Eumig 800 series projectors

[Jason Moffatt]

I have 4 of these eumig 800 series standard/super 8 projectors and all of them seem to run much smoother & quieter in the super 8 setting and more noisy with a slightly unstable picture in standard 8 setting.As i usually only use them for standard 8 sound its a bit annoying.I would assume as all 4 of them are doing this it must be normal ?

[Brian Fretwell]

I would guess that this is because the claw isn't altered between the two types of film and that with Standard 8 it had already accelerated a little more after entering the perforation before actually contacting the film due to the larger perforation. I'm not sure this would affect the steadiness though.

[Jason Moffatt]

Yes possibly, i also think it may be due to the longer more complex film path that the standard 8 film takes.

[Lee Mannering]

Hi Jason inevitable I would post as I've been Eumig fanatic for 50 years particularly the 800 range.

Standards 8 films of course have a larger sprocket hole and are typically Acetatate vintage films becoming available long before super 8. These shrink with age and so tolerances are stretched to the limit on any projector really.

I would recommend you buy some Film Guard which will help these vintage films run quieter for you. It's not cheap but it works well.

If money is an issue buy some Isopropanol, dampen a lint free cloth and run the film thru the the cloth between your fingers. It will evaporate but will help.

The alternative in the 70s was a lubricant called 2.22. Came in a gold can/tin these sometimes turn up cheaply on ebay. For lasting results though go for Film Guard.

Enjoy your Eumigs probably have 30 plus here as I'm sure they breed

[John Armer]

Enjoy your Eumigs probably have 30 plus here as I'm sure they breed

30? Wow! I have just shy of 10 and I thought that was plenty!

[Graham Ritchie]

I have to admit that I have never been much of a fan of Eumig projectors until I worked on a few them of late. What stands out is the fact they don't seem to scratch films and that is a real plus. Its been interesting working on them and came to the conclusion that my past thinking of them was wrong. The only thing I don't like with the 800 series is the focus control its to jerky, apart from that they are great

Here is a wee video I took running a standard 8 sound film after doing some work on the speed adjustments.

[Lee Mannering]

Still loving your new Walton boxes John

In the 70's around the UK many Cine Film Clubs all busy making and projecting films you rarely saw anything but sound Eumigs. Later on when the better Jap S8 projectors started to arrive things did change somewhat and by the early 80's video arrived in clubs.

It's difficult not to love the humble Eumig as it does hold many childhood memories for me and as I've said many times my 1972 807D is still goin, in fact its in better working order than I am.

We very nearly had a Xenon as well in the shape of a 810D. This machine was on display at a Kent photo show I used to go to each year but the Austrian company started to have financial problems needing bailing out by the bank more than once so never made a production run.
Wonderful to see it tho. Often wonder if anyone is still alive now who looked at it.

Everyone had a Eumig in the 70's but not that one

[Jason Moffatt]

Hi lee, yes i do have some filmguard, which can help with an unsteady picture but the standard 8 setting just seems to be more noisy than super 8, much more of a tapping noise.Also i do agree with graham about the poor focus control.I have a solution to this though, if you can find a lens with a threaded barrel of the same diameter the small lug on the focus knob should engage with the thread on the barrel and you can focus by twisting the lens itself without touching the focus knob which is a much more precise way.It only works with the earlier type 800s not the later spiral focus system like on the 824 .I found a schneider 1.1 11-30 with a threaded barrel and it gives excellent results in the eumigs.Another good lens for this is a bolex 1.1 18-28.

[Paul Adsett]

The Eumig 800's are wonderful machines, too bad the rugged quality design of these machines did not progress to the (better performing) later 900 series which are a lot more 'plasticky'.
Yes the focus adjustment on these machines is very poor, as they are on the Elmo's. These cam focusing systems just do not do a good job. The old simple sprung ball design, engaging a spiral groove on the lens barrel, as in the Bolex 18-5, really works great and is extremely precise with no lens wobble or backlash. The best focusing system of all is probably on the Beaulieu, with its micrometer adjustment.

[Brian Fretwell]

I believe from a magazine article that that Mk 850 Xenon actually had a Marc300 lamp, so not as many hours as a full Xenon.

[Steve Klare]

I wonder on a lot of machines the focusing would be better if the knob was just bigger: more leverage for fine tuning. Then again on a lot of them we can't change the knob and still get the side panel to open.

[Janice Glesser]

After reading through this thread I now understand that I'm not alone with my dislike of the lens focusing on my Eumigs. I have an 610D Lux..a 810D...and a 824. There is so much play in the lens holder that the focus is not stable across the screen. The focus can also go in and out just from the vibration of the projector. The variance in the lens movement makes it harder to keep focus on films that have shrunk or are not flat. I sometimes put something in the lens shaft to act as a shim that positions the lens for better side to side focus.

[Shane C. Collins]

Janice I once had a Eumig 610D and thought it had the worst focusing of all the projectors I've owned. I just could never get a good focus from side to side. I'd get a good focus in the middle of the screen, and then have both sides out of focus. I finally had to sell it LOL. That machine wasn't alone though as other's have posed similar issues. I think it was an Elmo that had the focus drift you mentioned. Even slight projector vibrations would make the focus drift. My favorites are the Bolex 18-5 and 18-5L Super. That lens set up is so smooth. As Paul mentioned the spiral groove is why these stay in focus. I feel I can really get those machines to focus precisely. Only once and awhile do I need to refocus and I think that is sometimes do to the film I might be projecting.

[Paul Adsett]

I have found that the best way to deal with the sloppy snail-cam arrangement on the Eumig's is to not use it! You may have to cutoff the pin on the lens if it has one, or remove the pin on the cam if it has one, depending on the cam or lens design, which varied over different models. Just remove the lens and then pull the focusing knob outward and resinsert the lens so that the spring pressure from the focusing knob now serves only to push the lens barrel into the v-groove machined into the chassis. This will now locate the lens precisely in the v-groove with no slop or wobble, Focusing is then done by sliding/rotating the lens by hand. It's not that difficult and you can get the best possible focus, and the picture will stay in focus. I use my Kodak Ektar f1,0 lens in my Eumig's and have no difficulty focusing with this method.

[Janice Glesser]

Paul Adsett A nice work-around! Thanks for the tip.