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Newly purchased Beaulieu 4008ZM questions


Bruce Nachbar

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Hi,

 

I hope someone can help answer a few questions.

I just received a very mint condition looking Beaulieu 4008ZM with the Angenieux 8-64mm. This was won in an online live-bid auction a month or so ago (a large number of Super 8 cameras from a collector). It looks great but I don't have a clue if it works as it didn't come with a battery (not even a non-working one). Here is what I've discovered:

- I can't see an image thru the viewfinder. From the posts I've read I am presuming it is because the shutter is in the down position.

- I need to purchase some sort of battery. Looking on the Wittner website I saw the large Eneloop on-board battery. It is not cheap. Has anyone used this? Am I better getting a Dummy Socket, cable and external battery? Any particular system you would recommend?

- The mirror retraction knob will not turn. While I do not plan on retracting the mirror I wonder why it would be so stiff.

- The Three-position Power Supply switch is stuck in the "in" position. I can pull it out, with a little effort and using my fingernails. I can't seem to make it lock in the "lock" position. My guess is something is amiss. Is there supposed to be a spring-action or something like that?

- I put the selector in the "Manual" position and try to manually zoom but it feels like the gears are still engaged. Is this because there is no power to the camera?

- The camera did come with the filter key. Is there a way to tell, without burning a cartridge of film, if the Wratten filter is still good?

- There is no foam or rubber gasket on the film door; is that the design?

 

Thank you in advance for any advice. I live in Tokyo so having the camera checked out in Europe is not easy. I need to check with Retro 8 to see if they work on Beaulieu.

I hope I can turn this into a viable camera; it is the camera I've dreamed of owning since I was 10 years old.

 

Bruce

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Try turning the slotted shaft at the bottom left of the control side with a screwdriver to advance the camera movement and shift the mirror/shutter into place for viewing. Sometimes the access hole is covered with a screw cap.

 

If your camera didn't even come with a battery, then your options become a bit expensive.. there's no simple solution, even locating and recelling a dead battery yourself can be tricky, since few decent capacity cells seem to fit in my experience. Plus you need a charger. The easiest route is probably the dummy with external battery pack.

 

What's the mirror retraction knob? If you mean the knob above the slotted shaft, that knob moves the groundglass in and out of position, not the mirror. If it's stuck so that the groundglass is retracted, you will only see an aerial image, which is not as sharp and may not show the correct focus, which could be a problem. With the lens de-focussed but pointed at a bright source, can you focus the eyepiece on a granular surface? If so, the groundglass is in place and I wouldn't worry about the knob being stuck. I'm not sure why it would be stuck though, hopefully it doesn't indicate the presence of corrosion.

 

The switch in the handle should click in to all 3 positions with a spring detente. You can remove the base by undoing the screws under the leatherette if you want to take a look. Hopefully not another sign of corrosion.

 

The manual setting means the auto-iris function is disabled, but the motors are still connected to the lens gears. If you want to turn the iris or zoom rings manually without feeling the motor inertia, you need to remove the motor attachment (4 screws near the lens mount).

 

If you unscrew the zoom and turn the slotted shaft at bottom left until the shutter has moved out of the way, you can look through the lens mount into the gate aperture. With a light shining into the compartment on the other side of the gate you might be able to determine if the filter is damaged or not. Probably need a magnifying loupe though.

 

There should be a rubber gasket on the surface against which the door shuts.

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  • 2 weeks later...

Hello again Dom,

I have a 4008ZM. It does not have the slotted shaft like on other version (that can take the rewind knob). I am still waiting for the delivery of the battery.

Do you know any other way to manually advance the movement?

Thank you,

Bruce

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Hi Bruce,

Yes, sorry the 4008ZM doesn't have the rewind option that allows manual turnover, I'm used to ZMII models! I guess you'll have to wait til you have a battery to power it up. Unless someone else has a better tip, I can't see how you could manually advance the camera without opening it up.

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Hi Bruce,

Yes, sorry the 4008ZM doesn't have the rewind option that allows manual turnover, I'm used to ZMII models! I guess you'll have to wait til you have a battery to power it up. Unless someone else has a better tip, I can't see how you could manually advance the camera without opening it up.

One can (attempt to) drive the mechanism through the pick-drive in the cartridge chamber. At least you can drive it to the rest position. If you want to go any direction multiple-rounds you need to lock the trigger in run (i.e. rotate the trigger 1/4 when in).

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