when people complain because prices of used 8mm gear are too high.....

[Graham Ritchie]

Looks good David considering there age the GS1200 has lasted well

[Graham Ritchie]

[David Kilderry]

I have a copy of this in its original little Elmo box Graham. I have been collecting original Elmo and Eumig accessories for many years. This Elmo Stereo Demonstration film seems pretty rare and a great item to have. Perhaps it was only issued to dealers?

[Brian Harrington]

The Eumig 810D came with a clear film with just a soundtrack. Only about 1 minute long as well. Cheapskates!
Where would one buy used equipment in the 70s and early 80s? I never saw any b&m stores selling used equipment until much, much later.

The price of Eumigs vs. Elmos were similar in the Blackhawk catalogs depending on features. In fact, I believe the highest-end Eumig like the 824 might have actually been higher than an Elmo ST-1200 (with or without the H and/or the D).

No naming standards existed -- D in a Eumig model # meant dual-8. I still don't know what D or HD meant in an Elmo -- but it wasn't high-definition!

Both companies should have come out with a top-tier machine simply for watching films. It's obvious they were all focused (pardon the pun) on amateur film makers.

I don't have a single film, nor have I ever had one, with anything recorded on the balance stripe. In 50 years, I have attempted to record sound on a film less than 5 times.

I've said it before and I'll say it again: why, oh why, wasn't there a standard size for the lens barrel and focus mechanism? Life would be so much simpler for today's collector if that were the case.

[Paul Adsett]

I've said it before and I'll say it again: why, oh why, wasn't there a standard size for the lens barrel and focus mechanism? Life would be so much simpler for today's collector if that were the case.

Yes, and another big deal for great projection would have been the availability of high quality PRIME (non- zoom) projection lenses.
I recently did a comparison of the Elmo f 1.0 12.5mm - 30mm zoom lens, and my KODAK EKTAR f1.0 22mm PRIME lens. I had to use the Ektar lens in my Eumig S938 Stereo projector for this comparison because the Ektar lens cannot be used in the GS1200, because the back focal length of the Ektar is shorter than the Elmo lens. and you just cannot get focus even with the lens pushed all the way in. Anyway, for what its worth, projecting the same film on the same size screen here is my honest non-biased opinion:

Brightness - Well no surprise here, the Elmo with its 250w lamp and 2-bladed shutter was brighter than the Eumig S938. But I did notice that the Ektar lens seemed whiter (less yellow)

Sharpness - The Ektar prime lens was noticeably sharper than the Elmo f1.0 zoom lens ( which is a very good lens).

Contrast - The Ektar prime lens had noticeably better contrast than the Elmo f1.0 zoom lens. The highlights seemed to be whiter and the black levels were lower.

Overall viewing experience, the 938 with the Ektar prime lens produced a sharper picture with more depth and contrast than the GS1200 with the Elmo f1.0 zoom lens. Too bad I can't use the Ektar in the GS1200, I think that would be something to see! So a round of applause here for the 938 with the Ektar lens, which turned out to be very competitive with the GS1200, and even better sound IMO.

Anyway the moral of the story is that zoom projection lenses, although convenient, compromise projected image sharpness and contrast . Same thing in camera's.
I have never seen double super 8 shot on a Bolex H8 fitted with Prime KERN lenses, but my bet would be that it produced stunning quality images.

[David Kilderry]

Where would one buy used equipment in the 70s and early 80s? I never saw any b&m stores selling used equipment until much, much later.

We had a few large camera stores here with used equipment. There was a store called Michaels Cameras that had several windows full of used gear. I'd already seen used Elmo ST 1200's there by 1980 and was hoping to wait for a GS 1200 to show up. I ended up buying my first one privately from another collector and my first Eumig 940 was in a classified ad.

I do have a local price list and catalogs etc from 1980. I'll try and dig them out so we can compare prices.

[Paul Adsett]

The Eumig S938 and S940 seem to be as rare as hens teeth in the USA. The only other person that I know of
who has a 938 is Osi, and I believe Doug has a 940.

[David Kilderry]

Hope you can read this projector price list OK. It is from an Australian photographic magazine around 1982 and at that time our dollar was equal to the US dollar. It is not a comprehensive list, but shows many of the main brands available here. Note the price of the Elmo GS 1200 compared to the others.

As discussed inflation calculators are not always indicative, but in 1982 an Australian Holden Commodore (Medium size GM vehicle) cost around $8,000 in the US at the same time a Pontiac Trans Am or Buick Regal also cost around $8,000. So an Elmo GS 1200 cost around one fifth the price of a new car. An equivalent car today would be a Ford Mustang at $52,000. So does that mean a similar projector to the GS1200 if made today would cost over $10,000?

[Steve Lee]

I also own a S940 untill I got shot of it last year. Considering that this was supposed to be the top of the range, all singing and dancing Eumig, I have never seen such a pile of junk. It should of held a Fisher Price badge.
Every part is of it is made from the cheapest of the cheap materials. Even the led display is pointless, just for show. it would have been different if it actually counted the frames, instead of running off of the feed arm.
I think the term is "all fur coat and no knickers".
I ended up using it as a door stop for some time before waving it goodbye on ebay.
It was definitely good riddance.

[David Kilderry]

I also own a S940 untill I got shot of it last year. Considering that this was supposed to be the top of the range, all singing and dancing Eumig, I have never seen such a pile of junk. It should of held a Fisher Price badge.
Every part is of it is made from the cheapest of the cheap materials. Even the led display is pointless, just for show. it would have been different if it actually counted the frames, instead of running off of the feed arm.
I think the term is "all fur coat and no knickers".
I ended up using it as a door stop for some time before waving it goodbye on ebay.
It was definitely good riddance.

You forgot to mention the fader controls snapping, the magnetic head wearing and the drive clutch slipping. One or all of these problems have all happened to the 940s I've owned. I still have one, because I like the look of it and the promise that it could work well again.........one day.

[Matthieu van der Sluis]

Hope you can read this projector price list OK. It is from an Australian photographic magazine around 1982 and at that time our dollar was equal to the US dollar. It is not a comprehensive list, but shows many of the main brands available here. Note the price of the Elmo GS 1200 compared to the others.

As discussed inflation calculators are not always indicative, but in 1982 an Australian Holden Commodore (Medium size GM vehicle) cost around $8,000 in the US at the same time a Pontiac Trans Am or Buick Regal also cost around $8,000. So an Elmo GS 1200 cost around one fifth the price of a new car. An equivalent car today would be a Ford Mustang at $52,000. So does that mean a similar projector to the GS1200 if made today would cost over $10,000?

I like that list.
give me an idea of what my father payed for our ST1200 back than

[Brian Harrington]

Yes, and another big deal for great projection would have been the availability of high quality PRIME (non- zoom) projection lenses.

My Fujicascope SH-7 came with a 19mm, f1.3 prime lens.
https://super8database.com/projectors/800

Takes an EFP 100 watt lamp.

The brightness of the picture rivals my Elmo with the 1.1 lens and 150 watt EFR lamp.

Sadly, the lens does not fit into my other Yamawa-made machines for some reason.

19mm is about the max focal length that I can deal with else I'll get too small an image on my screen.