Newbie seeking help about getting an 8mm camera

[christiandransfield]

I'm currently a student at Brunel University in London.
I recently watched a snowboarding program and noticed that some of the program when the snowboarders were doing stunts was filmed using an old (colour) camera. My mate told me that it was probably filmed using a super8 colour camera.
I just wondered if anyone can help me out. I basically want to find a not too expensive one of the colour cameras so that I can shoot my own stuff as I liked the effect so much. I will also be wanting to transfer the films somehow to my PC. Does anyone know that best way to do this.
I would really appreciate it if someone could reply to this as I don't really want to buy any old super8 camera and end up buying the wrong one for the job.
Cheers.
Christian Dransfield.

[rcroster]

My suggestions are to 1) look for a camera that runs on standard batteries (almost always meaning AA alkaline). Avoid cameras that require specialty batteries or have thier own unique rechargable batteries. Since Super 8 cameras have not been manufactured in over 20 years, those that require specialty batteries will be more difficult to maintain, 2) based on what I think you're looking to shoot, look for or camera that can shoot at up to 36 frames per second or higher, e.g. 54 fps. A camera that easily fills the bill on the specs I suggested above is the Canon 1014E, however, this is usually a very popular camera on Ebay (or anywhere else for that matter, like photo retail stores with used equipment for sale) and therefore can cost quite a bit. My secondary recommendation is a Bauer Super 8. You can usually find various Bauer models on Ebay for decent prices. The first Super 8 I ever owned back in 1976 was a Bauer C5XL. It was an incredibly easy camera to use, light weight, it had frame rates of 9, 18, 24 and 36, a 5 to 1 zoom and ran on 4 AA batteries. The Neovaran lens was incredbily sharp. I recently had a lot of my old film shot on that camera telecined and the operators at the transfer house remarked at how good the image quality was. Warning, though, you never really know the quality of what you're getting when you buy off of Ebay until you receive it and then it may be too late. To date I have purchased 4 cameras off of Ebay. Two are just fine, one has a back focus problem and I have yet to test the fourth. Photo retail stores with used equipment are a safer bet but you'll pay higher prices for that peace of mind. Good luck!

[christiandransfield]

Thanks for that mate. You don't know how I might be able to transfer the films that I record on to my PC do you?
Chris.

[rcroster]

Christian, the way I get film footage into my Macintosh and Final Cut Pro software is to first get the film footage professionally telecined onto MiniDV tape. I then use my Canon Optura Digital Video camera, hooked up by firewire to my Mac, to export the footage to Final Cut Pro. At other times (when funds are tight) I will just project my Super 8 footage onto a big white card (flat surface) and videotape the projected image with my Optura. My do-it-yourself results have been mediocre at best, even with my variable speed projector, but there has been a lot of discussion on this board and other boards about how to optimize this DIY home solution. One of these days I may apply those lessons learned by others, but for now I use the DIY method to keep my project moving along and then when the funds are available I will get my footage professionally telecined and use it to replace the DIY footage I have already edited in FCP-3. Another popular piece of equipment to transfer 8mm film into your computer, which yields superior results to the DIY method described above, is the Workprinter, manufactured by MovieStuff in Houston Texas. The owner of this company, Roger, often posts on this board and the other board and often gives lots of valuable advice to owners of the workprinter. Check it out on his website. One of these days I would love to own a workprinter. Owing to its cost, however, one can only justify it, I suppose, if you're going to make 8mm your primary acquisition medium, shoot a lot of 8mm, and need the best results possible (short of using a legitimate and professional telecine company to do your transfers). If you shoot enough 8mm and transfer it all, the WorkPrinter will undoubtedly pay for itself over time. Hope this helps.

[TJ_the_director]

Roster,

Good advice you gave about finding a camera that uses standard sized batteries and so on . . .

I'm wondering if you could list some of the desireable super8mm brands and models?

I understand Bauer is desireable but what are the top picks?

Thanks!

[rcroster]

Desirable brand cameras? This is very subjective and everyone will have different opinions. Perhaps, a better question to ask is what do you want the camera to do? What features do you require? If sync sound is something you will need then you will have to go to The Film Group's website and see thier list of cameras that they can modify for use with thier crystal sync unit. If you want to shoot low light situations, you will want a camera with an XL designation. If you want to shoot point-of-view extreme sports, then find a cheap camera that works (like a Kodak M series, GAF, Sears Brand or Bell & Howell) and when it eventually gets smashed, you don't care. If all of the above apply, then you will need several different cameras. That being said, I own a Canon 1014E, a Canon 1014XL-S, a Nizo 6080 and a Bauer C5XL (which is not in good condition). I don't need any other cameras for now, but if I were to purchase another one for the fun of it, then I would want a Nikon R-10.

[Ratsder]

I have a Canon 814 E I'm happy with. It uses AA's, has a nice lens and variable shutter, 18,24 fps and slow motion. Auto and manual exposure. The plastic body feels cheap but a lot of camera for the cost if you get a good one (eBay).
Jesse

[TJ_the_director]

roster, thanks for the advice. After a month of research I decided to go with simplicity and rock-solidness (I once broke a Sony DVX1000 in half by dropping it!) so I selected the KinoFlex (actually the Russian version) and got a nearly new one for less than $50. Since super8mm is the secondary format on my project, I decided to keep it simple and just get the super 8 footage I need for this project with the Kinoflex and perhaps explore super8 further for a larger role in my next project!

Anyone curious about my project can click here: www.lexiecannes.com

[onsuper8]

Christian,

I thought I'd stick my two peneth in, I've had a fleet of cameras over the last few years and just picked up a beautiful 'new' Nizo 801. An absolutely fantastic camera. As you are in London, check out some of the sellers under equipment sales on our site (GB ones obviously);

www.onsuper8.org

You'll pay much more going through a shop (of which there are a number in and around the smoke) but you may well get some kind of guarantee.

Good luck!

[box]

As I student and keen super 8 user I find the best way to get free telecine is to actively call different post houses. In your case Soho London will be your only option. Ask to talk to someone in bookings. Bookings staff are essentially junior producers who have more time to give for people with no or low budgets, unlike producers who tend to always be on the look out for their next award winning job. Explain to them your situation. As long as you are prepared to pay for the cost of tape stock for example mini dv, digibeta tapes ect (never buy from the post house their mark-ups are incredibly high) and have the telecine done in the middle of the night you should be able to wangle some type of deal.

It?s important to remember at every post house which provides telecine there is always going to be an assistant who is thirsty for a chance to get on the sharp end and grade your work.

As for transfer onto minidv your essentially losing much of the appeal and look of film by compressing it digitally on tape. I would try to get hold of an external hard disk and get the post house to transfer the film to a high picture quality format tape e.g. digibeta then onto the hard disk. This will ensure that the film retains it unique look.

There are now many plugins available which can help you create the retro look. So before blowing your loan check have a good think about how much your going to use the camera and why you really need it.