Beaulieu 4008ZMII for sale

[MikeBrantley]

I'm auctioning off a Beaulieu camera on eBay at http://cgi.ebay.com/aw-cgi/eBayISAPI...tem=1220162888 so I can have a little cash to pay some bills.

Oh, this hurts! But I'll still my other cameras... :-)

[Alex]

Seller's Regret????

Mike's camera sold in less than 3 hours under the "Buy it Now" feature...for $ 500.00

Mike, I think you priced it to move...but with those mods, accessories you provided, plus the lens...you probably could have gotten
$ 600.00 as a "Buy it Now"...perhaps $ 750.00

Hopefully it went to a good home. Heck, I wanted to buy it after I saw how Mike described the camera.

-Alex

[MikeBrantley]

Regrets all around. :-( FedEx damaged the camera in shipping. It appears the lens is shot. I'm refunding the buyer's money and waiting four to six weeks for FedEx to determine if they are liable (!) for the damages. I did insure the camera for the purchase price, but nothing more.

I truly regret insuring the camera only for the sale price rather than for it's price if it was being sold through super8sound or some other expensive source!

[roxics]

Wow that sucks! What do you mean when you say the len's in shot? Do you mean that it is cracked or scratched or a motor inside it is broke? I don't know anything about the cameras.

[Alex]

I'm going to make an assumption that the lens was not separated from the camera before shipping.

Most cameras with detachable lenses are usually bigger and heavier than the "one-piece" cameras in which you cannot remove the lens.

I believe Beaulieu was the only Super-8 Camera with a detachable lens, and SHOULD NOT be shipped with the lens still attached to the camera.

An intense amount of stored energy is created at the fulcrum point located where the lens is attached to the camera.

In shipping, that critical point where the lens meets the camera is extremely vulnerable.

If you remove the lens from the camera,
the effective distance of the individual units of the camerabody and lens effectively drops in half, and in essence, instead of one long piece of film equipment susceptible to shipping damage, you have two much shorter pieces of film equipment that can't fulcrum off of each other and subsequently cause major damage.

I know someone who shipped a 3-chip video camera with the lens still attached, and it too was damaged.

The good news is you can easily get
$ 250.00 to $ 500.00 for your modified Beaulieu Camera Body (unless the lens damaged the lensmount on the camera body)....

....and the side motor supports on the lens are probably fine and you might be able to find a buyer for those.

Do not accept any settlement unless you get to see the camera and all the accessories first....and see if the camera can be salvaged for parts....rather than thrown into a trash bin....

Fed Ex might offer you a lower amount...if they do...either fight them for the full value you insured it for, or say at that low offer, you want the camera back for parts...

If they give you full insurance value, you should still see about either getting the camera back or at least it going to a qualified Super-8 Dealer or Repair shop.

We need all the Super-8 cameras around we can save...even if it's just to be used as parts to repair another camera just like it.

-Alex



[This message has been edited by Alex (edited March 16, 2001).]

[MikeBrantley]

I have the camera back in my possession, but I am still awaiting word from FedEx about what they will do. FedEx was supposed to return the camera to the intended buyer (who was a great sport, by the way!) after they inspected it, but instead mistakenly sent it to me. That's fine, since I already refunded the purchase price.

The lens may not be as bad off as I feared. I'm investigating getting it reparied. It separated into two pieces right at the f-stop ring, where tiny little screws were pulled out of their holes. I thought there was going to be a scratch on an interior lens element, but that turned out only to be a smudge. There are scratches here and there, but not on the glass. Thank goodness!

I don't have the batteries back yet (told the intended buyer to remove them so Fedex wouldn't lose them!), so I can't try to run the camera yet.

So... maybe I just need FedEx to pay to replace or repair the lens.

Yep, Alex, the camera and lens were shipped attached. Live and learn. :-(

[Alex]

I'm truly glad you shared your misery... (and yes, I feel your pain)

....I came up with an idea based on what you are going through.....

A Super-8 parts website.

John Longenecker promptly put one up.....

[email protected]

Anyone who has a spare Super-8 camera, perhaps it's not working, but wants to make it available for parts for someone else, and vice a versa....either submit what part you are looking for, or what part or camera you have available...

You can charge a fee or swap parts...

I strongly recommend we don't go too crazy in opening up our Super-8 Cameras and poking around inside,

....but it sure might sway a technician to try and fix your camera if you have a spare camera (presumeably not functioning) that they can tap for parts.

-Alex

[Actor]

Alex:

For what it's worth, the Nalcom 1000 has an interchangable lens.

[tom hardwick]

Yes I well remember the Nalcom. It had a black cube of a box of a body - not unlike a Hassleblad - and it was very basic. Ran 18 and 24 fps (and maybe 32?) with single frame and that was about it. It came and then it went. 1978ish.

tom.

[Alex]

I've barely heard about that camera...who made it?

Anyone ever used one?

It's surprising that only one...make that two Super-8 cameras had interchangeable lenses.

Mike, I felt a slight sheepishness on your part in revealing how the camera was shipped.

It was a totally normal thing you did.

I only learned about the delicateness of these cameras by both watching other people mishandle cameras with detachable lenses....

....and from others by hearing about their shipping woes at a later date (the 3-chip video camera story)

The cool thing (although probably not for you) is that others who read this won't have to replicate what happened to you.

-Alex



[This message has been edited by Alex (edited March 19, 2001).]