Outrageous prices driven by Newbies?

[Mike Newell]

Osi, You hit the nail on the head. Digests are a product of their time effectively 1970s when there was no other media alternative . Would super 8 have continued to exist after video if Derann had issued digests instead of features. The answer is no.

One of the critiques of collectors of bigger gauges like 16mm and 35mm was that super 8 was always a toy gauge. No features. Oh how the smile was wiped off their faces when not only did Derann release features but improved the print quality so much that it matched and exceeded 16mm quality.

Everybody has favourite digests that were well edited and have retained their quality but most were crud Walton who even edited cartoons a lot of early Derann come to mind and in particularly Columbia whose quality was woeful even when new. The black and white editions were better but colour versions were abysmal.

In some ways the new super 8 releases are miraculous but personally going back to the digest format in some ways is a regressive step but understandable in the economic sense when the customer base is so small and enclosed.

[Brian Fretwell]

Also it meant that for time reasons you could watch a film (or what the editor thought were the best/most salient bits) many more times than if you were playing the whole feature.

[Mike Newell]

Can’t really accept your argument Brian. What you saying is you are happy with a quarter or fifth of a book as opposed to the whole book. I remember when I started collecting my first Laurel and Hardy was Live Ghost Moviedrome £18.65 1979 and I played it to death for myself and any audience I could nail down. I was actually glad to buy other titles to rest it.

In terms of showmanship in a home cinema setting most collectors would be be reluctant to show digests because whilst there are some good ones a awful lot have problems and shortcomings. I definitely wouldn’t show digests unless specifically requested outside the film collecting circle.

Realistically, apart from the modern releases the only place to watch vintage digests would be on the back of door or tripod screen as their quality doesn’t stretch that far for bigger presentations.

[Brian Fretwell]

Well that was the argument given by a Derann staff member in the BBC "Film 84" (?) piece that was filmed at an open day. I thought it held water then and today. If you have it on Blu Ray now you can watch teh whole film or just watch your favourite bits by projecting the digest without having to fast forward every so often.

[Stuart Budd]

I'm watching Charmed on Amazon as there are 3 lovely ladies on screen it's difficult to concentrate. This is of course, wrong of me. But the pointer has spelt out ATIC... Actually, it may have spelt ATTIC! Point is all they took from the attic was a book, they left all the Super8 stuff alone! 8 seasons and not one 8mm cine related story! Another thing is the quality of the Amazon stream. Interlacing! It's very bad.

A couple of months back, I didn't have a stake in 8mm. It's only the fact that the box of 8mm home movies I'd usually overlook took my interest. From there I've invested quite a bit. Most you could say in the wrong way. I can't see there ever being a high demand thus prices will remain high and low volume. There is a lot of home movies out there in attics just being overlooked. Maybe #tag a 8mm home movie family get together on social media may spark some interest.

Back to Charmed 😊

[David Roberts]

I like digests and enjoy watching a varied programme of them at one session. Are the new releases (JP etc) not digests?
Talkiing of bargain Eumigs on E Bay,ive just bought an Eumig s709 with speaker carrying case for a "buy it now" of £15.
Even better,it all works and none of the usual drive disc issues.

[Steve Klare]

I'm watching Charmed on Amazon as there are 3 lovely ladies on screen it's difficult to concentrate. This is of course, wrong of me.

-Not wrong at all! This is the force that has driven Civilization forward! (...and occasionally sideways!)

I really wish that Newbies were a force to be reckoned within film collecting today: it would be better if there were more of them.

My son is 19 and once had to explain to his friends what those odd machines on the cart are. His generation is NOT the future of this hobby!

[Lee Mannering]

So remember my mid 30's son telling me he explained to friends about film and the way it worked. They asked him how come he knew so much about the vintage tech? I grew up with it from my dad. A proud father

[Graham Ritchie]

Years ago I used to put on away Super 8 film shows on, by joining a few of those 400ft digests like "Star Wars" along with other stuff. as with Disney shorts mixed in with some Walton Tom and Jerry all joined onto 800ft reels, They always went down well. not everyone want's to watch the full feature. In fact its hard to find a full feature that everyone would agree to sit through, so a mix of short films worked well, I guess you might say doing this at a pace on 800ft/1200ft reels, that there was always something there for everyone to enjoy.

[Osi Osgood]

Boy, do I agree with Mike on those Columbia digests. An amazingly bad amount of grain and a fairly soft focus. Super 8, however, had "aged well" in that, thankfully, the quality of prints have risen over the years.

[Mike Newell]

Coming back to Osi’s original post. Don’t think it is newbies milking the 2nd hand market on eBay with inflated prices. Interesting to see what appears after Blackpool. Mind you it is a bubble 🤪and at some point it will burst and there will be burnt fingers.😭😭😭

[Steve Carter]

4 x 200ft Columbia Jason and the Argonauts, just sold on eBay for £116.00 + £3.90 p&p, most probably faded too...

[Mike Newell]

Plain boxes or original packaging. Could be a memorabilia fan. The full Derann feature would go for at least £500 upwards.

[Osi Osgood]

I know the truth that's out there. A film is worth as much as a person is willing to pay, the question is ... Who is paying these outrageous prices? I am willing to bet that it isn't the old school collector, who knows the real value of the prints.

[Mike Newell]

Starting to sound like X files.


Even the most fanatical collectors wouldn’t bid those prices for basically faded pink crap. We are talking Columbia. I can just about understand the Star Wars auction the rest require hard drugs. A massive bubble / pyramid that will collapse. If it was real every dealer would be unloading all their stock on eBay.

Maybe somebody has worked out a lovely money laundering scheme of distributing monies. Can’t all be Bitcoin.