The Perfect 8MM Silent Projector

[Paul Adsett]

Last night we watched some of our old 8mm Kodachrome films, some dating back to the mid 1950's. Several things really struck me as the reels rolled by.
First, the quality of the image just blew me away, particularly those shot on Kodachrome 2 which is far superior to Kodachrome 1. I realized that scanning films for playback on a computer or TV is a very poor substitute for live projection on a high quality 8mm/S8 film projector. The sharpness, color saturation, and contrast was jaw dropping in comparison to any video presentation, and the fact that these films show ZERO fading or degradation after 60 or more years is just incredible. I can see the benefit of scanning and archiving home movie films to send to relatives, but you can only see these films in their true glory with live film projection.

Which leads me to the projector. I used 2 projectors to compare the Bolex 18-5 to the Eumig S824D, for a forthcoming family gathering. I found that the Bolex 18-5 would project a whole 400ft reel of 8mm film, containing multiple splices, with no change in focus, whereas the Eumig required some refocussing at every splice. This is due to the rear sprung gate of the Bolex, which should have been standard design procedure on every 8mm projector.

I also found that the HI-FI lens on the Bolex could focus the picture to needle sharpness, using the screw barrel design of the lens. In comparison the snail cam design of the Eumig focus knob was a cruel joke, I could never get the Suprogon 1.2 lens to focus properly, even by hand. The lens seemed sloppy and not precisely located in the lens holder- a useless design.
Also film projected on the Bolex was rock steady, whereas on the Eumig there was some visible vertical jitter. Finally the Bolex was extremely quiet running compared with the Eumig's noisy fan and the rewind was much faster.
The Eumig was of course brighter with its 100w EFP lamp compared with the 50w lamp in the Bolex, but other than that the Bolex 18-5 gets my vote for the perfect 8mm or super 8mm silent projector.

[Joseph Banfield]

Yes, the 18-5 is a great, smooth running machine. I agree that the entire 800 series is an unbelieveable joke concerning its sloppy uncontrolable focusing system, which is why I use the earlier 700 series with the screw type lenses that focus perfectly and accurately every time!

[Graham Ritchie]

Hi Paul

They say great minds think alike, so we must have been thinking the same this week. however there was one small snag with the 18-5, is the fact that I could not adjust the running speed, as it did seem to be running a bit fast for some of those old films from the heritage society. It might be the original camera speed was a bit on the slow side in some films. Another thing I noticed that splice wise, it was a little bit more noisy going through the sprockets than the same films that had previous run through the old Kodak. The conclusion I came to, was that the Kodak was better for me, as I could adjust the projector speed that looked right on the screen according to the films being shown.

In saying all that the 18-5 is certainly a nice projector and switching to 5 fps was also interesting. I will most likely however will stick to my Kodak in the future, that machine seems to work best for those films. One thing I did think of that night, was the age of this projector and the fact its still running great after all those years, they were certainly built to last, plus its got a nice lens as well.

Some stills from a couple of nights ago..





I converted the Kodak projector to a 12 volt 100watt lamp a while back

[Paul Adsett]

Yes the 18-5 is, as its name implies, a fixed18fps projector with a 5fps option. So the old home movies shot at the then standard speed of 16fps will look slightly speeded up.
In the mid 80's I set my Bolex camera to 20fps, which then produced a slightly slowed down effect and I thought the cinematography then looked a lot smoother and more professional.
The Kodak 8-500 is a great projector, as was the flagship M100 Super 8 sound projector with 1200ft reel capacity. These were both near 16mm quality machines, and regrettably among the last of the quality Kodak projectors manufactured, soon to be followed by the super 8 plastic junk.

[Shane C. Collins]

Yes, the 18-5 is a great, smooth running machine. I agree that the entire 800 series is an unbelieveable joke concerning its sloppy uncontrolable focusing system, which is why I use the earlier 700 series with the screw type lenses that focus perfectly and accurately every time!

I agree Joseph, the earliest Eumig's are tops when it comes to focusing. The Eumig Mark S Super 8 projector (1965) I recently picked up, is super smooth with great focus, and a bright light output. I think the condenser lens has a lot to do with this in regards to brightness. The semi auto-loading of these early machines is also super gentle on film. I once had a 810D and hated it. That was a severe film eater at times.
Paul I also agree the whole 18-5 series are wonderful machines! The 18-5L Super is a joy to use, as is the twist-to-focus lens, and the rear-sprung pressure plate is a marvel of design!

[David Roberts]

Another vote here for the 18/5,either version .Only the spaceman bulb spoils the st.8 model,the 75 watt lamp in the super 8 18/5 is much better.

[Graham Ritchie]

Question

As I have only taken Super 8 at 18fps and of course screened them at 18fps, why does the 18-5 run at a fixed rate of 18fps for home movies taken at 16fps?. The Bolex M8 does run at the 18fps as well, but you can adjust the speed down or up to get it to look right with the M8, even though the one I have the motor sounds like a coffee grinder.

Could the Bolex Std 8mm cameras run at 18fps to match there projectors?

[Osi Osgood]

I have never had the good pleasure of using the above stated Bolex. My first love was and still is the Eumig P8. It still seems to hit all the targets. I especially love the variable speed control, which always allows you to run your film at exactly what speed you desire, which not all projectors allow for.

[Steve Klare]

I'm so into sound that even though I get offered silent machines all the time, I basically never accept them. (-a "room" thing as much as anything!)

-that much being said: I'd like one of those Bolex 18-5s just for the beauty of it: it's pretty much a piece of sculpture!

It's kind of like nobody wants to drive a mid 1950s Corvette or T-bird day to day (doubly so after it snows...), but I wouldn't half-mind sitting out on the lawn in a folding chair, looking at one sitting in my driveway!

[Paul Adsett]

Could the Bolex Std 8mm cameras run at 18fps to match there projectors?

Graham, all the Bolex standard 8mm cameras (C8,B8,D8,H8) have a variable speed adjustment knob on the side of the camera which permits adjustment all the way from 8fps (fast motion) to 64fps (slow motion). the speed control is continuously variable from 8 to 64 fps, and the little speed control knob is graduated for 8,12,16,24,32,48,and 64fps. So it is easy to set at 18fps. As I said I have mine set at 20fps which is pretty close to mid way between the 16 and 24 fps marks, although the scale is not exactly linear.

[Paul Adsett]

I'd like one of those Bolex 18-5s just for the beauty of it: it's pretty much a piece of sculpture!

Not only a beautiful looking machine Steve, but also the quietest and smoothest running machine in my collection. So quiet in fact that it is barely audible in my room. And, for all the reasons above, a superb piece of engineering. You need to get one!

[Graham Ritchie]

Thanks Paul.

Apart from the motor in this one being a bit loud, I would have to say that that the M8 is better looking, plus it has speed control and a neat little built in stroboscope that in this machine still works, not all M8 had it, but its certainly one of those things I like about it.

Sorry folks but the M8 ticks almost all the right boxes for me


With this machine the variable speed fell apart, so I fitted a solid state control unit instead, also fitted a 24v 250watt lamp connected to a external power supply, however it would be easy to convert to 12v 100watt or 15v 150watt fitting a internal transformer if you wish

Anyway this is my pick of nice looking .



The replaced speed control..

[Shane C. Collins]

Graham the M8 is in fact a beautiful machine! I've always admired them but never tried to buy one. I'm curious how big are these compared to other projectors? I assume they have a small footprint.

[Graham Ritchie]

Hi Shane

I did a bit of measurement on the base itself, the M8 is about 25Omm by 145mm, the 18-5 is 250mm by 140mm, not much difference in that sense, however other dimensions are different, so thought it would be better to include a couple of photos to get a better idea. The problem with the M8 is finding one that the variable speed control is still in good working condition. Also make sure if you get one that it comes with the wire rewind belt.

[Shane C. Collins]

Thanks Graham, These measurements and comparison are a big help! The M8 is not that much larger than the 18-5.