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My story..
My late father was a keen 9.5 enthusiast as a boy and still projecting them in his 80's God less him. He formed a small but keen film group in the 50's where all films were made on 9.5 films and during the 50's they achieved probably the only Polarised 3D film to be shot on the gauge using two cine camera locked together by a mechanical cable. The film was later projected onto a 5ft screen using two Specto projector also speed locked by a flexi cable and it all worked. Quite a enthusiastic group of 9.5 film makers.
Father also obtained a 17.5mm sound projector in the 30's and had a little mobile cinema showing films around the villages of Kent which proved popular. During the war he was contacted and asked if he would project public information films around Kent which I suspect everyone soon learned to make Brickets and the like amongst other wartime safety information. He had a problem that his projector was of course 17.5mm but they paid for it to be converted to 16mm which then meant he had a leap to 16mm and more choice of films. The conversion was not that successful by Pathescope and so he soon moved to a Bell & Howell sometime after the war.
Needless to say I picked up the 9-5 bug!
I did start with Regular 8mm as a boy in the late 60's projecting those wonderful silent but then a few years later went to my first 9.5 convention in the UK buying a few films and also a Pathescope Gem projector then a Son sound projector which I set about upgrading. I loved that Son projector and with care it worked quite well giving many sound shows with it here and at local youth groups at Christmas time. I remember the first time I projected Dizzy Divers a Popeye on it and the children were mesmerised by the animation in it saying can we watch it again at the end. Memorable.
It wasn't long that I was presented with a Pathe Lido cine camera and I started filming myself partnering my Super 8 film making although 9-5 colour film at times was hard to obtain.
In my 9.5mm heyday we used to give film nights here fairly regularly having two Vox sound projectors set up showing our own efforts in film making and sound printed films. Sadly many of our audience have passed on but we still have our 9.5 Northern Group and we shall be in evidence at the 2020 9.5 Film Festival at Bradford UK next year.
A few years ago I purchased a slimline Eiki 9-5 projector which was part converted to the gauge from 16 so finished the job and this was my final upgrade although I still prefer the Pathe Vox which is much kinder to vintage film prints with a slower claw pull down and simpler film path. My best Vox has a modern 25 watt amplifier in it, a 150 watt lamp which is ample for home use also a Bolex lens.
I would encourage all cine film fans to get into 9.5 as it is a nice slice of film history and well basically I just love it!
My late father was a keen 9.5 enthusiast as a boy and still projecting them in his 80's God less him. He formed a small but keen film group in the 50's where all films were made on 9.5 films and during the 50's they achieved probably the only Polarised 3D film to be shot on the gauge using two cine camera locked together by a mechanical cable. The film was later projected onto a 5ft screen using two Specto projector also speed locked by a flexi cable and it all worked. Quite a enthusiastic group of 9.5 film makers.
Father also obtained a 17.5mm sound projector in the 30's and had a little mobile cinema showing films around the villages of Kent which proved popular. During the war he was contacted and asked if he would project public information films around Kent which I suspect everyone soon learned to make Brickets and the like amongst other wartime safety information. He had a problem that his projector was of course 17.5mm but they paid for it to be converted to 16mm which then meant he had a leap to 16mm and more choice of films. The conversion was not that successful by Pathescope and so he soon moved to a Bell & Howell sometime after the war.
Needless to say I picked up the 9-5 bug!
I did start with Regular 8mm as a boy in the late 60's projecting those wonderful silent but then a few years later went to my first 9.5 convention in the UK buying a few films and also a Pathescope Gem projector then a Son sound projector which I set about upgrading. I loved that Son projector and with care it worked quite well giving many sound shows with it here and at local youth groups at Christmas time. I remember the first time I projected Dizzy Divers a Popeye on it and the children were mesmerised by the animation in it saying can we watch it again at the end. Memorable.
It wasn't long that I was presented with a Pathe Lido cine camera and I started filming myself partnering my Super 8 film making although 9-5 colour film at times was hard to obtain.
In my 9.5mm heyday we used to give film nights here fairly regularly having two Vox sound projectors set up showing our own efforts in film making and sound printed films. Sadly many of our audience have passed on but we still have our 9.5 Northern Group and we shall be in evidence at the 2020 9.5 Film Festival at Bradford UK next year.
A few years ago I purchased a slimline Eiki 9-5 projector which was part converted to the gauge from 16 so finished the job and this was my final upgrade although I still prefer the Pathe Vox which is much kinder to vintage film prints with a slower claw pull down and simpler film path. My best Vox has a modern 25 watt amplifier in it, a 150 watt lamp which is ample for home use also a Bolex lens.
I would encourage all cine film fans to get into 9.5 as it is a nice slice of film history and well basically I just love it!
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