8mm Forum: Test Report - GS with Ektar Lens

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Posted by Paul Adsett (Member # 25) on October 29, 2008, 10:26 AM:

Well I finally managed to get my Kodak Ektar 22mm f1.0 fixed focal length lens fitted into my Elmo GS1200. The Ektar, which comes off the old Kodak M100 super 8 sound projector, is a supreme piece of glass, and previous tests using it on my Eumig S938 Stereo show that it produces a really stunning picture with razor sharpness across the whole picture and, most impressive, superb contrast. The general effect of using this lens on the 938 is a revelation in terms of picture quality, you get shimmering grain across the whole picture area, and the focus is dead sharp- there is no ‘searching’ for optimal focus, it just jumps into focus and stays there. The colors of such films as ‘Show Boat’ or ‘Meet Me in St.Louis’ become vividly intense, fairly leaping off the screen, and blacks are deep and lush. I have never seen Super 8 look so stunning as on the 938 fitted with this lens. The Eumig has 150 watt lighting, whereas the GS of course is much brighter with 200 watt lighting, so I have been anxious to try this lens in the GS1200 to see just how well it would perform.
The problem in getting the Ektar in the GS is that the back focal length of the Ektar is much shorter than the normal Elmo lenses, in fact the Ektar practically rests on the surface of the film – it’s that close! In order to get the Ektar to push back far enough in the Elmo lens holder, I had to make the following modifications to the Elmo GS lens mount:

1. Remove the little flat spring which pushes on the back of the Elmo lens
2. Increase the diameter of the hole in the flat black plate
3. Machine down the lower brass post, which attaches the sprung part of the gate to the plate, by about 1/8 ins.

None of these mods affect the integrity of my GS, since they were all carried out on spare GS parts that I had on hand. Once I had completed these mods, I was able to slide the Ektar fully into the Elmo lens holder and get full focusing range.
The first thing I noticed was that I had to focus the lens with the main cover open, because the lens is so short it does not stick out through the front of the cover. This is a pain, and if I want to continue using this lens I will have to bond on an extension tube to it, so I have something to grab onto when the projector cover is closed.
So what about the picture quality ? First, it is very bright and white, a real screen-scorcher with my 2-bladed GS! I ran several of my best color films, including the two mentioned above, and the PQ was superb, with exactly the same kind of stunning contrast and razor sharpness that I see when I use it on the Eumig 938. It is without question a better picture than with the Elmo f1.0, but it is a non-zoom lens, a simpler design with much less glass surfaces, so that is perhaps not too surprising. But if you can accommodate a fixed picture size and throw, this lens will beat out anything that I have so far seen, and I have not yet seen the Schneider.
I spent the whole of last night running reels of my favourite films, and marveling at the beautiful vivid rich colors and newly revealed detail of some of these prints which, in terms of contrast and color intensity, certainly put my Panny 700 video projector to shame.

Posted by Claus Harding (Member # 702) on October 29, 2008, 10:38 AM:

Paul,

Congratulations on a successful conclusion to your long-running experiment. Having read about your Ektar lens on several occations, I can only imagine how it must improve things on your big Elmo.

Inevitably, now I want one too, for my St1200. Of course, I don't know if it will even fit there... [Big Grin]

Good work. Nice when things like that work out so well.

Claus.

Posted by Christopher P Quinn (Member # 1294) on October 29, 2008, 12:12 PM:

Brilliant Paul,

How about bringing it along to the next BFCC? [Big Grin]

I know not practical. [Frown]

I would dearly love to be able to see the difference, i will have to use my imagination. [Wink]

Posted by Alan Rik (Member # 73) on October 29, 2008, 12:22 PM:

I can attest to the marvel of this lens. I use it on the Beaulieu 708EL Stereo and the picture quality is superb. You can literally see the grain shimmer....if only they made a 12.5mm version. The 22mm size means you need to be projecting pretty far from the screen in order to get a decent size picture.

Posted by Lance Alspaugh (Member # 27) on October 29, 2008, 02:37 PM:

Paul,

Thanks for the great details on your conversion. This forum member would like to know 2 things please:

1. Where does one obtain that fantastic lens.. EBay, Collector, ??
2. Would you consider making the mod for me if there was a fee and a lot of appreciation involved? I have spare GS parts for this purpose.

LA

Posted by Paul Adsett (Member # 25) on October 29, 2008, 05:30 PM:

Hi Lance,
This superb lens comes from the equally superb Kodak M100 super 8 sound projector, produced in the early 1960's before everything at Kodak went plastic.
Here is a picture and some details:

http://8mmforum.film-tech.com/cgi-bin/ubb/ultimatebb.cgi?ubb=get_topic;f=1;t=001904

This projector is quite rare, but they do pop up on ebay from time to time. The sound on the projector is poor by Eumig and Elmo standards, but its worth buying the whole machine just to get that lens, and of course the projector makes an excellent silent machine.

If you can get a hold of a lens, I will be glad to help out with the necessary mods to the lens and the GS lens holder.

Posted by Graham Ritchie (Member # 559) on October 29, 2008, 05:53 PM:

Paul
Thats great, it also says a lot for non-zoom lenses, is it a 22mm as Alan mentioned and what size of picture do you get at a given distance from your screen?

Graham.

Posted by Lance Alspaugh (Member # 27) on October 29, 2008, 06:51 PM:

Thanks Paul for the info and generosity if I should find one of these babies. I will be on the lookout for one. I know it must look sensational.

LA

Posted by Alan Rik (Member # 73) on October 29, 2008, 08:19 PM:

The mod to the lens alone cost $250 and if you want to send the lens I will let you know where to send it. Since they have done it for me on mine they still have the templates and know how to do the work. [Smile]

At a distance of 20ft the picture only gets around 5 ft wide or so. But what a picture!

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