Super 8 Projectors - Which One to Buy For Beginners

[Michael Honold]

Hello all,

New to the forum! In the past couple of weeks, I have been thinking a lot about potentially buying a super 8 projector. I've always been meaning to get one, but just never did. Now I feel like it's the perfect time to get one. I have rolls of Kodak B&W and color reversal film that I shot back in the day, that are sitting in the basement storage. I would like to project these film to show to the family and start a collection of super 8 movies for my personal entertainment.

I've been doing some research lately, and found this forum to be very informative about which models are great for your needs. Right now, I'm looking into the Elmo ST series (more specifically the ST600 or ST1200). These projectors look simple and easy to use, and have found out that these are possibly the best projectors for super 8. Now, my question: would you recommend the Elmo ST projectors for beginners or something else?

I plan on to continue to learn more about super 8 projectors, but I'm very much interested into purchasing one. I recently saw one Elmo ST 600 M for sale on Ebay, for a good price too, but I missed out on that opportunity. If anyone can help me out, or is selling one, I would greatly appreciate it. Thank you

[Oliver Feld]

Hi Michael
Welcome to the forum.
The Elmo St 1200 is a very good machine.
Most important to screen Your family treasures is a steady working and clean machine.
The Elmo St would be a good choice.
Buy some new leaders and attach them before the films: this is also protecting the films when You load them.
My recommendation would also be a Bauer T 510 or 610. These are very good machines and easy to handle, too. And very gently with the celluloid.

[Maurice Leakey]

Michael
Definitely go for the ST-600.
Some ST-1200 models have a problem with the rubber around their shutter. The ST-600 series are a good solid machine which will do all you need and at a much cheaper price too.

Maurice

[Rich Malmsten]

Hi, Michael, welcome to the Forum and to the hobby!

Elmo projectors are excellent machines and you can't go wrong with any of the models. I regularly run both an ST1200 and ST600 and can strongly recommend them if you're looking for a top-end projector. Though I think one of the biases you're going to get from asking members of this forum is that the recommendations are going to be for the top-end (expensive) models that may not be necessary for a beginner. My first projector wasn't an Elmo, I moved up to them as I got more into the hobby.

Another way to consider this is to get a mid-level machine and run it for a while to see if this hobby is one you want to stay with. Even though I run Elmo's must of the time, I still use my Chinon 6100 and like it a lot. Even my Eumig S907 was a decent projector. So there are a couple of alternatives if you want to start with a less expensive projector.

One thing I can promise you is that whatever you buy, if you stay with the hobby, it won't be your last projector. Ten years from now you'll have acquired at least a half-dozen projectors, and your wife will be asking you do you really need another one! And yes, you'll just have to have it because that's just how the hobby goes. It's like an addiction. So no matter which projector you start with, you'll be trying other models. So buy a high end Elmo if you want, but it's also okay to start with a Chinon or Eumig, or anything you can get a good deal on and run it for a year or two, and then move on. That's what makes this hobby so much fun.

[Lee Mannering]

Elmo st600 is a nice starter machine

[Michael Honold]

Hi everyone!

Thanks for welcoming to this forum and giving me your responses! It really means a lot to getting your inputs about where to start and what projector works best for beginners. I’m definitely still looking into the Elmo ST series, but will definitely also look into the Bauer T series that Oliver suggested. Thanks again for your help everyone.

[Julian Baquero]

Michel I suggest you go all the way to a ELMO ST1200, the machine is a beauty, it is robust and reliable and can handle reels up to 1200 feet. I has all you need and more. It is easy to maintain and parts and supplies are comparably easy to get than other brands. If you get bored with it, which I don't think will happen, it will be easily sold for a decent price.

[Michael Honold]

Hi Julian

Thank you for your input, I really appreciate it. I have been leaning more towards the Elmo ST-1200 projectors than any other because how accessible it looks and user friendly, and the ergonomic design makes the projector look really gorgeous. The only thing I noticed is that it is pretty hard to find any available for a decent price. I see some on EBay, but at pretty high prices. I’ll just have to keep searching around for or possibly look at another projector.

[Julian Baquero]

Dear Michael, your welcome. Ask here in the forum if someone has an ST-1200 for sale. Sure you will get a better price and will get one in great condition. There is a lot of speculation on Ebay. You can take the risk of buying a projector "as-is" on Ebay and repairing it, I have done this myself. But as I said it's a calculated risk, you can win or you can loose. I've had to clean the black goo out of an ST1200 and believe it's not a easy nor nice job to do and not everyone is up to the task.

[Maurice Leakey]

Michael
Unless you also want to screen Super 8 films with an optical sound track your need will be quite realised with an ST-600.
Much less to go wrong.

Maurice

[Erik Snel]

what i miss in this topic is the question if yo uneed a sound projector. if you do, yes definately go for an Elmo ST-600. that one will never disapoint. but if you dont need sound to start with i would choose an Eumig 600 or similar. those are mechanically very good. i have only one super8 film with optical sound in my collection. they are much rarer then magnetic sound. i have the Eumig Mark S O&M for it but i can imagine there are better options out there

[Lee Mannering]

You have some good guidance there Michael and so wished I had this level of help in 1968 You wont go wrong with the Elmo St600
Check it works well.

[Michael Honold]

Hi everyone,

Thank you all for your comments, some great information and insights you have provided. I was looking into getting a Elmo sound projector, because I wanted to start a small collection of super 8 sound films, along with my own super 8 silent films I have shot. I recently have been doing some research about sound on film (magnetic and optical) and have learned that not all sound projectors are the same. I thought they were. I’m not to familiar between the two formats, but have read that magnetic sound tracks are better than optical tracks. I don’t own any super 8 sound film, but which sound format are the most common for sound films releases? I’ve tried searching this, but could not find anything. I assumed it’s magnetic sound film because I don’t see many optical only projectors. It’s either magnetic or magnetic/optical projectors. If anyone can please let me know, I would appreciate it. Thanks

[Lee Mannering]

Magnetic sound which can come in mono or stereo sound. Mono is much more common

If you do require optical sound projection the Fujicascope SD Auto is a compact easy to use projector which is also magnetic, but a little bit rare.