8mm Forum: Advice for the Novice

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Posted by Drew Barclay (Member # 2325) on December 08, 2010, 06:53 PM:

Hello my fellow film enthusiasts!

Just wanted to get your opinions on something - as I am quite the novice in the realm of 8mm / 16mm / any-mm film in general!

I know Eumig is supposedly top-of-the-line when it comes to 8mm sound projectors capable of playing Super-8 and regular 8mm film. Does anyone have any advice for me, tips, anything before I invest some money into a projector? Know of any dealers in California? Any tips when I buy? Things to look for? Any advice would be greatly appreciated!

-Drew

Posted by Steve Klare (Member # 12) on December 08, 2010, 07:40 PM:

Well,

A lot of 'em have problems with a rubber lined drive disk being so worn it won't transmit motion anymore. It was a good idea at the time..but then time was 30 years ago.

Fixing this is supposed to be close enough to impossible not to be worth it.

The idea with these (and any other projector) is to see if it can maintain a full 24 Frames per second so your sound won't sound like a 33 being played at 16RPM. (-very low tech analogy!)

Eumigs are also supposed to have problems with the heads wearing due to the alloys being too soft, so trying one out with a sound film is a good idea.

That being said: I've had my Eumig 8 years now and never had a bit of trouble with it.

Posted by Drew Barclay (Member # 2325) on December 09, 2010, 01:10 PM:

Great - thanks for the advice! I'll be sure to bring a Super-8 w/ sound to any unit I test, along with checking speed.

Any idea where I should go to get one of these? Is my only option pretty much estate sales / auctions / misc. craigslist ads? If anyone knows of any repair/refurb outfits I'd be grateful for their contact info.

Thanks, and looking for war to any other advice!

-Drew

Posted by John Davis (Member # 1184) on December 09, 2010, 02:53 PM:

Hi Drew,
Eumig are a decent brand but you'll know from reading this forum that other marques also enjoy a lot of respect too and certainly Elmo also get good scores.
Where you are at risk is buying privately with very little come back if the machine is not quite right. A trader who will let you check a machine prior to purchase or with a guarantee would be the solution, but obviously you will pay a premium for this. Reading between the lines price is very much an issue for you and here you might have to use other tactics.
What sort of films are you going to project? If you only intend to watch super 8 then there is no point in paying extra for a dual gauge machine. Similarly sound projectors are less common than silent machines and command a premium.
Bounce machine specs off forum members because as well as good machines there are also machines which would best be described as film mincers. The comments about the soft alloy sound heads on Eumigs are true but I'm not sure they apply to the whole range of Eumigs and certainly the later machines don't seem to suffer this.
John

Posted by Drew Barclay (Member # 2325) on December 09, 2010, 04:39 PM:

Thanks for the Elmo advice!

I am interested in 8mm primarily, both Super-8 and Regular. W/ sound and silent. I've done some pricing and yes, it does look like I'll be paying a $150-$250 premium for exactly what I want. Just want to know what I should do, look for, etc. before I make such a large investment for one of the coolest hobbies around!

Oh, BTW- I have two 8mm projectors that introduced me to the world of 8mm, but both need work - my B&H much more than my Kodak. The Kodak plays silent 8mm fine, slow in some spots - especially apparent if I'm watching a feature film / something professionally produced by Castle, Paramount etc. Looking to get something that I can use as my main player - reliable, and relatively quiet.

Thanks for the input everyone! This is truly invaluable!!

-Drew

Posted by John Clancy (Member # 49) on December 10, 2010, 03:24 AM:

A Eumig S810 D Lux HQS (High Quality Sound) is the best of the dual gauge Eumig's I've come across. But for primarily Super 8 work I'd recommend just about every Elmo ahead of it. Eumig had a pretty poor reputation by the end of the heyday of cine film and justifiably so too in my opinion.

Posted by frank arnstein (Member # 330) on December 10, 2010, 08:32 AM:

An interesting point of view with regard to Eumigs inferiority John.

Would you care to explain & give us some actual reasons for your poor opinion of Eumigs.?
Then forum members can consider the points you raise & can confirm or defend the Eumig shortcomings you highlight.

dogtor [Frown]

Posted by Roy Neil (Member # 913) on December 11, 2010, 10:22 AM:

Elmo ST1200HD is a fine projector

Although .. asking a film collector what the best projector is on the market is like asking someone which is the best political party ..

The ST1200 has stereo capability, a good light source ( 10 amps ) will support 1200' reels, and transports easily.

Good luck with your projector quest - let us know which projector you decide to purchase.

Posted by John Clancy (Member # 49) on December 12, 2010, 03:57 AM:

We've been through the 'which projector is best' many times on this forum. Very few people will state that a Eumig is best. Don't get me wrong, there are some fairly good Eumig's out there and although the later ones are mainly plastic and fall apart all too easily the same can be said of most projectors from that era. Elmo's also had too many plastic parts but they just last longer. The ST1200 series is considered the most robust but I don't have any of these myself as I have a batch of GS1200's including the brightest GS1200 in the UK. Actually had it running yesterday afternoon as I hadn't used it since the last convention and needed to check it was still okay; it is.

Most of the parts to keep an ST1200 running are still available and there are plenty of machines if we ever need to break for spares. I don't know if the same can be said for Eumig's though Bolex are still operating and claim to be able to repair all their models - they owned Eumig in the end.

But it's up to you. If you just want the occasional show of an old package movie then a Eumig could do you for years. If you're like me and run feature after feature then you need an Elmo.

Posted by Tom Photiou (Member # 130) on December 12, 2010, 04:24 AM:

John has pretty much sumed it all up, Eumig projecros have always been in our family mainly used for standard 8 films and we use the 810D lux and also the 822 sonomatic, a very good machine.For Super 8mm and much better all rounder it'll always be the Elmo ST1200 HD of which we have three so if worse comes to worse we will have one for breaking in the future. For Eumig repairs John White the 8mm shed shop is definatley your man and for all repairs ELMO Bill Parsons is the absolute master and worth every penny of is expert knowledge

Posted by Michael O'Regan (Member # 938) on December 12, 2010, 04:34 AM:

I think if you're interested in a projector with a lot of sound options and stereo playback, but can't really afford a GS, the Sankyo 800 Stereo is a popular option.

They're a lot cheaper than the GS and are very robust. I reckon around £200 - £225 should get you one of these in good condition.

Many dealers try to sell these for way over the top prices. I see Derann have one up at the moment for £330 - way too much money.

Posted by Drew Barclay (Member # 2325) on December 13, 2010, 02:04 PM:

Great advice! I really appreciate it guys! This should be more than enough to get some quick brand research done. I'll keep ya updated and let you know what I go with!

-Drew [Smile]

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