8mm Forum: Wow! A question I have NOT asked before!

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Posted by Osi Osgood (Member # 424) on May 07, 2019, 12:42 PM:

What was the LAST Eumig projector produced? I think it might have been the Eumig s940GL Stereo) projector (I might have the name wrong ... Paul! Where are you?!) ...

But I might be wrong ...

So, what was Eumig's last "hurrah" when it came to super 8?

Posted by Paul Adsett (Member # 25) on May 07, 2019, 12:59 PM:

I think you have it right Osi. As far as I know the S940 Stereo was the last Eumig projector model. In terms of performance it was the pinnacle of their accumulated technology over decades of projector manufacturing. It (and the 938 stereo) has 800ft capacity, 150 watt lamp, 20 watt per channel, and in the case of the 940 a central processor IC which controls all the recoding and playback functions.
As you know I regard the 938/940 as a superb performer, particularly in the sound department(better than the GS1200), and when fitted with a high quality fast lens it produces a great picture. I just wish the mechanical design was as rugged as the prior 800 series.

Posted by Tom Photiou (Member # 130) on May 07, 2019, 01:41 PM:

Its a pity they never stopped using that awful rubber wheel drive that caused us so many problems in the 70s and early 80s.
If they could have survived another 5/10 years i reckon they would would have produced some superb projectors. I like the sonomatics and indeed did have a 940 multiprocessor but too many things went wrong with it.

Posted by Maurice Leakey (Member # 916) on May 07, 2019, 03:28 PM:

The S940 was available up to 1982, the year Eumig declared bankruptcy. This followed the disastrous 1976 contract with Polaroid to make Polavison equipment.
The contract was cancelled by Polaroid only two years later in 1978. This led to Eumig having to lay off 1000 employees. Sony's Betamax and JVC's VHS finally killed off Super 8.

Posted by Brian Fretwell (Member # 4302) on May 07, 2019, 04:53 PM:

I did see a review of another "Eumig" projector after the S940, but think it was made by Silma. It was as far as I can remember the 933 and didn't look anything like any other Eumig.

Looking through my magazines, it was the S933 tested in the April 1985 Making Better Movies and said to be "From the reconstituted Eumig stable" and Made in Italy. Sprocket-less before the claw it has a DC motor and was said to be hum-free and good quality despite being a totally automatic record level machine.

Posted by Maurice Leakey (Member # 916) on May 08, 2019, 03:31 AM:

Very interesting, Brian. Here's a pic of the Eumig S933. Made in in Italy by Silma.
https://www.esphotographics.com/product-page/eumig-s933-test-report

Posted by Lee Mannering (Member # 728) on May 08, 2019, 06:41 AM:

Only thing they really got wrong with hindsight was putting a Microprocessor in the 940. The 926GL Osi had a simpler shutter design and much simpler to convert to a 2 blade shutter as I did back in el day and more recently fitting a analogue to digital audio converter thus eliminating the old amplifier final output.

Eumig forever as always here but still love my GS1200's.

Posted by Maurizio Di Cintio (Member # 144) on May 08, 2019, 06:45 AM:

There was also a "Eumig" S 931 whihch was quite similar to 933. And at some point Silma/Eumig also rebadged their Memory 90 with the brand name Eumig.

Truth is there never was any such thing as a reconstituted Eumig Stable; they filed for bankruptcy in summer 1981 after the head of the company Herr Vockenhuber had to leave his chair to the banks' stakeholders. It went intocontrolled administration and the whole process required a few years to be accomplished. In fact the Eumig name was cancelled from the register of Austrian companies in 1985. The logo and brand name were sold to a Luxenbourg-based holding Company called Interbasic S.A. (of whose next to nothing is known) and some of the manufacturing equipment was sold off. Curiously enough some of that equipment must have been moved to the Silma Factory in the outskirts of Turin: indeed the sound heads of the Model S 931 are identical to Eumig's heads (previously Silma/Bauer projectors were fitted with the same heads as Beaulieu's i.e. Woelke heads).

So it should be almost sure those heads were made in Italy at some point but what happened to the necessary equipment after the mid-80's is pure guesswork. But imagine (dream!) just for a moment if that appliance had been mothballed and stored in some warehouse.... And maybe someone found it today and were able to make it work again: plenty of new sounheads for our beloved S 926/938/940. Which I all own and am deeply fond of.

Posted by Osi Osgood (Member # 424) on May 08, 2019, 11:45 AM:

What wonderful info and I will be eternally looking for either the 938 or 940!

Posted by Maurice Leakey (Member # 916) on May 08, 2019, 11:56 AM:

I bought an S938 as apposed to the S940 as the latter has electronics in the counter system which could prove faulty in the long run.

Posted by Steven J Kirk (Member # 1135) on May 08, 2019, 12:57 PM:

I use the S938 with the 1.2 12.5 lens that was standard in the 940, I believe. Works very well and the 938 is such a great-looking machine.

Posted by Maurizio Di Cintio (Member # 144) on May 08, 2019, 02:26 PM:

They have rock steady pictures (almost on par with... a slide projector!!!!) and never scratch! Only when the gate presser is worn, some light green lines may develop on the far right side of the screen. But that will take ages...

Posted by Will Trenfield (Member # 5321) on May 08, 2019, 06:34 PM:

Technically, the RS 3000 lasted until 1981 if you were to count it as a traditional projector.

Posted by Martin Dew (Member # 5748) on May 09, 2019, 11:24 AM:

Yes, S938 has a rock steady image, incredible audio, is scratch free and quiet. I have the Schneider 1.1 lens, interchangeable with S936. Combine that with the Kowa 8Z for scope and the whole package is pretty impressive.

Posted by Matthieu van der Sluis (Member # 6040) on May 13, 2019, 03:23 PM:

Very interesting.
Eunig S938.
I saw a few for sale in the past.
One had a melted outside but they said it worked fine.
I think I will keep my eyes open for it now.
I do have a Beauer T610, whinch is already quiet.
Can this even better?
Compared to my GS11200, the picture of the T610 is more square, while the GS1200 picture is wider.
Since my cinema is finished I've been watching a lot of S8 films lately.
My GS1200 is now humming very loud and needs a checkup for this.
So now I use my Bauer T610 and this became clear, because I needed to narrow my curtains on the sides of the projected picture.
Or the GS1200 is less high, which is also possible hahaha.

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