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Topic: ELMO ST1200 vs ELMO GS1200
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Tom Photiou
Film God
Posts: 4837
From: Plymouth U.K
Registered: Dec 2003
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posted December 04, 2017 06:48 AM
![[Big Grin]](biggrin.gif) ![[Wink]](wink.gif)
I have never had a GS for the simple reason that for me, (only my opinion), it is a very good machine but way over engineered for me, if your a dab hand electrician and can also look after the machine mechanically & do your own repairs and services your fine, but i dont require the complex recording side of it, so we always opted for the ST1200HD, superb sound output, very good light output and they are relatively easy to repair mechanically in comparison with a GS.
In other words, the HD is a great workhorse for the average collector, & for the money they are very well built and sturdy, the GS was the choice for those whose insisted on full stereo with recording capabilities as far as Elmo went. Along with the ST800 and GS800. But like it has been said before, all projectors and all makes have there down sides.
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Steve Klare
Film Guy
Posts: 7016
From: Long Island, NY, USA
Registered: Jun 2003
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posted December 04, 2017 10:36 AM
Something you need to be careful of with these larger capacity machines is guide wear. They are much friendlier to running a lot of film than the smaller capacity machines so the guides tend to show up with a lot more hours on them.
As the guides wear down the nice little valleys that are supposed to keep film contact only at the edges wear into plains where the contact is everywhere.
I wouldn't buy either one of these from somebody I didn't know, I definitely inspect the guides and then watch them obsessively.
I've never had a guide wear to the point of damaging a print, but I've caught them first a couple of times.
-In all fairness, if you bought a 40 year old car, drove it 10,000 miles and wound up needing a tow, you'd say that's to be expected for something that old. This isn't much different. There's no way when these machines were built anybody expected them to be on the job this long.
By now we were not only expecting to be 3 or 4 model generations further along, but wearing aluminum suits and commuting to jobs on the Moon!
(The "Future" aint all it was cracked up to be!)
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All I ask is a wide screen and a projector to light her by...
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Steve Klare
Film Guy
Posts: 7016
From: Long Island, NY, USA
Registered: Jun 2003
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posted December 04, 2017 12:53 PM
There's a guy in my neighborhood that collects exotic cars, but he collects them one at a time: sells one to buy the next.
You name it, he's had it: Ferraris, Maseratis, Porsches. He once had a sports car imported from South Africa that was one of two in the entire state. They are the kind of cars that are so powerful that every time he turns the key the whole block says "What was THAT!". (-every time!)
He usually drives them on Saturdays. The rest of the week when he needs something dependable to get to work he has a Honda Civic. The exotics he never keeps more than a year, he's had the Civic easily a decade.
-It pays to keep things simple. Until the day comes he need to go 150MPH (-really, really late for work...), the Civic is the right tool for the job.
Gary, I got my ST-1200 from Steve Osborne. I may even have paid a little more, but I know he wouldn't send me a turkey!
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All I ask is a wide screen and a projector to light her by...
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Graham Ritchie
Film God
Posts: 4001
From: New Zealand
Registered: Feb 2006
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posted December 04, 2017 01:20 PM
Gary
Glad to read you are keeping clear of the GS1200 they are very "tempermental" and unless you can do a bit of fixing yourself and have a manual, or at least know someone that lives close that can fix them, they are a projector to avoid...unles you have lots of money that is ![[Smile]](smile.gif)
For my money a ST1200 is good choice, the "D" model you mentioned means its dual ie optical/magnetic.
For your requirements, I would look for an early ST1200 "M" in good condition, however as mentioned all those projectors can scratch film, due to wear in the guides, but in saying that, if you dont mind doing a bit of work on them yourself, that problem can to a large degree can be overcome. As for Elmo I do very much like the smaller ST180E ...anyway best of luck
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Chip Gelmini
Phenomenal Film Handler
Posts: 1733
From: Brooksville, FL
Registered: Jun 2003
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posted December 04, 2017 03:18 PM
I have used some of the ST1200 D and HD projectors before I hit into the GS.
And yes, I do favor the GS much more than the 1200 series.
I never really owned an ST that I could depend on the take up to work without issues. Those freaking rubber belts bouncy as hell.
One thing I do like of the GS is the independent motors for each of the main directions of film. Separate motors for take up, rewind, reverse, lamp cooling, etc. And mainly gear driven. There are belts in each arm and off the main motor.
Perhaps one of the hi maintenance reasons for the GS is that the electric current must be changed to DC amperage, whereas as far as I know, the ST is only a/c power, with perhaps exception to the optical voltage. Please correct me if I am mistaken.
I will say this. Regardless of which you choose, you can do no wrong. In theory and in keeping with 1200 foot capacity machines, if the GS 1200 was the top of the line model they made - then the ST 1200 (HD-M/O) was the second best machine right below the GS 1200. I'm eliminating the GS 800 merely because of the limited capacity having said this.
This has been a very informative thread. :-)
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