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As a long time serving , still then employed , traditional professional cinema film projectionist i can still remember my surprised emotions of shock and frustration the first time i saw the complexity of the internal gubbins of my then Elmo GS 1200 super 8mm film projector . I thought to myself ..." What the heck " Has anyone ever felt the same after removing the back cover for the first time of this machine or any other ?
Just been working on the GS1200 and your correct what a complexed machine it is .
It weights as much as my 16mm projector someone had been in side mine with a pair of pliers to try ti get it to work but had no joy so it became my next machine.
some how they managed ti chew up the claw springs and took the top sprocket apart and never fitted the top auto load spring back so there was no tension to hold the frame.
After all the open Heart surgery shes finally wirking correctly now.
Don't you wish people should leave thing they no nothing about alone.
I´m working with Elmo GS 1200 Machines over 30 Years now. I play all my full length Features on them.
The first Machine I bought in 1991 was faulty and I learned to repair them.
Today I have five GS Machines and all with long Arms for over 2 Hours without any break.
I have modified them in all critical Points. Scratches, Main Motor, new Light Engine for 250W Bi Pin Halogen Lamp, Focus and Frame Remute.
I Love this Machines. There are no better ones.
I remember making a two bladed shutter many moons ago. I was surprised that after doing this work it ran fine and still does.
Plus doing a few other things to the projector, considering its age its doing fine. I still get a thrill every time I switch it on, and marvel that the thing still goes
I have had this particular GS1200 since the mid 1990s. I do like it but feel if you own one you need to be able to do some repairs yourself, if not unless you are rich, I think the basic ST1200M model is the best bet to have over the GS1200.
A couple more photos of the guides I modified a must do if you have a GS1200
You think the original footage was shot on Super 8? Hard to really tell but it just seems too steady to be Super 8. I bet it's 16mm source material, optically reduced to Super 8.
To be frank and honest i sold my Elmo GS 1200 a while ago due to its complexity , the fact that it was prone to scratching prints over time due to poor production parts , it's weight and the realisation there are facilities on it i never used . I do not miss it one bit . I am also a proponent of the schools of thought and experiences that implies " Simplicity can equal efficiency " and " Less is more " .
I must agree with you David. The more complex , the more to go wrong. If you are only going to use it for screening films, you do not need all the extra electronics built in for recording. Many years ago, an old cinema projectionist said to me. No projectionist worth his salt needs a self threading projector. I could never understand why so many find them so brilliant compared to other brands. Give me an open design which is easier to clean and see what is going on any day.
I have been critical of the complexity of the GS1200 many times in past postings, but there are reasons that the GS1200 is the Super 8 projector of choice used at CineSea, BFCC, and Blackpool.
I often compare it to a Ferrari: awesome ability at the expense of being a little...wellllll..."high maintenance".
I find I do just fine at home on a 52" by 92" screen with lower capability machines, so I stay with those, mostly for reliability.
So I don't need one...although sometimes I wish I needed one! (-sometimes I wish I had a Porsche too, but...)
Without Doug's upgraded GS at CineSea, it would be a pretty dark day, or at least "dim" for S8.
With it, 8mm goes toe to toe with 16 and even 35 and does just fine.
Ken Finch i too as an ex professional projectionist much prefer manual threading projectors on all the film gauges . My machines of choice for Super 8mm are the Fumeo 9119 and the earlier Eumig Mark S productions which are only semi auto threading for both Standard and Super 8mm .
I am an ex-projectionist too. I’ve always preferred manual thread for 16mm, but 8mm is just too thin and fiddly so happy with self-threading for the smaller gauge. Are there any 8mm machines which are totally manual thread?
As for the GS1200, the price and complexity have always been a deterrent. I even sold on a Sankyo 800 because it had more than I needed.
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