I know nothing about S8!!!!!!!

[AGray]

Help me, please. I don't know the first thing about filmmaking or Super 8. I have a friend who's into film and i want to buy him a camera, more importantly a super 8. i need to know what a good rig would be for a beginner. Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thank you.

[cameraguy]

First thing is how much are you willing spend?

If under $100 then I woud look at the Canon 814 autozoom or the Canon 518 SV (make sure its the SV version the others aren't as good). These are solid well built cameras that have 24 frames per second and allow full manual exposure control.

Elmo 612 and 1012 S-XL cameras seem to be going pretty cheap these days. They are a little more plasticy but are very good.

[Alex]

I don't think you should surprise your friend with a Super-8 camera.

I'd make it a mutual adventure. Make sure that a Super-8 camera is EXACTLY what your friend wants. You don't want to be put in a position where you start off looking at Super-8 cameras on e-bay, but end up buying a digital camera for a few grand because it's a great deal and was accidently listed under Super-8 cameras. [img]eek.gif[/img]

As cameraguy aptly pointed out, come to an agreement about how much you can spend on the super-8 camera with your friend before you start looking at Super-8 cameras.

No matter what dollar amount you agree on as a spending limit, be prepared to go $50.00 - $75.00 higher, because a real friend would do that. [img]graemlins/angel.gif[/img] Unless you don't mind looking at your friend's puppy dog eyes and saying no. [img]graemlins/devil.gif[/img]

And don't forget that shipping costs will add an additional $15-$30 dollars on top of the purchase price. (another reason to have the $50.00- $75.00 secret margin that your friend does not know about)

It's very important that the Super-8 camera be properly shipped by the seller. Not just thrown into it's non-cushioned cased and dropped into a box for shipping. Kindly request the camera be completely wrapped with a couple of layers of bubble wrap, then have that put into a box fillled with additional packing material, and then that box should be put within a bigger box. (check out the e-bay sellers praise page, these are comments left by previous winners of their auctions, and ask them how they ship such a precious commodity as a Super-8 camera)

Before bidding, study the ebay auctions with your friend. Read over the descriptions and learn about the various Super-8 Cameras being sold before bidding on them.

Come back to this forum http://www.hostboard.com/cgi-bin/ult...bb=forum&f=405 with a specific list of cameras you are interested in ( we don't need to know the auction number), and we can give you additional input before you start to bid.

Warning, probably 15% - 20% of the Super-8 cameras sold on Ebay have some hidden defect that may or may not prevent you from using the camera out of the box, so test it right away to make sure it works. (that is just my estimation, I could be off on the percent)

And finally, make sure your friend has a good quality tripod for a Super-8 camera BEFORE you bid on a super-8 camera. This will both protect the camera and give additional motivation to actually shoot something. (don't forget you'll need film and batteries) It might be odd to give a friend a Super-8 camera as a present if they then don't use it.

You will also need to learn about either getting a film projector or transferring the film to video for viewing purposes. Make the Super-8 buying experience an adventure with your friend that will be fillled with learning and anticipation, and both of you should enjoy the process. [img]graemlins/thumbs_up.gif[/img]

[AGray]

Wow! thank you for the responses. I was kinda trying to keep this a surprise, so getting input from him (giftee) is not an option. I am trying to keep this around $100 for the camera. He's new at this so i don't want to go too elaborate with the camera. I want to get him something relatively simple and easily maintained (i.e. i don't want finding the right kind film to be an issue). If super8 isn't the way to go in this situation then what's another good beginners camera? I like the S8's styling and they seem like something i would be into, but alas it's not for me. Thank you again for the responses.

[Alex]

You wanting to surprise your friend is really great. The problem with giving a super-8 camera is they all vary in their cosmetic appearance, and that may be an intangible to consider.

The Canon 514XLS is a nice camera, but I personally don't think it's much to look at.

In the $100.00 range....Probably an Elmo 612XLS or a 1012XLS might be the ideal camera (1012-XLS sometimes creep up to $150.00-$200.00 range) Because it has the basic desired features (manual exposure, 18 & 24 frames (I know the 1012 has 24, probably the 612 does as well), and an interesting macro function on the lens, plus either a 6 to 1 zoom lens (the 612) or a 10-1 zoom lens (the 1012).

And they both look good cosmetically.

Anyone else have suggestions?

By the way, if you go to e-bay and look under movie cameras, you can do a search in the price range you are looking for.

[AGray]

Thank you, again. I'm thinking that this elmo character seems to be a good consideration. As i said before i know nothing about filmmaking or cameras, so i'm assuming that frame-rate is a big factor. For a beginner should this be a big determiner? Will he notice the difference between the 612 and the 1012? (will my wallet) Thank you, and i hope i'm not bothering any1 with all the newbie questions.

[Alex]

"Elmo Character" Hahahaha.

The 1012XLS looks more impressive and will probably cost 50% to 100% more. Do you have experience finding Super-8 cameras on Ebay?

[Alex]

Good question about 18 frames versus 24 frames. Both are fine. The 18 frames speed will allow more film run time per cartridge. (2min 30 secs per cartridge at 24 frames, 3 minutes 20 seconds at 18 frames)

It's nice to have the choice on the camera, but either are acceptable.

[AGray]

<BLOCKQUOTE><font size=2 face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">quote:</font><table border="0" width="90%" bgcolor="#333333" cellspacing="1" cellpadding="0"><tr><td width="100%"><table border="0" width="100%" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="2" bgcolor="#FF9900"><tr><td width="100%" bgcolor=""><font size=2 face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">Originally posted by Super8 Filmmaking in the DigitalAge:
"Elmo Character" Hahahaha.

The 1012XLS looks more impressive and will probably cost 50% to 100% more. Do you have experience finding Super-8 cameras on Ebay?</font></td></tr></table></td></tr></table></BLOCKQUOTE>

No, i have no experience buying cameras on ebay. I've bought things on ebay, but never cameras.

So are the elmo's a good choice for beginners?

[Alex]

This is just my opinion.

In the under $150.00 market for Super-8 cameras, the elmos are probably the best cameras when considering ease of use, looks, and the odds that the camera still works.

In the over $150.00 market, you have Nizo's, Canon's, Beaulieu's, Nikon's, and a few others that escape me at this moment.