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I went to several thrift stores, antique stores, and pawn shops today.
I found:
Bell & Howell 2123F XL. I looked through it and couldn't focus on anything. They wanted $50 for it.
Pailliard Bolex B8. I couldn't tell but I think this was just a regular camera.
812 Keystone TLX Electronic Eye Zoom $9.50. This one had a very yellowed viewfinder.
Brownie Movie Projector (Kodak). 8mm. Is 8mm obsolete? $27.50.
Keystone Olympic Turret 8, again, 8mm. $17.50.
My guess is that all of the above is crap and not worth buying. Can anyone tell me different?
If I buy a camera (and projector) online, are there any inexpensive, reputable dealers or should I just throw the dice on eBay?
-Danny, OKC
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The Bolex B8 is one of the finer reg 8 cameras ever made. You might want to look at that one again. May have Yvar lenses.
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It looked nice and I think it had 2 lenses on it. And when I opened it it had two reel-posts. So I figured it wasn't a regular camera. And I figured it wasn't super 8.
Is 8mm still a viable medium?
The thing I didn't understand was that I didn't see a place for a battery and I didn't see a wind-up mechanism. So that's why I thought it was a regular camera.
-Danny
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it's not super 8. it is regular 8mm and you can still buy film. there should be a winding key on one side of the camera. check the lenses, see if the focus ring moves smoothly. these are not reflex cameras, but you can focus them. many times these cameras need to be wound up a run a few times to get them working again. the lenses may be worth the price of the camera. these lenses will fit on the bigger H8 camera or any D mount camera. i've owned two of these and they are fantastic!
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Regular 8 film can be had from John Schwind and others. This is Schwind's website.
http://members.aol.com/Super8mm/JohnSchwind.html
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As rollemfilm says, regular 8mm film is still available. It's not quite as readily available as Super 8, nor are there as many sources for it, but the more people who continue to buy it, the longer it is likely to remain available. I hope it'll be available for a long time, because I want to get a regular 8 camera too. For me, it's a nostalgia thing mostly. The Bolex H8 would be my choice.
Here's a website I found that has a fair amount of introductory information about regular 8:
http://home.pacbell.net/mnyberg/super8mm/8mm/basics.htm
Here's a good write up explaining the different film gauges:
http://lavender.fortunecity.com/lave...ilmgauges.html
