8mm Forum: Beaulieu 708EL Stereo

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Posted by Alan Rik (Member # 73) on February 03, 2004, 09:19 PM:

I know I have asked this many times but I just feel the need to voice this a few more times before I take the plunge. Any thoughts on this machine?
In Germany this is regarded as better than the GS1200 and usually commands much more money.
I have never used this machine and when I look at it.. I am in awe of the beauty in design. I love the GS's retro Brady Bunch era styling, but the all metal construction of the Beauieu has always been alluring to me. And since I am an owner of their cameras which I love.. super sharp.. contrasty. wonderful cameras, I would assume they would make a wonderful projector.
I know where I can get one for about the same as a GS1200 but I don't want to make that decision till I ask this wonderful "Fellowship" of film/projector gents
Ok--Let me have it...the good and the bad!

Posted by John Clancy (Member # 49) on February 04, 2004, 02:46 AM:

I prefer the Elmo. Sorry. Now if a Beaulieu had pulse projection then it may have been a consideration at some point. Alas, it doesn't so never got a look in.

Posted by Ugo Grassi (Member # 139) on February 04, 2004, 04:36 AM:

I prefer the GS.The Beaulieu is famous in Germany, but I don't understand the reason. The sound of the GS is better; the focus on the edge is better (and the Gs is able to mount the INCREDIBLE 1.0); only problem is that the GS needs some light works (very easy) to aoid it scratches the films.

Posted by Kevin Faulkner (Member # 6) on February 04, 2004, 07:32 AM:

I have to agree with all the above comments. I owned a 708EL Stereo and got shot of it as soon as I could in favour of a GS. I have never seen such a quirky machine in terms of operation and on top of that things are liable to just break or fall off.
For instance its not uncommon to find the reel clips broken. [Frown]

All in all I hated it. Kev.

Posted by Alan Rik (Member # 73) on February 04, 2004, 07:39 AM:

Wow! Thanks for the words. Ok...any good? [Roll Eyes]

Posted by Mikael Sundstrom (Member # 150) on February 04, 2004, 02:30 PM:

You know, I once ALMOST bought a Beaulieu 708EL. I just barely missed that deal by a couple of hours. The price was a incredible $170. [Eek!]

Of course I threw myself on the phone and asked if it was sold. The owner said "yes" I said "to whom????" and he gave me the number of the buyer. I called him and begged to let me buy it instead. Of course he said "no" but he also said he owned an Elmo GS1200. So I bought that projector instead. I have never regretted that. I suspect the seller of the Beaulieu has some regrets though... of course I couldn´t keep my trap shut about the projector's real worth... that he could have got at least 10 times what he had asked. [Big Grin]

Man, I baaad.

Posted by Chris Quinn (Member # 129) on February 04, 2004, 03:27 PM:

Alan, Please go for the Beauieu, [Wink]

that will leave one more GS for me to hunt for. [Big Grin]

Posted by Alan Gouger (Member # 31) on February 04, 2004, 05:48 PM:

I had a Beaulieu 708EL about a year ago.
As mentioned by Kevin some of the Reel clips were broken
and I could not get half the reels I owned to fit or stay on.
The audio was very picky. Sometimes it worked great but if the print had any margin for error the Beaulieu was not as forgiving.
I do like the name and the style of the projector, very sexy but I found it to be a high maintanence machine.

Posted by Kevin Faulkner (Member # 6) on February 04, 2004, 06:32 PM:

Alan, your right on that about the sound. I found a lot of films which sounded better on the GS. I'm told that the heads on the 708EL stereo are slightly narrower than the Jap equivalent heads which means that as you say there is prob with sound on some films. I think the Elmo heads cover the whole width of the stripe but the 708 tends to run down the centre of the stripe. I also found the record circuits very quirky in operation. When in record standby the red led flashed away and also produced a ticking noise through the speakers. Presumably this was to remind you that the unit was in record mode. I also hated the tension control for controling wow on the sound. It uses a small light bulb to to adjust the tension. Believe me if this goes it gets up to all sorts of tricks and its a major job to get it replaced. I know cause it happened to me. I had to strip half the machine down to get to this little control unit with this really minature bulb in it.
Sorry, for me the French can keep their quirky way of doing things. Why they have to make everything so complicated I will never know. [Frown]

Give me a Jap or German machine any day. [Smile]

Kev.
Before I get any bad posts here. I dont hate the French. [Wink]

Posted by Mark Todd (Member # 96) on February 04, 2004, 06:43 PM:

Its the same with the cars. Just put a battery on the good womans Renault and had to find it first and then pull allsorts of bits out of the way to get it out/in.
I beleieve the brake pads run in to double figures in variance on any one model.
The Heurtiers are a bit iffy too as French Tony has told us but its OK as the peole are very nice indeed.
Best Mark.

Posted by Paul Adsett (Member # 25) on February 04, 2004, 07:26 PM:

Let's not forget that the French Pathe company invented the 9.5mm center sprocket film guage, which is arguably the best ever home movie format, producing 16mm quality in a film size only slightly larger than 8mm.

Posted by Ronnie Coeuhant (Member # 143) on February 04, 2004, 07:52 PM:

quote:
For instance its not uncommon to find the reel clips broken.

Ha, ha! I have a 708EL and you are right. The 2 clips are made of plastics with poor quality compared to even the low end projectors. I have to order the metal replacements like the one sold by Wittner which I am inquiring from Bjorn Andersson of Beaulieu Sweden.

For such an expensive machine, the back cover is made of thin plastic that is prone to break or crack. No doubt the quality of materials and finish used on the Elmo is much superior to that of the Beaulieu.

Good things? Simple film loop with manual film threading without having to open any door. The gate is said to be larger on the Beaulieu also and the size is very close to the camera film frame. I also heard that the Beaulieu exposes the frames longer than the Elmo making it appear the image is more stable. I am only requoting what I found in the internet while researching for the projector and I don't have any scientific proof that these claims are real.

If I was at the point when I am considering buying a Beaulieu, I should have looked and tried the projector first hand before getting one. The pictures are deceiving. The flat black elephant textured paint used on the Beaulieu looks georgeous in pictures - making it appear to be solidly built (which is true on the front face of the projector) but not the back or the bottom which is very fragile.

Posted by Ricky Daniels (Member # 95) on February 05, 2004, 07:04 AM:

I've 3x GS's and 1x 708el Stereo and must admit if the GS could run 2400'reels and you could get 'new' spares for it I'd sell the Beaulieu. But you can still get spares for the 708el from Beaulieu and that gives me some peace of mind considering my investment in film, shame it doesn't pulse sync though!
ATB Rick.

Posted by Kevin Faulkner (Member # 6) on February 05, 2004, 04:43 PM:

The French take 16mm and slice of the sprocket holes to give us 9.5mm! Yes good idea but then they had no room for sound so instead made the picture more square to allow a soundtrack. Yes thats ingenuity for you. To cap it all they even tried the same trick with 35mm giving us 28mm. Why mess with the original formats to start with. Centre sprockets! Damage down the centre from a bad claw will be seen as will damaged perfs at least the other gauges have the perfs ouside the picture area so any damage is not projected.
Yes the 708EL does look the dogs whatsits but you wait till that crackle finish paint starts to flake off like it did on mine.
Buy a GS or ST1200 and get a long play unit for larger spools.

Kev.

Posted by Alan Rik (Member # 73) on February 06, 2004, 01:21 AM:

Ok-
I am ditching the thought of owning a Beaulieu 708El!
Thank you very much!

Posted by Paul Adsett (Member # 25) on February 06, 2004, 09:04 AM:

Hi Kev,
Of course you are absolutely right about the idiosyncracies of 9.5mm center sprocket film. My enthusiasm for Pathescope is undoubtedly colored by fond memories of hand cranking films such as "White Hell of Pitz Palu" and "The Informer", through an old Pathescope Ace , to the enthrallment of my parents and grandparents. It was Pathescope that lit the light for my lifelong love of cinematography and film collecting.

Posted by Kevin Faulkner (Member # 6) on February 08, 2004, 03:14 PM:

I can understand that Paul. I too had a 9.5mm hand cranked job when I was a youngster and one Mickey Mouse film called Mickey's Circus. Those were the days. Kev.

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