8mm Forum: Favorite Projector in your collection?

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Posted by Douglas Warren (Member # 1047) on June 06, 2015, 11:07 AM:

I imagine we all have a particular machine in our collection that ranks as a favorite.I am a collector of modest means,so my projectors are not top of the line Elmo's or Eumig's,etc.My Copal CPS-402 Super-8 Sound Projector is a personal favorite of mine. It came to me in barely working order,but after a fair amount of TLC it's working well now.I love the sound on it,as it can rattle the roof if turned up high.So what's your favorite?...Douglas

Posted by Dominique De Bast (Member # 3798) on June 06, 2015, 01:03 PM:

Although it seems at first sight to be an easy question, I cannot answer. Maybe I have too many projectors ? Some machines give better picture and sounds than others that are more beautiful or have an old nicer design. So I wouldn't name any "winner". Not to mention that when you have several gauges, you are automatically used to manipulate different projectors.

Posted by Antonio Costa Mota (Member # 221) on June 06, 2015, 01:36 PM:

Over the years I have acquired various top of the range Super 8
Projectors. To decide which is my favourite, is no easy task, as
Dominique points out. The top three on the list are,
Beaulieu 708 EL/Stereo
Elmo GS/1200
Bauer T610
The ideal projector, would probably be a mix of the three.
That being impossible, I would elect the BEAULIEU as my favourite
Projector.

Posted by Luis Caramelo (Member # 2430) on June 06, 2015, 03:18 PM:

HI!Antonio i hope your fine nice to hear from you,i,m sorry for this little introduction,but you are the only portuguese collector i know.,after me,
about the projectors,i got 3 projectores witch i use now:

-EUMIG 710D DUAL
-CHINON ST12OO STEREO SOUND
-ELMO ST-12OO

these three machines until today never a single problema.very gente with films,no scratching

regards:

luis caramelo

Posted by Andrew Woodcock (Member # 3260) on June 06, 2015, 03:33 PM:

1. Beaulieu 708el CD HTI (Don't own one yet, but now becomes a lifelong ambition to do so one day)
2. Beaulieu 708el CD Stereo Studio 93. (Ditto)
3. Beaulieu 708el CD Stereo
4. Bauer T610

A very easy task for me. [Wink]

[ June 06, 2015, 06:04 PM: Message edited by: Andrew Woodcock ]

Posted by Paul Adsett (Member # 25) on June 06, 2015, 03:46 PM:

I've never had the pleasure of owning a Bauer or Beaulieu, but here are my current projectors in order of preference:

Eumig S938 Stereo
Elmo GS1200
Eumig S820 Sonomatic HQS
Eumig S824D Sonomatic HQS

For standard 8mm the Bolex 18-5 is the hands down favourite.

Posted by James N. Savage 3 (Member # 83) on June 06, 2015, 07:38 PM:

The Bauer T610 is my favorite. The Sankyo ST-800 would be my second.

James.

Posted by Alan Rik (Member # 73) on June 06, 2015, 10:23 PM:

Beaulieu 708 CD STEREO HTI
Elmo GS1200 Xenon

Just those at the top, neck in neck. One for optical the other for "everything else"!.

Posted by Tom Photiou (Member # 130) on June 07, 2015, 03:38 AM:

Well. we have only ever had a few, (but lots of them),
ElmoST1200HD M&O
Eumig 810HQS
Eumig 822 Sonomatic.
But [Wink]

i would like to get hold of a Beaulie 708, (am i correct in saying a few people on here have said they have had films scratched with these similar to the Elmos?)
and i really do want to get hold of the Bauer T60, my mate Andrew has sold this machine to my brain i did find one but it was nearly £400, can any advise on what you would expect to pay for a good Bauer T60?
What are the other T series of Bauers like?
This brings me onto a very good subject here as Phil of CHC has asked for some film or equipment reviews for the Magazine, i know film reviews are easy and are often on here but i think some projector reviews would be very much welcome. [Wink]

Posted by Andrew Woodcock (Member # 3260) on June 07, 2015, 05:59 AM:

You want the T610, 525 or 510 Tom not the T60. A good one with decent magnetic heads and loads of wear left on the cam will not be cheap in my opinion. If you purchased one from the dealers in Germany with all of these aspects guaranteed for twelve months or in some cases two years, they will be around that price or at least £350 and in some cases much more.

Otherwise you are buying one that in no time at all would need at least one new magnetic head which are currently £250 and then you would quickly be in the realms of requiring a new cam and follower set from Edwin plus a full set up.

Mine has had at least £400 spent on it since I first got it but that is the price nowadays I suppose of trying to keep 30year old plus machines like new.

If you buy one privately for say £150 to £200,most of them will have been well used and therefore may well be in need of some of the essential parts needed almost immediately.

The Beaulieu will only scratch film when some part of the input guide is set up incorrectly. That's my experience.
When everything is correct, they are a dream machine with Polyester stock. Still handles acetate well but becomes slightly noisier and even more so with shrunken stock due to the precision of the machining on these.

This is no fault of the projector, in fact it's a good thing, but it likes perfect stock like all post mid 80's Derann films are printed on.

The Bauer is far less fussy about what you place through it and handles just about anything including warped stock with the minimum of fuss.

One thing to bear in mind with the Bauer range of machines is that most past owners are acutely aware that the heads are easily removed and are interchangeable. As a result, they have often had these swapped around or placed on other machines etc etc. As such to get one already guaranteed with these parts is,in my opinion , worth the extra cost to begin with.

Posted by Tom Photiou (Member # 130) on June 07, 2015, 07:08 AM:

Cheers Andrew, I will bare this in mind [Wink]

I would assume the ones you mentioned all take an 800 foot spool?

Posted by Andrew Woodcock (Member # 3260) on June 07, 2015, 08:50 AM:

Yes they do Tom.

I think Paul's existing review of the S938 could and should be used to place in Phil's mag as it is a brilliantly well written review.

I could give you one for the Beaulieu Stereo and the Bauer T610 if you like.

Maurice has a superb range of machines so maybe he won't mind some of his excellent reviews being used like the Braun Visacoustic etc etc.

Just need to ask everyone if they agree to it going to print.

Simon has a Fumeo 9119 if you would like to see that lovely machine reviewed and for the Elmo s . .take your pick.

Still the most popular owned machines out there I would imagine in Super 8 Land.

The 16mm guys would have to answer themselves Tom but I would like to think there are plenty on here that would love to contribute to the welfare and longevity of the magazine.

[ June 07, 2015, 04:40 PM: Message edited by: Andrew Woodcock ]

Posted by Tom Photiou (Member # 130) on June 07, 2015, 10:49 AM:

That would be great Andrew,

Posted by Brian Fretwell (Member # 4302) on June 07, 2015, 01:06 PM:

At the moment I am favouring my Norisound 412, having decided to give my Sankyo 301 a rest, though I prefer the 301 for scope as I have modified it to take a Kowa 8Z just by fitting 2 strips of angle ali strip.

Posted by Paul Adsett (Member # 25) on June 07, 2015, 01:45 PM:

No problem in printing my 938 review Andrew (and thank you for the compliment! ), but as it was first posted to this forum, you may have to see if it is ok with Doug and Brad.

Posted by Andrew Woodcock (Member # 3260) on June 07, 2015, 02:07 PM:

Ah yes Paul, thats a very good point and one I hadn't considered.
I do hope that Doug would agree though,where this is concerned.

Brian's Norisound would be an excellent one also as we really don't read very much at all these days regarding these once very popular machines.

[ June 07, 2015, 04:42 PM: Message edited by: Andrew Woodcock ]

Posted by Clinton Hunt (Member # 2072) on October 17, 2015, 07:44 PM:

I now have 3 Paillard Bolex standard 8mm projectors ... If I see one at a good or reasonable price then I bid on it and hopefully win it.
My latest is a 1951 model with the olive coloured body .... Runs well too and I think I paid NZ$60 and it is in its original case, with a "cabin baggage" label on it from London. Complete with power cord,case,brush,reel and airbrush
My others are a 120v model which I also have the transformer for it (N.Z. are 240 volts) It runs well too and was in a hard cardboard box.
And the third is a newer grey silver colour which I use all the time!

These are very reliable Swiss pieces of great engineering and fairly quiet to operate.

Posted by Norm Lehfeldt (Member # 5036) on October 18, 2015, 07:26 PM:

Everybody seems to be choosing a "daily driver" as a favorite. For collector interest I like the standard 8mm mag sound projector made by (I am fairly certain) those Movie-Mite folks in Kansas City. Surely it is the very first 8mm sound machine. Last time I tried it, it ran, recorded and played admirably--although it doesn't play in synch films made for more modern machines because of its long picture-sound separation.

Another favorite is the 16mm Apollo (made by the bottom-feeding Excel folks). It has no exciter lamp--just a bit of nichrome wire that emits infrarewd rays at the photo cell. No amplifier either. A one-tube phono oscillator transmits the sound to a nearby AM radio!

Posted by Claus Harding (Member # 702) on October 18, 2015, 08:45 PM:

When I want to have some "projector fun", this little guy comes off the shelf:

A Kodak Kodascope II (from 1937, I believe.)

In its design, it is as "pure" as a projector can be: lighthouse, gate, lens, motor, arms and base. It runs like the day it was made and it is great fun to watch in action. It has variable speed.
There is something about watching a WW2 newsreel on a machine built before the war even started...

My "regulars" are the Bolex M8 for standard 8, the Elmo ST1200HD for super-8 and the Eiki SSL or 3500 for 16mm.

Claus

Posted by Janice Glesser (Member # 2758) on October 18, 2015, 09:12 PM:

I broke down my favorite projectors by format. My Sankyo 2000H wins out for my favorite dual 8 silent projector. For Super 8 sound it has to be my Elmo ST800. This particular machine has always be a little finicky threading...but it's at the top of my list for style and simplicity. In the 16mm category it's hands down the Elmo 16CL. I like this projector so much...I have 3 of them [Smile]

And lastly my most treasured is my little Pathe Baby 9.5mm projector. It's been a labor of love to restore this beautifully designed machine.

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