New and no idea - please help :)

[Simon James]

Hi there,
Hope you are well. Just joined the forum as I am interested in buying a old 8mm projector. I have not owned one before and have no knowledge on them! It will be used for parties where a projection will be thrown onto a backdrop. We saw many being used back in the early 90s at parties and wish to do the same this summer. Basic questions are:

What kind of range can I throw the image? (does this depend on the projector used?)

How long are the films typically, 30mins / 400ft?

Is it possible to loop the whole film or can i only loop a short scene continuously?

I don’t wish to spend much on a projector, are some on ebay best to avoid, any recommendations on brands or models?

Thanks for your time and help

[Martin Davey]

You would be better off I imagine using a digital projector, as what would have been done back in the 90s if the tech was available. Bigger image size to create a backdrop, cheaper to run, accessible material to show (or make your own), easier to setup and you can just concentrate on the party.

[Maurice Leakey]

Simon

I agree with Martin above.

An 8mm film projector would not be of much use. In addition to the cost of the projector there would films and projector lamps. The latter have a relatively short life and some can be quite expensive as they are now obsolete. Also, the picture area would be quite small.

I suggest something like the item as described below. More suited for what you require.

Galaxy Projector - Night Sky Bluetooth Light Projector – Galaxify

[Osi Osgood]

The range all comes down to the brilliance of the lamp. The brighter the lamp, the bigger the image can be. However, depending on how sharp the print is, will the image be. The larger a not so sharp image is in the first place, the less pleasing it will be to the eye.

[Stuart Budd]

The video shows a selection of Eumig projectors doing what you want and using loops. Spliced together.

Your event you plan sound like fun.

8mm is actually two formats that are different. 8mm/Standard 8/Normal 8/Double 8 are all one compatible format or gauge. Picture frame size and sprocket hole size and pitch. Super 8/Single 8 are both the other gauge. So 8mm comes in two gauges, commonly referred to as Standard 8 (the oldest and thus has the oldest projectors) and Super 8. You can get dual gauge projectors that do both (including Single 8 to to confuse).

Any distance buying is hit and miss. But both eBay and Facebook Market Place can come up trumps. The down side is packing and logistics. Some projectors look great but don't arrive that way. Some projectors are described as great and aren't. Price has no reference to quality. Two projectors can have hundreds of pounds difference and be almost exactly the same. I say almost as all projectors are used and have had a life of their own. Some come with warranty. But if paying via PayPal you'll probably have 180 days to bring up a case. One word of advice. If you pay hundreds and are not happy, get your money back and avoid the seller. Don't mess around. Best if you can drive to view and see it working. Transport can end up causing issues if allowed to bump around.

Price wise, under £100. You'll get a fantastic projector for under a 100 quid. You can pay more and still get excellent results or a Ferrari of a projector. Expensive and expensive to run.

Lenses. They're often zoom lenses and as we're talking 8mm format (both gauges), the size of image will be the same as regards distance and focal length. So a lens with 3 numbers such as 1.4 15-30 is a lens with an aperture of 1.4 and a 15 to 30 zoom. The 15 is the bigger picture at a short distance where as the 30 is smaller but brighter. All the light is projected to a smaller area. If the first number was 1.1 instead of 1.4 then the lens would be brighter giving the opportunity to project further. Focus may be an issue, but nothing too much. Parties aren't parties if things are in focus!

Sankyo, Elmo, Eumig are some good names. But there are others too. Without getting into too much detail, have a go at buying what you think is a good buy. Have a play and see what results you get.

Silent Projectors (you can play music or narrate)
Can play sound films (prints), just without the sound
Sound Projectors
These can play sound or silent prints

Prints can have a single sound track or two sound tracks. These are magnetic. There is also optical, but rare and fun.
All magnetic sound projectors will play the main track. Duo or Twin Track Projectors can play both tracks. Then Stereo projectors can play these tracks if recorded in stereo. The tracks are usually recorded as the main track with the prints soundtrack and the other track, called the balance track, left empty. These can be recorded to with twin track machines (projectors).

A party with a real projector or more. Like that idea

[Nantawat Kittiwarakul]

One hard fact - 8mm projection isn't that kind of set it and forget it. You can't simply switch it on and let it do its job unattended for hours. That's not how it's supposed to work. There are exceptions of course, but most projectors found today would need constant attention during its operation.

In other words - you'll need to babysit it for most of the time.

It would be good for a brief show-off during the party or as a conversation starter, but NOT for a continuous background operation. Even a VHS vcr would even better suit for this kind of work (you can get at least 2 hrs of operation unattended).

This reminds me of a recent similar topic where the poster need a 8mm projection in his installation art gallery. But after considering several restrictions & limitations the op seems to eventually backed off from this idea - a wise decision imho.

[Simon James]

Hi there guys, thanks very much for all the excellent info, really helpful. On Ebay there are some for £30-£50 and probably more on local gumtree etc. The annoyance is not being able to leave it unless I can loop a scene from a film.

The parties we put on in 1990, 1991, there was a projectionist who also used slides. He had a looped piece of footage which worked pretty well as I remember.

Would a video projector create a lot of light and be a bit ££££?

As for lights, I have lots of lights and lasers including 3 optikinetics solar 250s with some nice wheels.


From my pic here at Castle Morton in 1992, you can see two projectors


http://www.webm8.co.uk/riddler/photo...1992/0005.html

[Stuart Budd]

Those actually look 16mm. They also appear looping.

Something like an ELF NT-1 16mm projector!

[Simon James]

ah ok thanks, will google and see what i can find