Newbie with a projector!

[Stuart Mitchell]

Good afternoon from North Yorkshire.

I've recently decided to get into all things 60's and 70's audio/visual, to go along with my 80's computing hobby. My recent endeavours have been audio focussed, resulting in a nice working stereo system, comprising of a 1979 Hitachi amplifier, a 1975 Trio turntable, and a few other bits mixed in, all working lovely.

So I've decided to go onwards into the visual arena, and for this I've acquired a Prinz Compere 8S projector. I bought it as refurbished and serviced from the 'bay, and after some trial and error, I've got it up and running. I had to replace the plug on the power cord for a compliant one, and I've given the rubber discs a going over with belt dressing, after my first attempt to play a film resulted in it slowing down somewhat about halfway through.

I purchased a Tom and Jerry film to test all the functionality and to show my kids, and had a bit of a mishap when testing the film - I forgot to hold the feed switch down for the required length of time, and broke the lead in of the film. Luckily I haven't lost any of the actual film itself, and after purchasing a splicer and tapes, and some leader, I've repaired it successfully and retested today - it has played twice with no problems at all!

So, I guess I'm saying hi, thanks for the fantastic resource of this forum, which I have already plumbed for knowledge in helping me get started, and a couple of questions if I may:

• What regular maintenance would you recommend to keep the projector running smoothly? Are there any things I should look out for in particular?
• What are the best places to acquire new films, apart from the 'bay? That's my only source at the moment.
• If I were to start shooting my own film, which I hope to do, can you advise on a good but cheap to get hold of camera? I've been looking at various Sankyos and the like, but I'm not really sure on the reasonable brands i.e. I can see Canon, Elmo, Nizo etc. get a lot of love and hence high prices, but are Sankyo, Chinon etc. worth paying £30-£40 for?

Anyway, I'm sure I'll have more questions, but that is enough to go on with. I hope to hear back from some of you, as I'm really enjoying this hobby so far and it is nice to speak to fellow enthusiasts!

[Brian Fretwell]

Check out the link to Independent 8 in the 8mm films for sale section of this forum also http://www.classichomecinema.co.uk/, but they cannot update their site at present so ask to be put on their mailing list. Other Sellers also post when they have an update to their lists on the sales section.

[Stuart Mitchell]

Check out the link to Independent 8 in the 8mm films for sale section of this forum also http://www.classichomecinema.co.uk/, but they cannot update their site at present so ask to be put on their mailing list. Other Sellers also post when they have an update to their lists on the sales section.

Thanks Brian, I'll check those out.

[Dominique De Bast]

Stuart, since you're lucky enough to be based in the UK, I would suggest you, when things will be back to normal, to try to attend a film fair. There are several in your country. They will be advertised on the forum but to get an idea, you can look at the pictures in the forum archive. The most famous events are : Blackpool, Harpenden, the Big Screen Time Revival (London) and the Group 9.5 Spring Fair (London). I'm sure other members will advertise other local fairs.

[Stuart Mitchell]

Stuart, since you're lucky enough to be based in the UK, I would suggest you, when things will be back to normal, to try to attend a film fair. There are several in your country. They will be advertised on the forum but to get an idea, you can look at the pictures in the forum archive. The most famous events are : Blackpool, Harpenden, the Big Screen Time Revival (London) and the Group 9.5 Spring Fair (London). I'm sure other members will advertise other local fairs.

Hi Dominique. This is something I definitely intend to do, once normality returns! I can imagine these events are a lot of fun.

[Brian Fretwell]

Also the Classic home Cinema shop is in Cleethorpes and (normally) has two sale events a year, May and August at the shop. the August one is over the weekend with evening events too - a meal and film show. All will depend on the current "lockdown" situation this year.

[Stuart Mitchell]

Also the Classic home Cinema shop is in Cleethorpes and (normally) has two sale events a year, May and August at the shop. the August one is over the weekend with evening events too - a meal and film show. All will depend on the current "lockdown" situation this year.

Thanks Brian. Cleethorpes is not far away from me, I'm only 15 minutes down from the M180 so that's definitely somewhere to visit once we are able to visit non essential shops again! The event sounds good too.

[Shane C. Collins]

If your looking to shoot film, then project, you have a few options. Let me tell you it's not cheap to shoot modern film stocks. But if you do it correctly the results are worth the time and money. The two best reversal stocks are Kodak's Ektachrome 100D (7294) color reversal, and their black and white reversal stock called Tri-X. The black and white is the cheapest and looks great projected. But if you want to add some color then 7294 is a beautiful stock. I've shot years of footage and can tell you the great joy of this hobby is seeing your family and friends on the screen. There's no other media like it. Is it perfect? Of course not but that's what people like about Super 8. It's imperfections, and grain give a dreamy feel that is very addictive.
For cameras there are so many available online. Many work fine and others do not. In the 70's companies like Nizo, Elmo, Minolta, Bauer, Sankyo, etc all made good and bad cameras. One of the nicest cameras I use is the Elmo Super 110. It recognizes all modern reversal stocks with no problems. I recently purchases a Nizo 561 Macro that I have yet to use, but it seems like a solid contender, and also recognizes the reversal stocks I mentioned above. If your concerned about getting a reliable camera then I can recommend http://www.cine-super8.net/index.php...ccueil&ordpp=1 This gentleman has worked on Bauer and Nizo cameras for decades. He services all the cameras he offers for sale. You'll be sure your getting a working camera from him! Or you can take a risk and purchase a cheaper camera from eBay. I've used this method and only 1 out 5 cameras didn't work. That's the great part of buying Super 8 cameras there's hundreds of them for sale. Hope some of this information is helpful. The great joy of shooting Super 8 is using the cameras themselves, then getting the footage back, and projecting them for the first time. It's rewarding when they actually turn out well ha! If you have kids they will also enjoy seeing themselves up on the big screen! Remember all modern stocks are silent films, but really that's the other retro aspect, who needs sound LOL.

[Stuart Mitchell]

If your looking to shoot film, then project, you have a few options. Let me tell you it's not cheap to shoot modern film stocks. But if you do it correctly the results are worth the time and money. The best 2 reversal stocks are Kodak's Ektachrome 100D (7294) color reversal, and their black and white reversal stock called Tri-X. The black and white is the cheapest and looks great projected. But if you want to add some color then 7294 is a beautiful stock. I've shot years of footage and can tell you the great joy of this hobby is seeing your family and friends on the screen. There's no other media like it. Is it perfect? Of course not but that's what people like about Super 8. It's imperfections, and grain give a dreamy feel that is very addictive.
For cameras there are so many available online. Many work fine and others do not. In the 70's companies like Nizo, Elmo, Minolta, Bauer, Sankyo, etc all made good and bad cameras. One of the nicest cameras I use is the Elmo Super 110. It recognizes all modern reversal stocks with no problems. I recently purchases a Nizo 561 Macro that I have yet to use, but it seems like a solid contender, and also recognizes the reversal stocks I mentioned above. If your concerned about getting a reliable camera then I can recommend http://www.cine-super8.net/index.php...ccueil&ordpp=1 This gentle has worked on Bauer and Nizo cameras for decades. He services all the cameras he offers for sale. You could be sure you'll get a working camera from him! Or you can take a risk and purchase a cheaper camera from eBay. I've used this method and only 1 out 5 cameras didn't work. That's the great part of buying Super 8 cameras there's hundreds of them for sale. Hope some of this information is helpful. The great joy of shooting Super 8 is using the cameras themselves, then getting the footage back, and projecting them for the first time. It's rewarding when they actually tun out well ha! If you have kids they will also enjoy seeing themselves up on the big screen! Remember all modern stocks are silent films, but really that's the other retro aspect, who needs sound LOL.

Thanks Shane! This is really good info. Seems like I can take a reasonable gamble for a camera that will probably do what I need. I've read up on the film stock and it's good to see you confirm what I thought. This encourages me to take the plunge for a camera - we should be lucky enough to go on holiday in the UK this August, so I should be able to find somethin by then, and take some good old fashioned holiday film! I'll check out the link you shared too. Thanks!

[Melvin England]

i can imagine these events are a lot of fun.

Hell yes !!!!!!!!

[Stuart Mitchell]

I've picked up a Sankyo Super CME660 camera for £20, inc. case and manual, today. It was available very local to me, untested of course. Hefty battery leakage in the compartment (complete with ancient batteries). The battery holder was non salvageable. I have managed to clean out all the residue, neutralising with distilled vinegar, scrubbing this all off with a toothbrush, and then some 99% IPA to finish. I have ordered some new battery holders from Amazon, hopefully they will do the trick. I've tested with an old battery holder from my Sinclair MTV1B (this holder is a bit broken but still functions), and I found the following:

With batteries in, the light meter and battery check work. At first, the motor would not run, nothing happening with the trigger pushed in. I've fiddled around, used a pencil eraser on the battery contacts, sprayed some contact cleaner and rubbed off with a lint free cloth, all seemingly to no avail. About to give up on this, and fiddled a bit more with the battery holder, when lo! she sprang to life! The trigger starts the motor running. I locked the trigger and she kept going, so I checked the cartridge compartment and the cartridge wheel is turning. The zoom buttons work. There is a flashing green light in the viewfinder. So it seems she does work after all!

I will do some further testing tomorrow when I get the new battery holders. Hopefully this will cure the issue. I'm not sure what I did right in the end, but hopefully once the new battery holder is in place, it will be a reliable fix.

Does anyone have any recommendations for maintenance of these cameras? It looks like the camera is no designed to be opened up and maintained.

[Shane C. Collins]

Nice find Stuart! I once had this camera but the light meter quit working or never really worked in the first place. If all is working then you found a nice camera. It will meter the current reversal stocks just fine. It also has a +- one f-stop tweaking. This would come in handy if you plan to shoot Ektachrome (7294) color reversal. As I mentioned above this stock needs more light to look correct when projected. Anyways you should like shooting with this camera. It's not large or bulky which is a plus. Sankyo made many nice cameras back in the day, and I'd rate this as a mid-level camera capable of making nice movies. Let us know how you make out with getting the battery holder straightened out. This is a common when owner's neglect to take the batteries out. It turns into a large corrosive mess as you found out!

[Shane C. Collins]

I found an extra battery holder for Sankyo CM-Series cameras. I had it laying in a drawer. It has some slight oxidation on it that I will try cleaning. Your welcome to have it at no cost. Might be a good backup should the battery holder you ordered not work. Let me know!

[Stuart Mitchell]

I found an extra battery holder for Sankyo CM-Series cameras. I had it laying in a drawer. It has some slight oxidation on it that I will try cleaning. Your welcome to have it at no cost. Might be a good backup should the battery holder you ordered not work. Let me know!

Thank you for the offer!! I assume from your signature you're in the US - I'm in the UK, so I suspect that would not really be feasible, otherwise I would have taken you up on the offer. But I'm really grateful for your kind thought.

Hopefully, the ones I'm getting from Amazon will do the job.

[Shane C. Collins]

Hi Stuart yes I'm in the US! Let me know if you need the battery holder in the near future. I'm sure it wouldn't cost much to send it to your location. But I do hope your battery holder from Amazon works!