Can you help me how to correctly load film into my Agfa Movector E8?

[Josephine Thomas]

Hi there. I found some precious home movies on 8mm film from 1969 and I was lucky to get this projector in full working condition on ebay for £15! Trouble is, I'm not 100% sure how to load the film. Can you help please?

[Ed Gordon]

There are a few videos on Youtube. Link: https://www.youtube.com/results?sear...fa+Movector+E8

If you are lucky, someone on this forum may have a manual for the machine.

[Shane C. Collins]

Here's a model similar to yours. It looks like the supply reel loads from the top through the film sprockets, then from there into the film gate. Then to the second set of sprockets at the lower side to the take up reel.

[Shane C. Collins]

Also I must ask. You wrote that the home movies are from 1969. By that time most people were shooting on Super 8mm. The projector here is for regular 8mm. So make sure those films are in fact regular 8mm and not Super 8. If they are Super 8 you would need a Super 8 projector. It's quite possible those were shot on regular 8 but just wanted to throw that out there.

[Maurice Leakey]

Josephine

Here is a link to a manual for the Agfa Movector F8, it's almost the same as your E8, only the lamp appears to be different. Yours's, I believe uses the A1/186 lamp. It's very expensive as it's now obsolete.

Agfa Movector F 8 Printed Manual (camera-manual.com)
A1/186 100 Watt 12V Ba15d Projector Lamp Bayonet 3050K (bltdirect.com)


Maurice

[Terry Sills]

Josephine
if you can show me a picture of the lamp I may be able to help you if needs be. I have many old vintage lamps.

[Josephine Thomas]

Wow, thank you everyone! I had a mini panic, not being familiar with the difference between super 8 & 8mm but thankfully my films are 8mm. Learning all this is so much fun! I'm waiting for a new bulb to arrive which should hopefully come soon. I have one more issue, I'm trying to get my head around the film tape being positioned in 'loops'. In my mind I imagined it would run taut. I guess this is to prevent snapping? I shall update again, hopefully with news that I've watched them all. Many thanks for the manual link.

[Josephine Thomas]

Ahh sorry Terry, I bought the bulb already online. They're not cheap!

[Terry Sills]

Well if you need another I guarantee mine will be cheaper.

[Josephine Thomas]

Hello everyone, thought I'd give you an update. The bulb arrived today & I managed to get the projector going. There were teething problems. Firstly the paint on the new bulb smoked a fair bit & that had me freaked but then it stopped. I was super cautious. I could get a reasonable image about 10inch square but no larger, despite playing around with the focusing & projector placement. The nail in the coffin for me though was quality. I can see the images on the tape with a jewellers loupe & they're crystal clear but this doesn't translate to the wall. It appears my father spliced films together & these come apart as they go through the projector. Also there isn't enough blank lead-tape to thread though to the receiving reel, so you're winding your images though without seeing them. All things considered, I think I'm now going to look for a specialist who can digitise the films & give me large clear images. Any recommendations?

[Maurice Leakey]

Josephine

First is loops. These are necessary as the sprocket drives the film at a steady rate but the claw in the film gate stops and starts sixteen times per second. This gives the film an intermittent movement which is absorbed by the large loops.

The projection distance governs the size of the picture. With your lamp a screen size of up to about 3 feet wide should be achievable. A throw of 10 feet gives a picture 24 inches wide, a throw of 15 feet will give a picture 36 inches wide. The room must be in complete darkness and a pure white screen should be used.

If the picture is not bright there may be several reasons. The mirror may be dirty or cracked. The lamp may not be seated correctly, some projectors have a couple of screws to move the lamp vertically and laterally for best light output. An old piece of film may be lodged somewhere in the light path. The projection lens may be dirty. There may be dirt or muck in the picture gate. In a projector with a still picture device the drop down light filter may have inadvertently dropped, thus reducing the light. The projection speed may be too low, thus reducing the speed of the rotating shutter.

There is also the possibility that the film is slightly under exposed.

I am so sorry to hear of your disappointment.


Maurice

[Josephine Thomas]

I might experiment again. With a distance of 3ft from the wall I got the 10inch picture. Rotating the projector to face the opposite wall 8ft away gave nothing at all it was so diffuse, even allowing for focusing. It was confusing. The mirror has a 'foxed' area about 10% of the surface. I cleaned all the lenses with a glass cloth & used a toothbrush to dust the picture gate which was previously filthy. I might look into how you join film & try & rejoin the films that came apart. I've no idea how this is usually done but there was only 1mm of overlap & the previous adhesive had probably perished after all this time. The lamp is not perfect for sure, one side of the filament is reflected onto the wall. There is no scope for left or right movement with the bulb housing, only up or down. Should the centre of the filament be exactly level with the mirror? Many thanks

[Maurice Leakey]

Josephine
The lamp filament is rectangular and must be fully facing the lens. And, of course, the mirror must also be in the same plane
Film cement is obtainable, and as are, film splicers from eBay.
Cine Film Cement NEW 15ml for splicing super 8 Standard 8mm 16mm 9.5mm splicer | eBay
Vintage Minette DF 8mm Film Splicer - Boxed | eBay
Good luck

Maurice

[Shane C. Collins]

That's a shame because a good quality projector with good light, and lens should yield nice results.
maybe another projector would give you a better experience. I can recommend the Bolex 18-5 for regular 8. Very easy to use, small, and gentle on film. http://www.bolexcollector.com/projectors/185auto.html

[Dominique De Bast]

Shane, I have never owned a Bolex 18-5 but I read it uses the expensive "spaceman" 8v 50 watt bulb, so I would personnaly not recommend this projector to a newcomer.