8mm Forum: Novice needs Projector Recommendation

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Posted by Pasquale De Marco (Member # 411) on August 10, 2005, 11:36 AM:

Hi Folks,

My name is Pat De Marco. I've lurked for a while.
This seems like an interesting and civilized board.

I'm looking for a Projector with the following characteristics:

1) Can handle both 8mm & Super8.
2) Is durable.
3) Relatively good availability of bulbs, belts etc...
4) Is portable.
5) Can handle sound.

I realize finding all of the above in one machine is not likely but I'd like to get as many as possible.

Thanks in advance.

Pat De Marco

Posted by Maurizio Di Cintio (Member # 144) on August 10, 2005, 11:45 AM:

As far as I know, I'd suggest Eumig Mark S 804D or higher from the 800 range. Easy to find on ebay.com

Good luck

Posted by Jean-Marc Toussaint (Member # 270) on August 10, 2005, 01:28 PM:

Hi Pasquale, welcome to the forum.
I'll back up the suggestion: any Eumig in the 800 series (my favorite is the 810).

JM

Posted by Steven Sigel (Member # 21) on August 10, 2005, 03:53 PM:

I wouldn't try to get a projector to play both super 8 and standard 8 -- you're much better off with 2 projectors... All of the best super 8 projectors are super 8 only (ELMO ST and GS series, Sankyos, etc)...

The absolute best projector is the ELMO GS-1200 -- nothing comes close. They're not cheap but they're really great machines...

Posted by Tim Christian (Member # 48) on August 10, 2005, 05:13 PM:

Ideal but not realistic.

If you want both R8 and S8 sound the only sensible route is a dual gauge. Again this points to Eumig. Unless you are trying to fill a very big screen (more than 24 sq ft (2.5 sq m)), or an 8 ft wide scope screen, a 100 W dual gauge is fine. And Eumigs are more reliable than Elmos - and easier to fix!

Posted by Steven Sigel (Member # 21) on August 10, 2005, 07:19 PM:

With all due respect Tim -- what's unrelalistic about having two projectors? I've probably got 20. And BTW - I find Elmo much more reliable than any other super 8 projector I've ever used.

Posted by Tim Christian (Member # 48) on August 11, 2005, 02:44 AM:

What R8-only sound projectors are there constructed during the '70s/'80s using solid-state electronics and easy-to-find (and affordable) lamps?

As for reliability, it is inevitable that, given the use of same-generation components, simpler machines will be more reliable than more complex machines. Anyway, count the number of Elmo problems reported on this list compared with Eumig problems!

My preference for Eumig 800s is based on the following considerations, in addition to those above:

- they are simple enough to maintain, given that spares are vanishing

- no belts are used in the transmission

- they provide enough light for my usual audience size (up to about 25)

- if I want a brighter lamps, I can fit a 150 W with little difficulty.

Given these considerations, they are much better value for money in today's second-hand market.

Posted by Kevin Faulkner (Member # 6) on August 11, 2005, 04:44 AM:

Or does that mean that there were more Elmo's sold than Eumigs? [Wink]

Kev.

Posted by Colin Robert Hunt (Member # 433) on August 11, 2005, 05:51 AM:

In my experience a good condition Elmo ST1200 or a later twin track version would be a good bet. The 1200HD I have has been running films since 1983 and that was bought seconhand. These projectors have everything you need. 1200ft spools, easy to clean the gate. They are auto thread and you can unload the film halfway through the film if you need. They have a nice sound and light output and are very tolerant of sound stripe variations that some film releases sometimes occur. Being mostly mechanical in operation dont give 9 times out of 10 any problems. The Eumig's 800 series are great machines again, but spool size is smaller. Unthreading film is more difficult and gate cleaning requires the cover to be taken off and the inportant thing is to make sure the dot on the inching know is set so the claw is retracted so you can take the two gate halves out to clean. The ball and disk drive have been commented on has giving probems, but not had any myself on my old 70's 710D. You could buy a 800 series Eumig for Std8 only

Posted by Paul Adsett (Member # 25) on August 11, 2005, 11:14 AM:

Like Tim, I am a big fan of Eumig's. I like their simple, uncomplicated, but rugged designs. The 800 series are all superb, and you really cannot go far wrong getting anyone of these, paricularly the better HQS models. The 900 series are better, having much less mains hum than the 800's, but stay clear of the coaxial reel models 900 thru 930 which can be hard on film. The top of the line 938/940 stereo models are superb designs, with a beautiful outboard mixing console, flawless auto thread system, conventional 2 sprocket film path, very quiet, and stunning stereo sound quality.
Elmo's are beautiful machines of course, but as Tim notes, they are much more complex than Eumig's, and do seem to be more fussy.

Posted by Gary Crawford (Member # 67) on August 11, 2005, 11:27 AM:

Yes , to find a standard 8 only sound model..or silent for that matter ....you have to get much older machines.....the Mark S Eumig, for example...a great machine, but lots of ac hum...and even bulbs are a little hard to come by. I use Eumig 810D's for standard 8 only and have been very pleased. And I run Elmo st1200HD's for Super 8. That way I don't have to worry about converting from Standard 8 to Super. In the days of Standard 8, 400 feet was , for the most part , the largest reels you had, so this restriction is really not a problem. There were a ton of 810's sold as video was starting to come in and it is very easy to get 810d's on Ebay or whatever....machines with little , if any use. I've managed to buy two on Ebay that were virtually brand new in the box models, over the last three years.

Posted by Pasquale De Marco (Member # 411) on August 13, 2005, 07:29 AM:

Thanks guys !

I was concerned there would be too many recommendations but this is nicely focused - quite manageable. I had heard of Elmo and I like the idea of solid state design with Eumig.

FWIW, if I had to go without one of my desired characteristics it would be sound. I wonder if that would change the recommendation at all.

Thanks again.

Pat De Marco

Posted by Jan Bister (Member # 332) on August 13, 2005, 10:21 AM:

Hmm. Well, how about the Bolex 18-5 for regular 8mm movies...

http://cgi.ebay.com/VINTAGE-BOLEX-PAILLARD-18-5-SWISS-MADE-PROJECTOR-8-MM_W0QQitemZ7538396838QQcategoryZ15253QQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

It does come in a super-8 version as well (slightly different model name, not sure what it is right now). Hmm, there are zillions of good silent projectors out there, and just as many bum ones. I'd stick with Elmo and Eumig, actually. [Wink]

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