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Author
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Topic: Test Report - GS with Ektar Lens
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Paul Adsett
Film God
Posts: 5003
From: USA
Registered: Jun 2003
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posted October 29, 2008 10:26 AM
Well I finally managed to get my Kodak Ektar 22mm f1.0 fixed focal length lens fitted into my Elmo GS1200. The Ektar, which comes off the old Kodak M100 super 8 sound projector, is a supreme piece of glass, and previous tests using it on my Eumig S938 Stereo show that it produces a really stunning picture with razor sharpness across the whole picture and, most impressive, superb contrast. The general effect of using this lens on the 938 is a revelation in terms of picture quality, you get shimmering grain across the whole picture area, and the focus is dead sharp- there is no ‘searching’ for optimal focus, it just jumps into focus and stays there. The colors of such films as ‘Show Boat’ or ‘Meet Me in St.Louis’ become vividly intense, fairly leaping off the screen, and blacks are deep and lush. I have never seen Super 8 look so stunning as on the 938 fitted with this lens. The Eumig has 150 watt lighting, whereas the GS of course is much brighter with 200 watt lighting, so I have been anxious to try this lens in the GS1200 to see just how well it would perform.
The problem in getting the Ektar in the GS is that the back focal length of the Ektar is much shorter than the normal Elmo lenses, in fact the Ektar practically rests on the surface of the film – it’s that close! In order to get the Ektar to push back far enough in the Elmo lens holder, I had to make the following modifications to the Elmo GS lens mount:
1. Remove the little flat spring which pushes on the back of the Elmo lens
2. Increase the diameter of the hole in the flat black plate
3. Machine down the lower brass post, which attaches the sprung part of the gate to the plate, by about 1/8 ins.
None of these mods affect the integrity of my GS, since they were all carried out on spare GS parts that I had on hand. Once I had completed these mods, I was able to slide the Ektar fully into the Elmo lens holder and get full focusing range.
The first thing I noticed was that I had to focus the lens with the main cover open, because the lens is so short it does not stick out through the front of the cover. This is a pain, and if I want to continue using this lens I will have to bond on an extension tube to it, so I have something to grab onto when the projector cover is closed.
So what about the picture quality ? First, it is very bright and white, a real screen-scorcher with my 2-bladed GS! I ran several of my best color films, including the two mentioned above, and the PQ was superb, with exactly the same kind of stunning contrast and razor sharpness that I see when I use it on the Eumig 938. It is without question a better picture than with the Elmo f1.0, but it is a non-zoom lens, a simpler design with much less glass surfaces, so that is perhaps not too surprising. But if you can accommodate a fixed picture size and throw, this lens will beat out anything that I have so far seen, and I have not yet seen the Schneider.
I spent the whole of last night running reels of my favourite films, and marveling at the beautiful vivid rich colors and newly revealed detail of some of these prints which, in terms of contrast and color intensity, certainly put my Panny 700 video projector to shame.
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The best of all worlds- 8mm, super 8mm, 9.5mm, and HD Digital Projection,
Elmo GS1200 f1.0 2-blade
Eumig S938 Stereo f1.0 Ektar
Panasonic PT-AE4000U digital pj
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Paul Adsett
Film God
Posts: 5003
From: USA
Registered: Jun 2003
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posted October 29, 2008 05:30 PM
Hi Lance,
This superb lens comes from the equally superb Kodak M100 super 8 sound projector, produced in the early 1960's before everything at Kodak went plastic.
Here is a picture and some details:
http://8mmforum.film-tech.com/cgi-bin/ubb/ultimatebb.cgi?ubb=get_topic;f=1;t=001904
This projector is quite rare, but they do pop up on ebay from time to time. The sound on the projector is poor by Eumig and Elmo standards, but its worth buying the whole machine just to get that lens, and of course the projector makes an excellent silent machine.
If you can get a hold of a lens, I will be glad to help out with the necessary mods to the lens and the GS lens holder.
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The best of all worlds- 8mm, super 8mm, 9.5mm, and HD Digital Projection,
Elmo GS1200 f1.0 2-blade
Eumig S938 Stereo f1.0 Ektar
Panasonic PT-AE4000U digital pj
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