A cupboard full of strange things.

[Patrick Dorrian]

Hi folks,

I'll try and keep this as concise as I can.

Long story short....

My wife's father died a number of years ago and was very into the gadgets of the day. But he didn't plan on passing on and this stuff was literally abandoned mid use. His wife then packed it away and that's where it stayed until she then died and we started going through the last of the things at the back of the last cupboard in the last room.

So that brings me here.

I have no idea on value, either in terms of curiosity/ monetary or nostalgia. Pretty sure we won't use any of it and I've already repaired and am using his old Garrard record deck.

I've a Eumig 710D in what seems like working order. No squeaks / rattles / fire. Light works and is nice and bright and it goes back and forth. Spare film spindles inside the cover etc and both microphone and stop/start remote. It needs a ruddy good clean of the case which I'll do. Not touching the internals.

A Canon 814 Autozoom in a nice carry case with an unused film and the manual. Popped some batteries in but I've no idea what life I'm looking for

A Yashica 8 U-G Cine camera. Same as above

A Eumig film splicer

Plus another box of what id loosely call gubbins.

I can provide pics if anyone wants better info and ideally I'd like to move this stuff on at a fair price to me but also at a fair price to whoever buys it.

I'm loathe to Ebay it as that means dealing with folk who expect a warranty and 8 hours of free help working out which way batteries go in. Then theres the whole courier thing.

I guess in the first instance Id just like a bit of help sorting out whats here and then if its worth anything, popping a sale post up and offering those who helped with first refusal.

Equally it might all be dead broken junk and if that's the case maybe there's spares folk might want.

It just seems a shame to pitch it all into the recycling if there's a chance its useable.

Anyway for now thats it - if you've got this far then thanks for bearing with me.

Cheers,

Patrick

[Stuart Budd]

Hi Patrick. Sorry to hear the story of your new inheritance. Personally, I would facebook marketplace for buyer to collect some items or local adds in shops etc...
There's also charity shops.
Heavy things can be out priced simply by cost of courier as you know. Then breakages etc...
The 710D is worth around £30 (£0) cash to what have you!

Best wishes.

[Patrick Dorrian]

Thanks Stuart - that confirms what I suspected and that it's just not worth anything if it involves couriers.

Charity won't touch old electrical.

Facebook market place... no one who suffers with a lack of patience has time for that and it'd mean creating an account.

Think my time is better spent buying an old film for the 710 to see if it eats it or plays it. and an old film cartridge to test in the Yashica and the Canon and have some fun with the bits.

If that confirms them as viable then I can sell them accordingly and if not then I'll have had my moneys worth out of the tinkering time.

I refuse to toss them in the bin without extracting some pleasure out of them.

[Brian Fretwell]

It's a pity it doesn't look as if the 9.5 event is returning to Pimlico (Though Harpenden would have been nearer and that moved last year) this year or you could have taken them to the bring and buy there.

[Patrick Dorrian]

Indeed - Harpenden is close. I've found a service manual for the 814 and I'm going to clean up the contacts in the grip later and see if that wakes it up. According to Google ..... if the problem is internal the fix is likely more than the camera would be worth and then some.

[Stuart Budd]

...
Think my time is better spent buying an old film for the 710 to see if it eats it or plays it. and an old film cartridge to test in the Yashica and the Canon and have some fun with the bits.
...

I refuse to toss them in the bin without extracting some pleasure out of them.

I like that idea 👍

[Patrick Dorrian]

Anyone reccomend an 8mm film that deserves to play Russian roulette?

[Patrick Dorrian]

The Canon 814 is alive!😁 I cleaned the contacts in both the base and the cover and away it went.

Full range of focus in and out.
Battery meter working
Lightmeter working
Motor spinning beautifully - zero sounds of any dragging or straining.

Is there a way i can test this without spending a fortune? I am going to presume that whatever film i put in to use would then need developing and then i could play it in theory on the Eumig ..... although my wife ( clever sausage that she is ) bought one of those 8mm to SDCard converter things which she's been copying all of the old 8mm footage onto so we've got digital copies of it that can be cloud stored.

I can't tell you how satisfying a noise that motorised lens makes :-) So other than doing an actual recording, can I presume / assume that within the bounds of it being 40 odd years old that it is now in 'working' condition?

[Martin Davey]

You should probably put them on Ebay. Getting a courier and a suitable cardboard box is not that difficult!
In terms of you testing the old equipment I would not bother, as its likely it will not work correctly and you do not have the experience to know what is correct and what is not, and how to service them. However what you do need to understand is that it can be repaired by those with the knowledge. Virtually every projector I have purchased off Ebay has not fuctioned correctly, but the sellers don't claim to say it works correctly, if at all. I expect to make it work and service it, but with that in mind I only expect to pay a small sum in case it is DOA and only suitable for spares. I do not buy from those who charge silly prices and have no idea what it is and how it is supposed to work. I'm sure you will sell if you just put these things on for a few £s and let the market decide, and someone may find a use for them rather than you throwing it all away.
Just be honest with the listing, say its untested and have plenty of sharp pictures. If you go on Ebay saying that it works, without understanding the full meaning of that word, then thats when you will get trouble!

[Patrick Dorrian]

Sage advice and I think it will be worded in accordance with that.

I can state which bits operate but that this doesn't imply that it is fully operational or working. Especially where the camera is concerned. Although part of me reckons it'd be a giggle to throw a new film through it get it developed and see what comes out.

However, couriers of late have managed to damage stuff that I've packed to withstand a nuclear blast. I've been doing ebay since 2003 and it's the worst it has ever been for damage / eejits. People buying one thing and then returning a broken same thing but with a different serial number and trying to pull a fast one.

If I'm going to get peanuts for it then I'd rather play with it and eventually find someone else who wants it for the same purpose when I've had my fun.

I'm still having fun

[Stuart Budd]

Yes, have fun with it/them. Get every last ounce of joy, make some memories. Keep the Eumig/splicer/Canon. Think about the rest.

[Shane C. Collins]

If you want to shoot Super 8 and then project it, you have two choices. Kodak's Ektachrome 100D (7294) color reversal, and Kodak's Tr-X black and white reversal. Both films can be shot, then processed at the lab. When the film returns you just simply watch it on the projector. The thrill of shooting film and seeing on the screen is an awesome experience. There's nothing like it as far as I am concerned. This is how I make most of my home movies, and documenting things for posterity. Sure it's expensive, but when it all turns out it's a great format for lots of fun.

Is the auto-exposure meter working properly in the canon 814? If so your probably good to go as far as shooting film goes. And here's an easy way to shoot film without needing to focus the lens. For non-zoom shooting use what I call the 10/10 setting. Focus ring set to 10 FT and the zoom set to 10 mm. This will make everything in focus from about 4 ft to infinity. Also remember to not pan your shots with Super 8 if you can help it. Panning makes for a dizzy effect when watching your movie on a projector. Nice steady shots will look better on screen. A Super 8 cartridge holds about 3 minutes and 20 seconds worth of footage. Super 8 is like telling a short story. A 3 minute movie basically. So you want to create short 5-7 second scenes with a few longer one's in between. When your movie comes back from the lab you will see how this all plays out on screen.

[Winbert Hutahaean]

But before Pateick shoot a film just to let him know that the film is so pricey. It is $45 something for 3 muntes footage. That is not yet the price for developing which is about $20s and the shipping back and forward. With the cost of $75 you will receive a small reel with a silent film. 🙂

This is not meant to discourage you but to let you know since you have a little idea about this 8mm stuffs.

[Patrick Dorrian]

Hah yes i was under no illusions about the cost. I think that if you get 75 bucks of fun out of the process then that's OK. I'd hate to be doing that twice a week!

But then if i was into making movies I'd do them using my mobile phone camera or pick up a 2nd hand digital video camera.

I think that for my wife at least, she feels that moment of connection to her dad when the things he loved are brought back to life. That momentary connection is enough, there is no desire to use them as he did. I'm happy that something that was dead is now less dead, if not fully working.

As for the Eumig, I've found an old reel of film she's converted and doesn't care about so I'll run that through and see what it does to it.

Edit: Given that I have an old unused cartridge of film and its of no real use .... I'm inclined to use that in the camera and see if it develops. As far as I can tell from Google there is not going to be damage to the camera, its just that the output may be of unknown quality.

[Patrick Dorrian]

That's the film cartridge that I've got.