8mm Forum: How many of us collect only Super 8mm?

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Posted by Andrew Woodcock (Member # 3260) on May 27, 2017, 04:07 AM:

We are constantly reminded nowadays of all the other gauges that exist to collect film on, and at one time here it was clear to see that there were many individuals who only collected films on one gauge or another.

As time has moved along, it appears many of the remaining collectors have branched out into the other gauges over the years and the ones who only collect on one solo gauge appear to be fewer.

As a result of this, my question here today now in this era is...

How many collectors left in this hobby nowadays, only collect Super 8mm film?

Posted by John Armer (Member # 4655) on May 27, 2017, 04:33 AM:

Well I collect 95% Super 8, but I also buy the odd standard 8mm cut down to run on my Bolex, Andrew, so not me!

Posted by Andrew Woodcock (Member # 3260) on May 27, 2017, 04:44 AM:

Thanks John, I perhaps should have termed it as 8mm rather than just Super 8mm as I think most Super 8mm collectors have at one time or another collected or taken home movies on Standard 8mm film as well. [Wink]

You are then John, one such collector I was referring to. [Smile]

Posted by David Skillern (Member # 607) on May 27, 2017, 04:51 AM:

Well as some of you know - 95% of my collection is Super 8 - features, digests and cartoons - however since acquiring my bell and howell TQ1 - i have 9 features with probably a few more to come this year - especially as i have plans to attend Blackpool again this year.

Posted by Andrew Woodcock (Member # 3260) on May 27, 2017, 05:18 AM:

David, you are not alone seemingly now in this late era of film collecting, where many appear to base the majority of their interest on one gauge or another, but then tag a little bit of something else on the end for titles not otherwise available no doubt.

I know our friend Tom here has always predominately been a Super 8mm collector, but recently has branched out more into the world of 16mm.

I know of a few collectors still who are solely involved with just 8mm or even just Super 8mm, but I don't think there are as many proportionally as what there once were from the posts that I read here and elsewhere.

Posted by David Skillern (Member # 607) on May 27, 2017, 05:50 AM:

I agree with you Andrew,

for me buying into another gauge was just that - to acquire titles or interesting bits and pieces that aren't available on Super 8 - however I do have to be mindful of space in my den as 16mm is rather bulky !!

Posted by Andrew Woodcock (Member # 3260) on May 27, 2017, 05:57 AM:

Yes David, It is certainly a step way too far for myself.
I can barely cope with the Super 8mm films piling up nowadays! [Big Grin]

At the end of the day, for me, it was 8mm formerly and then subsequently Super 8mm I fell in love with at a young age and that for me, will never ever leave me.
I find it provides me with everything I could ever had dreamed of as a means to provide real home cinema in my living quarters.

Posted by Tom Photiou (Member # 130) on May 27, 2017, 06:53 AM:

My Brother started us off back in 1974 with the P8, so it was standard 8 until around 1976 when we ventured into the Eumig 810, now 99% of our 8mm collection is super 8 with just a handful of STD 8s. I was given two 16mm projectors around 10/15 years ago, i started to gather a few features but then we stopped until recently. The end of Last year we made the decision to get shot of everything except Super 8 but then saw the advantages of 16mm and of course having spent a bit more than i intended two on extra Len's and brackets etc we have now decided to move on some 8mm titles in order to replace them with better quality of film and to look out for around another 4 or 5 16mm features.
We will then try and stick to what we have rather than simply buy for the sake of it every time i see something i fancy.
You do need to get a bit realistic about a hobby, no matter what it is, and for me our recent two features on 16, Kidnapped and Cross of Iron and Poltergeist on super 8 means its time to get a reality check and stop spending. Hence why we will move some 8mm prints on to claw some of this back and of course fund later purchases.
Also have to say, everything may be going wildly out of control on fleabay with prices but the dealers and collector to collector prices are still sensible if one looks. We were prepared to pay for cross of Iron as this was the top of my Brothers list for years ,but even so it was a mint print & by comparison with super 8 features it was a snip. Kidnapped was a superb price from D Guest which is where i will try and source my next few purchases from as far as films are concerned [Wink]

BTW, as David already mentioned, although i do have my own decent size film room 16mm could quite easily take over the space, hence why we only want a mix of 10 maybe a dozen feature films. They will also be easier to keep and eye on and clean etc.

Posted by Kevin Hassall (Member # 2352) on May 27, 2017, 07:20 AM:

I'd started to collect standard 8 not many at the moment though .

Posted by Melvin England (Member # 5270) on May 27, 2017, 09:08 AM:

Interesting topic.

For my part, I was originally 100% Super 8 for many years. Then a Standard 8mm machine came into my possession many years ago and my maximum Standard 8mm collection amounted to 2x 50' home movies that I made in the 1970's when I was given a standard 8 cine camera and wanted to test it (and that is all it has ever taken since then), a couple of those 50' Beatles silent pop films and the 4x 400' version of Laurel and Hardy's "Swiss Miss." That was sold a few years ago so now I ain't got much standard 8 !!!

Dad came home from work one day quite a few years ago and asked "Is this any good to you?"
Considering it was a Bell and Howell Filmosound 16mm projector you can guess what the reply was!!!!
However, today, twenty or so years later, my 16mm collection only consists of about 4 features, 2x long extracts and possibly 6 shorts, so my commitment to super 8 is probably on par with John at around 95+%.

As for dvd and Blu Ray.......... lets not even go there........

.

Posted by Osi Osgood (Member # 424) on May 27, 2017, 11:46 AM:

I'm almost exclusively super 8 these days (with the odd standard 8mm title), but i do look for mint condition 16MM or 35MM titles that could possibly be released as a super 8 release, Namely, cartoons.

Posted by Andrew Woodcock (Member # 3260) on May 27, 2017, 12:48 PM:

Interesting Osi. Have you had any make it to print yet on Super 8mm?

Posted by Panayotis A. Carayannis (Member # 1220) on May 27, 2017, 01:19 PM:

Standard and Super 8, only!

Posted by Mark Todd (Member # 96) on May 27, 2017, 01:38 PM:

A few super 8 and a few more 16mm.

Quite low key though now with the advent of very affordable HD and LCD plus the prices thing too.

Best Mark.

Posted by Andrew Woodcock (Member # 3260) on May 27, 2017, 03:31 PM:

No advent there Mark. It's been around since 97 that I can remember.
Still to this day, it changes nothing. [Wink]

20 years on, it's still the cine projector on the stand far more regularly than the video projector, though both are great admittedly. [Wink]

I think the time away from Super 8mm for me, made me realize just how much the showing and handling of actual film really meant to me.
Projecting only video between the years 98 to 2008 allowed me to raise our kids while screening all the of blockbusters of the day with consummate ease, from Shrek or Chicken Run to Saving Private Ryan or Saw.
The kids and my wife loved it all in those years as indeed I did myself, but somehow there was always that little bit of something missing for somebody like me who loves the entire tactile and workmanlike nature of real film.
You can never entirely put your finger on it but once in the veins, those sprocket holes are there forever! [Wink]

Posted by Paul Adsett (Member # 25) on May 27, 2017, 04:19 PM:

95% Super 8 right now. A few standard 8 sound and silent, and a small collection of 9.5mm silent vintage films. I have no intention of ever venturing into 16mm or larger film.

Posted by Andrew Woodcock (Member # 3260) on May 27, 2017, 04:20 PM:

Man after my own heart! [Smile]

Posted by Melvin England (Member # 5270) on May 27, 2017, 05:41 PM:

Quote....

"...but once in the veins,those sprocket holes are there forever!"

How totally and utterly true!

Just a shame that a badly faded print can end up the same colour as the liquid in them!

Posted by Andrew Woodcock (Member # 3260) on May 27, 2017, 05:42 PM:

I wouldn't know Melvin! Meeeow [Big Grin]

Only kidding matey, I have plenty that will very soon resemble a bucket of Beetroot, but I must admit, I try and avoid such mistakes now as i made back then. [Wink]

My first Golden Rule of modern day Super 8mm Colour Film collecting...
Never accept one that was printed before 1985! [Wink]

(there are a few exceptions to be fair)

Posted by Melvin England (Member # 5270) on May 27, 2017, 05:47 PM:

......or so they tell me!

Posted by Andrew Woodcock (Member # 3260) on May 27, 2017, 05:51 PM:

The Waltons still very often do ok, but then they always did, didn't they?

Goodnight John Boy. [Big Grin]

Posted by Greg Perry (Member # 5177) on May 27, 2017, 08:57 PM:

I started with a 16mm projector. But when a local garage sale had a few 16mm films and also had a few 8mm/Super 8 films for sale, I bought them too--even though I had no Super 8/8mm projector at the time!....
Now, it's a mix of both. Both formats have their own unique advantages, in my humble opinion. At least for me, one benefit of using both formats is that now it doesn't really matter (with a few exceptions) to me what format a particular film happens to be, just as long as it is one that I would like to add to the film collection and it is at a reasonably affordable price.

Posted by Steve Klare (Member # 12) on May 27, 2017, 10:02 PM:

By circumstances...but not really by intention, I have been basically 100% Super-8 since 1978.

-a kind friend is at Cinevent this weekend and he's prospecting for a decent 16mm machine for me.

(Ask me on Monday!)

I plugged a video player into my mixer in January and there's still some open jacks!

The week between Christmas and New Year's we set up everything we have (including my son's silent machine), with a little luck (-and some patience from my wife...), maybe we can get all the way to Six projectors this year!

Posted by Tom Photiou (Member # 130) on May 28, 2017, 03:23 AM:

Greg thats exactly right. Although we are super 8 through and through 16mm does have that overhaul advantage of having a hell of a lot more titles to choose from. With very few exceptions now 8mm films for sale appears to be the same stuff just being recycled now and if something special comes up the prices nine times out of ten are simply a joke. [Wink]

Posted by Martin Dew (Member # 5748) on May 28, 2017, 03:26 AM:

50% Super 8 and 50% 16mm. Just collecting a few titles that I really want on both gauges, as space is limited.

Posted by Brian Fretwell (Member # 4302) on May 28, 2017, 10:27 AM:

Some standard 8 from when Collectors Club hadn't started Super 8 amd titles I saw S/h at a very good price - mainly silents.
Mainly Super 8 but a few odd reels of 16mm from Bring & Buy and auctions looking for things that would never be on 8mm. Also a few trailers on 35mm mainly for examples of different sound systems used (Acadamy variable area, Dolby Stereo/SR, SDDS etc) I have no way to show them.

Posted by David Hardy (Member # 4628) on May 29, 2017, 06:04 AM:

I started collecting Standard 8mm as a young lad in the mid 1960s.

Then branched out Super 8mm in the mid 1970s when i bought
my first sound projector the Eumig 710 D dual gauge which
i still have.

I now collect mainly Standard 8mm 16mm and 9.5mm along with 35mm.

Posted by Brad Kimball (Member # 5) on May 30, 2017, 08:23 PM:

I collect features on Super 8 simply because of the cost. I buy digests, shorts and cartoons on 16.

Posted by Del Phillipson (Member # 513) on May 31, 2017, 03:16 AM:

Only super 8 for me and now that I have a Fumeo too I cannot ever see that changing. I have over the years thought seriously about 16mm but the thought of starting all over again, plus the extra storage space required. No the smaller gauge for me, I know 16mm prints are mostly better quality but some super 8mm prints have a wow factor too [Wink]

Posted by Joe Caruso (Member # 11) on May 31, 2017, 10:08 AM:

8 and Super 8, some 16 and 9.5 - Shorty

Posted by Osi Osgood (Member # 424) on May 31, 2017, 01:19 PM:

Andrew ...

Yes! About 5 or so years ago, I and my partner in "GIOSI Films" ( a fine fellow by name of Gian), released our one and only (so far), super 8 release, "Saturday Morning Madness". We only had a print run of approxixmately 30 or so prints total. It was a 16 minute, 400ft reel of animated cereal commercials from the mid 60's thru 1982. We even did some color restoration on some of the earlier ones that had a little color fade.

To top all that off, i actually made a 20 or more page (can't remember) publication giving the history of all the cartoon characters in the super 8 release, along with some others as well.

It was, most certainly, a labor of love!

... and yes, it was on low fade film stock! (yay!)

I was amazed that we were able to get such good results from ex-TV 16MM prints of the ads. It was really sharp!

Posted by Andrew Woodcock (Member # 3260) on May 31, 2017, 02:11 PM:

That's G-R-R-R-E-A-T! Osi,as Toby The Tiger used to say!

Posted by Bill Phelps (Member # 1431) on May 31, 2017, 03:26 PM:

I have the Saturday Morning Madness reel and the write up also...it's a nice package. I was going to seperate the ads but decided to leave the reel as is.

To address the thread topic I collect more than 8mm....16mm also and I have a few 35mm trailers.

Posted by Chip Gelmini (Member # 44) on May 31, 2017, 03:32 PM:

I am strictly super 8 as the biggest part of my collection. Over 200 films not including trailers and shorts.

Running 2 elmo gs 1200 machines with electric changeover custom configured plus big reel Tower application.

Also video projection dvd panasonic ax200u

When more space is available, will add 16mm.

Posted by Osi Osgood (Member # 424) on June 01, 2017, 11:51 AM:

Hey! I'm glad to hear that you have that write-up, Bill. I was quite proud of that reel. It took a long time just collecting all the commercials for that, though I wish that I had better quality prints of the Cocoa Puffs and Trix ads. It's getting fairly hard to find any good color 16MM commercials these days.

If I do another commercials reels, it will only be if I can make a collection of the "classics' you know, the Oscar Mayer ad, a Pillsbury doughboy ad an some of the classic characters, (Mr. Whipple, for instance) in good color prints. These days, only prints that were saved on specific stocks have weathered well.
Lets face it, TV 16MM commercials were like super 8 optical sound features, they were only supposed to be used for a very short time.

Posted by Michael Lattavo (Member # 4280) on June 01, 2017, 09:12 PM:

Steve Klare - did you get a 16mm projector?

I would say I am 85% 16mm, 5% 8mm, 10% 35mm at the moment - still getting my feet wet with 35, it's quite a learning curve!

Posted by Steve Klare (Member # 12) on June 01, 2017, 09:39 PM:

Not this time, Mike!

Sooner or later!

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