 cameras generally because I was toying with the idea of adding more speeds to cameras but wondered how that might affect the metering. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark Dunn Posted January 4, 2016 Share Posted January 4, 2016 (edited) Then you just need a locking cable release. It will bypass the trigger. http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/28-inch-70cm-Mechanical-Locking-Camera-Shutter-Release-Remote-Control-Cable-Cord-/291593688566?hash=item43e45695f6:g:77sAAOSw9mFWJL3f Edited January 4, 2016 by Mark Dunn Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Freya Black Posted January 4, 2016 Author Share Posted January 4, 2016 Then you just need a locking cable release. It will bypass the trigger. http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/28-inch-70cm-Mechanical-Locking-Camera-Shutter-Release-Remote-Control-Cable-Cord-/291593688566?hash=item43e45695f6:g:77sAAOSw9mFWJL3f Ah! Good idea. Thanks Mark. I don't think the ones I have are locking but I will check and if not I will order one in! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
christophernigel Posted January 4, 2016 Share Posted January 4, 2016 I really like this little camera. Does anyone have any experience with it? It's also a little strange however. I don't seem to be able to make the zoom motor work without the camera motor running. Is this normal? How does the lens hold up against other canon super 8 cameras? I was going to get a Eumig mini 5 but this little camera is almost as small! Freya Hello Freya , This is a nice camera with a fast lens and has a A/E lock , Also you can fit the canon wide angle c8 . This and and the canon 310xl are very good camera s and small , Filming on the fly/ a good back up camera , Theses where not cheap cameras in there day to buy . Made some good films with them love them . 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Freya Black Posted January 5, 2016 Author Share Posted January 5, 2016 I found this Canon Brochure for the camera which was helpful as it lists the filter thread size! :) http://www.apecity.com/manuals/pdf/canon_514xl_brochure.pdf Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Freya Black Posted January 5, 2016 Author Share Posted January 5, 2016 It seems to be a 40/160 camera. Does anyone know if there are any issues using this with Tri-X and what settings it needs to be on? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Freya Black Posted January 5, 2016 Author Share Posted January 5, 2016 (edited) Hello Freya , This is a nice camera with a fast lens and has a A/E lock , Also you can fit the canon wide angle c8 . This and and the canon 310xl are very good camera s and small , Filming on the fly/ a good back up camera , Theses where not cheap cameras in there day to buy . Made some good films with them love them . Thanks Christopher, I like the super fast lens on the 310xl but there is no 9fps unless you get the Pro8 modded camera. I have thought about getting an original canon one cheap and seeing if I could get it to do 9 tho. Freya Edited January 5, 2016 by Freya Black Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark Dunn Posted January 5, 2016 Share Posted January 5, 2016 (edited) If you google 'super 8 cartridge notch' there's a download to tell you how it will meter Tri-X if the cartridge is speed notched. It will be either 160 or 250. More likely 160. Both are doable but you can mod the cartridge if you have a preference. There are some threads on here about it. Edited January 5, 2016 by Mark Dunn Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nick Collingwood Posted January 5, 2016 Share Posted January 5, 2016 I've got it! My first Super 8 camera in fact. I like it. Super light so it's great for traveling with. Not the sharpest lens around and I'm an amateur but I've liked my results so far. I also have the C-8 Wide adapter which helps with the 9mm focal length. I just joined this forum so I'm not sure if it's ok to link youtube but here's a trip I made this July to the Dominican Republic (50D). First Super 8 roll I ever shot actually! And this is me walking around NYC with some friends and exploring Ellis Island (200T). And it only takes 2 AAs which is the lowest of any Super 8 camera I believe. I got it for only $35 so it was worth it. I've used it on a few trips since then. The 9fps is good for timelapses when telecined at 18fps. Hope this helps you get a feel for how it looks and my experience with it. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Freya Black Posted January 7, 2016 Author Share Posted January 7, 2016 (edited) Hiya Nick! ...and welcome to cine.com! Your posting kind of got stomped on by the new announcement. I was also impressed by only 2 AA batteries. Seems like it would be very economical. I'm trying to run it a little everyday to get it back into the swing of things. I think 9fps will be useful for a lot of things. Low light for instance. I'm wondering if the lens is softer than the other canons. A lot of them seem to have similar lenses. Thanks for posting! I have a good feeling about this little camera. :) Oh and it's definitely okay to link to video's. People do it all the time! Edited January 7, 2016 by Freya Black Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
christophernigel Posted January 7, 2016 Share Posted January 7, 2016 Hiya Nick! ...and welcome to cine.com! Your posting kind of got stomped on by the new announcement. I was also impressed by only 2 AA batteries. Seems like it would be very economical. I'm trying to run it a little everyday to get it back into the swing of things. I think 9fps will be useful for a lot of things. Low light for instance. I'm wondering if the lens is softer than the other canons. A lot of them seem to have similar lenses. Thanks for posting! I have a good feeling about this little camera. :) Oh and it's definitely okay to link to video's. People do it all the time! Freya it good to have a good feeling over this camera she really is a nice gem also get the 310 XL if you can and the C8 which can be hard to find . But worth it . Was so happy when I got my one along with the 310xl and c8 . was really a great design , That came out in the 70's /a camera down to f1.4 and the canon 310xl down to f1 thats a Wow . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JB Guillot Posted January 11, 2016 Share Posted January 11, 2016 Got a couple 514 XL home as I bought them for really cheap (like 20-25€). A fair compact camera to bring along whenever you're out. I like the compact size and the additional C8 attachement for "wide" angle shoots. Even if lens is a bit soft, it works fine with fast film (ISO160) so that aperture is rather closed. I also use the 10sec run feature from time to time if I want to appear of the film. For longer shots I use a release cable with lock ring. On the other side, the lens focus ring is really loose which is not so great for accurate focusing. But with a bit of practise you can have decent images. Some will also notice the lack of high speeds (25 fps or higher) but for regular 18 fps clips it does the job. This clip was shot entirely with 514 XL (but with a Panasonic adapter that turned wide angle shot to absolute crap as focusing wasn't accurate). Scan quality is bad but anyway ... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Freya Black Posted January 11, 2016 Author Share Posted January 11, 2016 I've been trying to get the camera to work with a Century Anamorphic adaptor but I'mm not having much success. I seem to get fairly mild vignetting when it is most telephoto and most wide with more severe vignetting in between rather oddly. The 514 XL-S works a lot better with really mild vignetting but of course it has no 9fps. :( Freya Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark Dunn Posted January 11, 2016 Share Posted January 11, 2016 I've been trying to get the camera to work with a Century Anamorphic adaptor but I'mm not having much success. I seem to get fairly mild vignetting when it is most telephoto and most wide with more severe vignetting in between rather oddly. The 514 XL-S works a lot better with really mild vignetting but of course it has no 9fps. :( Freya That sounds odd. Care to post a photograph of your setup? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Freya Black Posted January 12, 2016 Author Share Posted January 12, 2016 A big hastle to post photos but my setup is just a 43mm to 37mm adaptor ring. Nothing special it's to do with the way the glass moves internally in the canon zooms. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark Dunn Posted January 12, 2016 Share Posted January 12, 2016 (edited) If you are stepping down then vignetting is probably inevitable. The rear element may simply be too small. You could put pix on photobucket or the like. Edited January 12, 2016 by Mark Dunn Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Freya Black Posted January 12, 2016 Author Share Posted January 12, 2016 Of course its a possibility. It's minimal with the xl-s however due to the slightly different optics. They both do the weird thing of minimal vignetting at full wide and full Tele which is odd but I guess due to the zoom design Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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