8mm from the 50s.

[RET80]

Alright, so my mother went to a yardsale a day before mother's day and picked up some sort of single 8mm camera for about 5$ with a leather case. We live about 200 miles apart and she could not tell me what brand it was. The only information I have about it is:
'its bulky, its from the 50-60's and has a large leather case.'

So does anyone have any insight on what this camera could be based on this extremely vague description? AND how well does 8mm film in comparison to super 8, is it worse, better or the same and do they still sell stock for it (I know yale film and video may still sell stock).

[Rollef]

You could start a competition "guessing ret80's mum's camera". cuz guessing what camera it is would be like finding a needle in a heystack.

You need more info. brandname, what does it say on the lens, model number and such.

btw, regular 8 still kicks butt.

[RET80]

Haha! Well it was worth a try, though I knew probably nothing would come of it. So in comparison to Super 8, what are the perks and downfalls of regular 8?

[super8man]

I say it is a crappy keystone or bell and howell (2 guesses per post). I say this cause in the USA, those of the most commonly tossed in the trash can cams. But then, you could be lucky and have a bolex H8 - unlikely though.

Perhaps Dejur?

Yes, film is easily purchased...as many threads have stated, reg8 will outlive super 8 in the long term.

[Macnessa]

I guess a Bell and Howell, with a 3 turret lens. The lens is smeared but the light meter still works.

And yes, Reg 8 does rule. Now that I have my Leicina 8SV up and running, I'm ready for the apocalypse.

[RET80]

Would anyone have links to movies and/or shorts shot on regular 8 that are worth watching as examples. I went across youtube and just found lousy home movies filmed in it in the 70's, all of which look mostly decomposed.

[super8man]

Reg 8 looks just like super 8 for those of us shooting film right now. Of course, old film of any type looks like, well, old film. Bottom line, any clips you see of super 8 can be thought of as similar to what you would see in reg 8. Generally speaking.

[James E]

It's probably a crappy well worn Kodak Brownie. There are billions of those freaking things out there. It's the one I come across the most often. Likely beacuse they were very cheap.

[Matthew Buick]

There is a wondeful Elmo camera with a 100ft magazine. If you're lucky it'll be one of those, I would love one. Can anyone remember the model number?

[BigBeaner]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NWZYZFlgaM0

Shot on Regular 8 provided by John Schwind, Transfer by Johnn Hud. It's pretty obvious which scenes are DV due to the camera getting destroyed.

It's odd seeing that and how much I've progressed from 8mm to 16mm but I feel like doing something in super 8 b&w just for it.

[super8man]

Some has recently said that 4 minutes is an eternity...youtube makes me want the "point" of the video to be done in about 1 minute, give or take 30 seconds.

Youtube - the cosmic level playing field of the sky.

[jpolzfuss]

some sort of single 8mm camera

Either the year is misjudged (and it's a Single8-camera), or it's in fact one of those rare "single 8mm"-cameras ("double8"-camera that takes "pre-splitted" film that's only 8mm wide) by B&H, Bolex, Bolsey, .... In the later case you won't find any new film (unless you'll split the Double8-material yourself before loading the camera).

Jörg

[gianni1]

That 8mm cine Elmo w/ the 100' Magazine.... is called the Zoom 8TL

http://super8wiki.com/index.php/Elmo_Zoom_8-TL

http://www.filmshooting.com/scripts/gal ... as?page=21

Gianni 8)

[cdg]

I think contrary to all the naysayers here, the old brownies and keystones are neat. Not professional material, but a piece of the past just the same, and a lot more "typical" of the time period than a Bolex was. I would guess that at 5 bucks, your "worst case scenario" is an old Bell and Howell or Keystome, best case is probably like an old Yashica.

I own an old Yashica. It's not pro line, but it isn't the cheapest thing either. I didn't pay much for it- maybe 15 bucks or so if I remember right. It was probably too much at that, but I wanted it for the obscurity factor (it's an E-III with a tourette).

I can't call myself an authority on S8 and R8 films, but the advantages of Regular 8mm:

1) IMHO, the cameras you can find absolutely rock. Many, if not most use spring motors and don't rely on hard to get batteries. Some have built in light meters, but almost all allow you to shoot completely manually from my research.

2) R8 is easily available and promises to be available for a loooong time to come. It's basically 16mm film ran twice through the camera, so what you buy from John Schwind (I can recommend him) or anybody else is 16mm film that's reperforated. This isn't really an advantage of S8 obviously, bit it is a fact.

3) Projectors are readily and cheaply available. I'd steer away from ebay for a projector, as shipping usually kills the deal. Look around, put a wanted ad out on Craigslist, look at the local Goodwill or whatever- pay $2-$5 max. Usually editing gear is also a bit cheaper for R8 as well.

4) It's kind of strange and doesn't have quite the following that Super 8 has, so you can sort of be an outlaw amongst outlaws. This is probably debatable...

The disadvantages:

1) Rarely are there automatic exposure settings. The cameras are clunky and old, and light metering is often tricky, especially comming from VHS type equipment, but even compared with S8 films.

2) No battery motor, you can't shoot a clip longer than about 30 seconds on most cameras. It's the advantage and achilles heel of S8 that the cameras are mostly spring driven...

3) The film gets flipped and run twice. Many complain about fogging their film during the flipping process. It's straightfoward in theory, but putting it into practice requires a flat surface and 3 arms. I'm getting better at it after a few practice runs, but it still isn't easy to do it without destroying some of your film. 8)

[super8man]

I think "cdg" has enough good points in his post to really cover the whole issue. Cool!

But, being the contrarian that I am, I have to advise you about my recently acquired Agfa Movex 5142 - its internal spring can run the ENTIRE run of a 25-foot spool on one cranking - even beats Bolex. On top of that, it even offers TRUE SLR capabilities...get a load of the 8x30 monocular - reminds me of my Contaflex with the 8x30B. Very very cool. Optics on the monocular are super sharp by the way







Bolex for comparison: