8mm Forum: Help wanted on the Sankyo Sound XL-40s

This is topic Help wanted on the Sankyo Sound XL-40s in forum 8mm Forum at 8mm Forum.

To visit this topic, use this URL:
https://8mmforum.film-tech.com/cgi-bin/ubb/ultimatebb.cgi?ubb=get_topic;f=1;t=012623

Posted by Christian Escobar (Member # 6719) on November 23, 2018, 12:32 PM:

Hi everyone!

I've recently been accepted to the forum and I'm so happy to be here! Thanks to the admins for accepting [Smile]

I've very recently purchased a Sankyo Sound XL-40s from an op shop for $10 and being new to super 8, I have a lot of questions!

My first question is about exposure, I can see on the camera that there are three options for it. They are manual, auto and lock. (Real quick, what does the lock option do?) I've read online that my Sankyo can only take film speeds of 40 or 160. It seems that there are no cartridges with these specific film speeds, so I was wondering how my camera will take films speeds such as 50D or 100D, and even beyond like 500T. Will automatic exposure be fine with basically every film speed I use? (Depending on my lighting situation of course). So basically I'm wondering how well my camera can do when exposing automatically.

Second question is based on exposure again. The fact that there is an option for manual exposure on my camera (Which is my best guess as I don't have a manual for the camera and can't think what else "manual" would be used for) What are the exact elements of manually checking exposure on this camera? From my understanding, the film speed is set on whatever cartridge I purchase, there's only the two frame rate options and there is no option for me changing the aperture on the camera. So how else would I go about exposing this camera manually?

My third question is about my camera itself. When I purchased the camera, I checked for a lot of things to see if it was in good condition, the lens seems to be in good shape (no mold), shutter opens up and the reel spins, auto zoom works etc. However, it seems like my camera can't detect light, when I point it at different light sources, nothing happens. The meter needle doesn't even appear when I look through the viewfinder. Could this be the Cds cell? Is there a way of fixing this/is it even worth fixing?

Another question about my camera, I can't seem to get the focus right! I've zoomed all the way in at a straight line, tried to focus and even change the wheel to adjust to my eyesight but nothing seems to work and nothing lines up when I try to focus it. Would something be broken here or is there something I can try do to fix it?

Also, when I press the battery check button, nothing happens, not that it's a big issue, But I would like to check if the batteries are all good every now and then when I (hopefully) start to use this camera a lot!

Also when I press the "sun" symbol/85 filter, the button doesn't stay in, or there is no clear indication that it's on, is this just bad ergonomics? I'm not exactly sure how the filter control works, does this go hand in hand with the sun symbol? When shooting in daylight with daylight film, do i want the filter control to be down?

I know this is a lot but I really want to get into super 8 and specifically be able to use my newly purchased Sankyo, also sorry if there are grammatical errors or the wrong use of terminology. I'm just a noobie trying to wrap my head around all this.

I'd appreciate any help I can get!

Thanks in advance,

Posted by Paul Browning (Member # 2715) on November 23, 2018, 12:59 PM:

http://www.filmkorn.org/super8data/database/cameras_list/cameras_sankyo/sankyo_xl40s.htm

Posted by Douglas Meltzer (Member # 28) on November 23, 2018, 05:55 PM:

Christian,

I've emailed you a link to download the manual. Take a look and let me know if you still have questions.

Doug

Posted by Christian Escobar (Member # 6719) on November 26, 2018, 03:53 AM:

Hey Doug,

Thanks so much for the manual! It has answered some of my questions, but unfortunately not the important ones.

My camera still appears to not work when checking exposure. The needle does not appear at all, so not sure what's going on there. i tried pointing it at different light sources, but nothing. Would it be the Cds cell?

Also, despite trying the techniques in the manual for getting the focus right, that isn't working properly either. The split images can never be aligned properly and the bottom half looks kinda blurry in general. sometimes i feel like they do match up and it's a little in focus, but when i zoom out, it goes back to being split.

I also messed up big time and placed in a cartridge of 50D, thinking that the camera needed to have an ASA to read so that it can expose and the needle would pop up, but that didn't work. Really not sure what to do.

Can I get these things fixed or am I better off buying another camera ?

Thanks,
Christian

Posted by Douglas Meltzer (Member # 28) on November 28, 2018, 08:45 PM:

Christian,

Are you able to move the aperture needle in the manual exposure mode?

As for the focus issue, is it possible that the camera is in macro mode? The macro switch is at the top of the zoom ring. When it is pulled out, focus is achieved by turning the zoom ring.

Doug

Posted by Christian Escobar (Member # 6719) on November 28, 2018, 09:08 PM:

Hey Doug,

The needle doesn't appear at all, even in manual exposure mode.

As for the focus, unfortunately it's not in macro mode either.

Maybe, I can try post a video of the issue, so you can get a better understanding?

Cheers,
Christian

Posted by Douglas Meltzer (Member # 28) on December 01, 2018, 10:28 PM:

Christian,

In my opinion it's time to look for another camera. Any repair work done (assuming someone services this model) would cost more than the camera is worth. Sorry.

Doug

Posted by Paul Browning (Member # 2715) on December 02, 2018, 02:40 PM:

Sadly Doug is probably right on the money here, these are left in cupboard with batteries in, and they leak into the camera and onto the circuit boards doing beyond repair damage, sometimes they burst into life for no reason when you press a few buttons, no guarantees though. These cameras are 40 years plus old now and even when new they were delicate objects, and complicated with many small parts, all effected by heat and moisture and lack of use over a long period of time......

UBB.classic^TM 6.3.1.2