8mm Forum: Just got a 'new' camera: Cosina DL-40P. Need help. Manual?

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Posted by Jacob Kirkpatrick (Member # 4192) on March 17, 2014, 03:54 PM:

I just got this in the mail. Got it off Ebay. All the speeds seem to work, but I can't figure out how to do single frame shots on it. There isn't switch or button that I can see that allows me to do this. The FPS switch only does 12, 18 and 24 fps. Anyone have a manual for this or know anything about it? Thanks.

Posted by Joe Taffis (Member # 4) on March 17, 2014, 07:11 PM:

Hi Jacob,
Welcome to the Forum! According to the super 8 database, there is a cable release socket for single frame shooting. You may need a special cable if there is no SF switch on your camera....
Here is the SF cable for my B&H 1237XL....

Posted by Jacob Kirkpatrick (Member # 4192) on March 19, 2014, 03:22 PM:

Ok, this is what I was afraid of. I was wondering what the remote control actually did(remote filming, etc). Something tells me it's going to be next to impossible to locate one of these remotes. Is it just a pin that is pushed inside the remote slot? I might be able to make something if that's the case.

Where it says "manual, off and auto": is that the exposure control for different film types? If so, how do I measure it?

Here's a picture of the side of the camera with the remote input:

Another question: It appears that the camera has a zoom as well as a focus. The problem is, the focus doesn't seem to "focus" anything. Everything is always in focus. All it does is make the field of view slightly smaller or larger, but not by much. Does it serve a different purpose? The only thing that adjusts focus is the black rotary piece attached to the eyepiece in the picture above(far upper right). Here's a picture of the lens:

Lastly, I wasn't sure what these mean:

The switch turns the camera on and off, but I didn't know if it served a different purpose since it's labeled with random letters. Are the 'c' and 's' just light meters?

As you can tell, I'm new to all of this and could really use a manual for this camera. I appreciate all the help.

Posted by Steve Klare (Member # 12) on March 19, 2014, 03:34 PM:

Actually it's a standard cable release. Back before the digital age these lived at the bottom of a great many camera bags.

Try the B&H website: there may be dozens of them there.

Posted by Maurice Leakey (Member # 916) on March 19, 2014, 03:54 PM:

Jacob
Here are some details of your camera:-
http://www.super8data.com/database/cameras_list/cameras_cosina/cosina_dl40p.htm
The Manual/Off/Auto refers to control of the zoom.
Film speed is set automatically by the film cartridge when it is inserted.
S socket is for single frame.
C socket is for continuous run.
Both S and C are controlled by a standard cable release.

Posted by Jacob Kirkpatrick (Member # 4192) on March 19, 2014, 04:49 PM:

Steve, I looked on their website, but I didn't find anything. I'll keep looking though.

Maurice, thank you for explaining those details. I've been using that page for information, but I wasn't sure how to interpret most of it.

EDIT: Ok, I found some of the cable releases. But I'm not sure how to tell if it fits or not. Are there different size sockets? Here is one I found that isn't too expensive. Just not sure if it will work.

Posted by Steve Klare (Member # 12) on March 19, 2014, 06:52 PM:

Hi Jacob,

That release looks just fine.

Any release I've ever had fit any release socket equipped camera I ever had, so I think your odds of success are pretty promising here.

Posted by Jacob Kirkpatrick (Member # 4192) on March 19, 2014, 09:52 PM:

Thanks so much for the help. For some reason, I thought it was specific to my camera(can you tell I'm new to this? hehe). But it turns out they are universal(for the most part). I found a local camera shop that had a box of used ones and I got one for $6.

Now I just need to figure out if I can fix the battery checker. It seems to say the battery is more full if I press the button harder, even if there aren't any batteries installed. [Roll Eyes]

I got a new button cell, but I have no idea if it is working or not until I develop my film. I guess we'll find out.

Posted by Steve Klare (Member # 12) on March 19, 2014, 10:12 PM:

If the exposure needle swings up and down with changing light levels, you are probably OK.

What film are you using?

Posted by Jacob Kirkpatrick (Member # 4192) on March 19, 2014, 10:28 PM:

Tri-X B&W reversal. I found a local store that sells it for $17.25 per cart, so I just bought a few.

EDIT: I verified that the light meter is working. I took the new button cell out and it stopped working, so it looks like I'm good to go. I just need to figure out focusing(the viewfinder doesn't go in and out of focus when the lens is adjusted, I just have to guess with the distance marked on the lens).

Posted by Steve Klare (Member # 12) on March 20, 2014, 05:59 AM:

If you focus to 10 feet and adjust the zoom to 10mm your depth of field will be so great you won't need to focus any further.

When you need to go more telephoto you will though.

TRi-X is a great stock, a little grainy but very versatile.

The black and white parts of this video are my Tri-X footage:

CineSea 6

[ March 20, 2014, 08:07 AM: Message edited by: Steve Klare ]

Posted by Mitchell Silverman (Member # 4187) on March 20, 2014, 11:38 AM:

Ah yes, I see the next cineSea is to be on May 3 & 4.

Posted by Steve Klare (Member # 12) on March 20, 2014, 11:48 AM:

Yes,

There's always something posted up at the top in "Upcoming Film Conventions" and I would be very surprised to find nothing about CineSea there for years: it's been going very well!

Posted by Jacob Kirkpatrick (Member # 4192) on March 20, 2014, 01:48 PM:

Great, thanks for the tip! That CineSea event looks pretty awesome. I'd love to get some 8mm films to watch on my projector.

For my movie, I'm going for the grainy look. So Tri-X is perfect. I'd really like to process it myself to give it even more of a rough look, but I'm not sure about messing with sulfuric acid in the dark hehe.

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