8mm Forum: Old Blood new to the Hobby

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Posted by Robert Dukes (Member # 2590) on June 05, 2011, 05:07 PM:

Let me introduce myself. Robert T. Dukes, retired USAF after 24 years. Within the past 5 years I've gotten acquainted with vintage photography. I own an Icoflex IC, several Brownies, a Realist Stereo 45, Polaroid 315, 95a and 95b Land Cameras, an Ikonta and a Pentax K1000 both 35mm. I'm fortunate to have a local vendor who can process the medium format stuff for me.

A month ago a co-worker brought in a bagload of stuff he had found in his attic...things he didn't want. One of those items was a Bell and Howell "Double 8" movie camera. I had no idea about these things but was intrigued, so I bought it and three lenses from him. I quickly looked into acquiring film as every camera in my collection must 1)Work and 2)Be used from time to time. I set out on researching 8mm film.

Long and short of it is I now have a Minolta XL401 being shipped, and a refurbished Keystone 2500 projector. I also have the following films in 8 or Super 8:

Charge of the Light Brigade
Star Wars
Two 3 Stooges shorts (Dopey Dicks...can't recall the other right now)
Two Popeye films (Battery Up and Sea Serpent)
Four Tom n Jerry toons
Battle in Outer Space
One Daffy Duck toon (Hollywood Daffy)
Keystone Kops (Keystone Hotel)

I'm looking at a few more on Ebay.

I've been cruising this forum a little and just wanted to introduce myself. I guess the biggest question I have right now is not where can I get Tri-X for my Minolta, but WHO can process it? I've seen Dwayne's online but don't know if he can process Tri-X specifically. Also read here that WalMart will do the middle man work at a cost cheaper than sending to Dwayne direct. Any other suggestions?

Consistent with my medium format work, which is exclusively in b&w, I want to film Super 8 in b&w, so any help with getting a good processor would be appreciated. Thanks.

Robert

Posted by Brad Kimball (Member # 5) on June 05, 2011, 05:46 PM:

Hi Robert. Welcome!

Posted by Steve Klare (Member # 12) on June 06, 2011, 02:04 PM:

Hello Robert,

The XL-401 is just about my favorite camera regardless of format. I have a pair of them and one of them has been with me on trips all the way from one shore of the Pacific to the other, with a lot of stops in between. They are compact, yet they have a lot of useful features that make them fun to work with.

There are a lot of labs that can process Tri-X.

Here's some notable ones:

http://www.blackandwhitefilmfactory.com/

http://www.pac-lab.com/mainpage.htm

http://www.yalefilmandvideo.com/filmprocessing8mm.php

(There are others.)

Posted by Kirkamus Anderson (Member # 2441) on June 06, 2011, 03:06 PM:

I have a lot of film processed and my favorite lab so far is Spectra.

Pro8 is overrated to too expensive with s****y customer service.
Yale was fine, but took 3-4 weeks last time i used them.
Film video services in Minnesota was OK, but prices went up.

These guys are friendly, will answer any question over the phone with no attitude. They've earned my business!
http://www.spectrafilmandvideo.com/

[ July 04, 2018, 09:37 PM: Message edited by: Douglas Meltzer ]

Posted by Robert Dukes (Member # 2590) on June 06, 2011, 09:07 PM:

Thanks for the tips everyone. I had suspicions about Pro8. Any service is referred to as "s****y" is off my radar.

Camera is still in shipment, coming from Germany. Should be here by Thursday.

[ July 04, 2018, 09:36 PM: Message edited by: Douglas Meltzer ]

Posted by Bill Brandenstein (Member # 892) on June 08, 2011, 06:43 PM:

Kirkamus, I've also had a good experience with Spectra trying hard to do a good job, also never felt like I could trust Pro8mm, but have given most of my business to Yale -- never a delay, let alone 3-4 weeks. So it makes me curious what happened, unless you hit them over the holidays or if equipment was down (which has never happened to me). But everyone's equipment is down once in awhile.

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