New Classic Pro 8 Camera

[Gary321]

Hi,
I'm new to the forum, posting that is. I've been reading messages for the past month.
Did you know that Pro 8mm (Super 8 Sound Inc.) has just come out with their own new
Super 8 camera, called the Classic Pro 8 Camera??? There was a write-up & 4 photos in the latest issue of FILM & VIDEO. I wrote Pro 8mm to get the specs on it, to which they replied. They sent me a document that opens up with WORD. They said they hope to get the info listed on their web site within a week. I didn't get any prices; I'm suppose to call for that. It looks like a modified Beaulieu & it comes in Volkswagon VW colors!!

[Nigel]

Hmmmmmmmmmmm......Hmmmmmmmmmmmm
That is about all I can on this one until I check it out--You guys know what I am thinking based on what I have said about Super8 Sound before.

[Alex]

About your feelings about Super-8 Sound.

Check this out Nigel...

....it turns out the great Ralph Branca and Bobby Thompson Ninth Inning Duel in the 1951 Pennant Race....only came to be because of cheating that was done over the last two months of the season by the Giants.

The New York Giants (we're talking 1951 here) came back from a 13 & 1/2 game deficit to win the Pennant from the Brooklyn Dodgers on Bobby Thompson's 3 Run Homer in the ninth inning of the third and final playoff game.

Remember the re-run of the sports announcer screaming into the mike......"the Giants win the Pennant, The Giants win the Pennant, The Giants win the Pennant......

THE GIANTS CHEATED! They had spy binoculars hidden in the bleachers to pick up the catchers signs to the pitcher.

The Giant's Spys let their hitters know what pitches were coming...which helped them make up the 13 and 1/2 game lead!

My point is.....whatever we revere in life...probably has a dark side....

So, all you can do is try to live your life to your standard....

and ask yourself this question....can you make a living relying on the services of those you have doubts about...

.....In regards to Super-8 Sound...I would say up until a couple of years ago....not exclusively....

I would say it is possible to now make a living off of Super-8 Sound's services....assuming you have made a name for yourself as a Super-8 cinematographer.

I believe where Super-8 Sound loses public opinion points is their demeanor to the newbies interested in Super-8...who don't have a lot of money.

Basically, it's a come back when you are serious and have money to spend profile they have.

This infuriates many....but this position actually is no different than a car dealership saying please come back when you can afford a car.

It's just that we all look at Super-8 as this camera that we can hold in our hands...and have already done so.....so how can it be so expensive!

Yet the vast public doesn't think twice about spending thousands of dollars on video gear....or 16mm....etc.....

I think a middle ground price-point does exist....I just think that nobody has been as tenacious as Super-8 Sound in the Super-8 field...

....so to the victor goes the monopoly.


Alex










[This message has been edited by Alex (edited February 06, 2001).]

[stanley k]

As a Los Angeles native and Dodger fanatic, I can only hope that all the SF Giants choke. CHOKE!!! Now that I got that off my chest, as a filmmaker without a budget, I mean forget low-budget, I'm talking about no-budget, the news that Super 8 Sound, or excuse me, PRO 8, is coming out with a new camera will only widen the gap between the "PRO'S" and the rest of us. Yet, in all honesty, I hope any success that comes from it will make Kodak, and perhaps others aware that our numbers are growing and that are demands are numerous. But you know what Nigel, you are right, you just can't help but feel a little perplexed by all this news. HMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM, indeed.
By the way, the day Bobby Thompson hit "The Shot Heard Around The World," the Soviets exploded their first atomic bomb and thus accelerating the intensity of the Cold War. HMMMMMMMMMMMMM, indeed.

[Alex]

Stanley, I changed my post from Giants to New York Giants. (1951 was before they moved to SF)

Alex

[stanley k]

Doesn't matter!! A Giant is a Giant is a F****N' Giant anywhere in the world. God Bless Dodger Blue!! Go Dodgers!!

[Nigel]

Alex--
I have budgets and I have the nice gear in both S8 and S16. I just don't like people who are rude to me. I have a low profile and I like it--when people think that I need a high one in this world and start to treat me like I am some gutter punk then I get pissed. Well I am just spweing now so I will stop. I still don't like Super8 Sound.

[Hanthx]

Okay, since I live right next door to Super 8 Sound, I will let everybody know what they are doing.

I actually thought that the Classic pro camera they have advertised was an old thing, I guess not.

Soo, last week, I went to Super8Sound for the first time, and needless to say, I was disapointed. Since I didn't have a blank check in hand, no one wanted to offer any assistence. Literally.

Anyways...I picked some flyers, and saw that they were selling a modified 4008 beaulieu camera in 4 different colors. They had changed the power supply slightly, and not to my surprise, they were charging a bundle.

The camera body alone, 1500.00+..although it was crystal synced
The lenses (original 6-66 and 8-64) were 800.00 alone. So for 2300.00+ you can own this baby.

Of course you could go to Irv Hidgon who sells the camera completely overhauled, with warranty, and a lense, for 900.00, without the crystal sync. If you spend another 500.00, you can go to the film group and have them crystal sync it. Thats 900.00 dollars in savings. Irv also sells the lenses alone for a little more than a hundred bucks.

I applaued them for helping reintroduce the same camera back into them market, but there are other options.

Pedro stated that Beaulieu will be making the 4008zm2 series again this year, and with a lense, it will cost around 1100.00. Thats brand new! (the lense will be old) Not a just a new shell over a overhauled camera.

I am gratefull that super8sound is around, it does promotedsuper8 as a viable medium, but...

Hope this answers some questions.

Scott from L.A.

[Alex]

I guess this all smacks of a problem that also currently exists in the Digital Video "Revolution".

You have your "expensive" video clients...the ones that pay full pop...and expect and get all of the bells and whistles on the products and services they purchase....

...then you have your "scrappers" that just want a chance to show the world and themselves what they can do....yet spend as little money as possible.

The Rogues!

The problem becomes how do you service both types of clients without pissing off the client that pays full pop and expects to receive "more' than the Rogues.

Who likes to offer half-arsed products or service?

That's why when you buy into low-cost Digital Video Camera and Editing System, I can poke a legitimate hole into any system you may want to buy unless you spend at least $ 10,000-$ 15,000!

But virtually all the marketing for digital video only primarily mentions the $300 - $500 video cards and $1,200.00 cameras......IT'S A LIE!

These Low-End Digital Cameras and Editing Systems have very limited applications, and generally cannot be relied on should you try to make money with your investment...

The low-end systems suck you in for a grand or two...then sap you until you finally commit to the $10,000-15,000 you should have committed all along!

In essence...Super-8 Sound's approach is more honest...they tell you up front what it's going to take...and it's a hard pill to swallow.

As for Nigel's comment about them being rude....I have an answer for that.

I know video repair places that don't specialize...they try to be everyone's friend so they are always guaranteed work.

I once saw someone come in to a Video Repair Place with a toaster!

That was when a light went off in my head.

I decided I would only take my professional video machines to places that ONLY SPECIALIZE IN PROFESSIONAL VIDEO DECKS OF THE TYPE I USE.

Why?

Because they generally are more proficient at fixing the professional machines...because that's all they work on.

So the more time Super-8 Sound spends with newer clients who can't afford their services...

....the more time it takes away from being available to either improve what they offer in the way of products or service...

....and the more time it takes away from the client who is actually spending money with them.

So, either you are a guy with a toaster...or a guy who is serious about the craft and profession of making Super-8.

Now, do I agree with that philosophy

....No!

But I do respect it as a blueprint for business survival.

....Yes!

Nigel, I would pose this question to you.....when you get camera assignments with different daily pay scales from job to job....

....are you able to perform and behave in the exact same manner from job to job?

If your answer is No, then how is that different from Super-8 Sound?

If your answer is Yes, how do you feel going from one of your "cheaper" paying jobs...back to your higher paying jobs and not giving them anything "extra" for the additional money they are paying you?

The ultimate problem with Super-8 is it is cost prohibitive to support the lower cost cameras...

....and the video transfer time is expensive.

Blame Rank Cintel for that....does it really still take a 3/4 of a million dollar machine to transfer Super-8...and did they really have to raise the price of a Super-8 Gate to $ 60,000!

If gates were available for $15,000 to $25,000...the amount of competition would have driven down the price of transferring Super-8,

I still think a much lower cost video transfer system could be made...It just that nobody wants to make it.

I can't blame Super-8 Sound for that.



Alex

[Gary321]

In regards to Alex's comment on someone making a lower cost video transfer system for film... has anyone else been keeping an eye on the system Tobin Cinema Systems is developing?? Hopefully it will come out this summer. I know they keep pushing the date back. This is for Super 8 film. If this first unit succeeds, they may do one for Regular 8mm.

Gary