Wanted: Super8 Film Projector

[Jeff Schiller]

I realize this may not be exactly what this forum is about, but I thought I'd ask anyway.

I recently got a bunch of Super8 home movies from my Dad and I'm trying to figure out the best way to go. What's the best manufacturer, model, etc for Super8 film projectors out there for the amateur market?

Thanks,
Jeff

[Steven Sigel]

Hi Jeff --

I've got a few Super 8 machines available. What are you looking for? Sound? Silent?

If you only need silent, the projectors are much cheaper.

I've got a couple of silent only machines for $25/each
and these sound projctors:
Sankyo 700 two-track : $150
Chinon (I forget the model #) for $75 (has a slightly loose switch, but works fine)

[Jeff Schiller]

When we would watch these movies as a kid, they were always silent. I don't suppose there's a chance that my Dad's camera actually recorded sound but our projector was just the silent kind is there?

What's the make/model of the silent ones?

Thanks a lot,
Jeff

[Steven Sigel]

I've definitely got a kodak, and maybe a Bell and Howell as well.

[Michael Liebermann]

I have an extra Elmo ST-1200 Stereo Super 8 Professional Projector that I bought a few years ago for my collection. It has 0 hours on it, aka it is brand new. It is one of the best machines ever made... reel, manual, case... I have it all. If you want pics let me know. If you want to make me an offer shoot. If you are local in LA and want to see it in person, you're welcome You will not find a better machine than this. Period.

Michael
mig@go-l.com

[Jeff Schiller]

I have another question. All the info I've read about Super 8 indicates that the film should come in "cartridges" that shouldn't require threading, yet all that I have from my Dad are reels of film on Dual reels (I guess our original projector was one that could handle both 8mm and Super8?). Does this mean that a Super 8 projector will not help me or that I need to transfer my film to Super 8 cartridges?

Thanks a lot,
Jeff

[Michael Coffin]

Cartridge projectors are a unique breed and not the "norm". They are continuous loop machines (like the "Technicolor" brand cartridge projectors) capable of running only short films. I think they were used in Kiosks and such for running advertising or instructional films.

The "norm" for 8mm is reels.

-Mike

[Jeff Schiller]

The "norm" for 8mm is reels.

Thanks for the info! Just to clarify when you say "8mm" you include Regular 8, Super 8 and any flavour thereof, right?

[Michael Coffin]

Correct, they are all 8mm wide. Super 8/Standard 8 are NOT exactly the same however - the phyiscal size/spacing of the sprockets are different (image area might be slightly different too) - but they are both 8mm wide.

-Mike

[Paul Ivester]

I think what Jeff was confused about is that raw stock for camera use comes in cartridges for Super-8 and on spools for Regular-8. When they come back from the lab, they are both on reels. There were some special pupose viewers and projectors that used eneless loop cartridges, but they were rather unusual.

[Jeff Schiller]

I think what Jeff was confused about is that raw stock for camera use comes in cartridges for Super-8 and on spools for Regular-8. When they come back from the lab, they are both on reels. There were some special pupose viewers and projectors that used eneless loop cartridges, but they were rather unusual.

I think you're right. The articles I was reading about Super8 indicated that the film came in cartridges but I think they were only referring to the camera, not the projector once processed.

Now my next question ;)

In terms of Super8 projectors, if I want to record the film to my camcorder I'm going to need to worry about frame speed, right? What are most projectors, 18fps or 24fps? And my camera needs to do progressive 24fps to capture it correctly?

[J. Craig Shearman]

No, you don't need 24fps progressive on your camcorder. In fact, I doubt you could find that on a consumer camcorder.
You father's Super 8 home movies were almost certainly shot at 18 fps, especially if they were silent. There are various ways to set up to do a homemade transfer, either projecting onto a sheet of paper about a foot wide and putting the camdorder as close to the projector as possible or by using one of the video transfer boxes where the projector goes into one side and you film from a small rear projection screen on the other.
To deal with the difference in film speed vs. video speed, you need to be sure that the projector you buy has a variable speed control. This will let you change the speed continuously to anywhere between 18 and 24 fps. When doing your transfer, practice ahead of time and start with the projector at 18. Slowly increase the speed while watching through the camcorder viewfinder. When you hit exactly 20 fps, the flicker will go away. This is because the three blades on the projector shutter result in 60 flashes of light on the screen per second, which is evenly divisible by the 30 fps of video. If flicker starts to reappear after a few minutes, readjust the speed until it goes away. It isn't perfect but it's good enough to get your films onto video. There are more sophisticated setups for the transfer if you look search this website's archives, but this will get the basic job done. Whatever you do, do NOT throw away the original film after making the transfer. Videotape is NOT an archival storage medium, nor is DVD despite all the hype you hear these days about "preserving" home movies on tape or DVD. There have been dozens of videotape formats in the past 40 years, most of which can't be played back any more for lack of equipment or beause of the way videotape degrades. But film from decades ago can still be threaded up and run. But that's another story.

[Hado Steen]

polaroid had a system were you could watch what you've filmed after about one minute on a projector with a screen, these films came in cartridges and could only be played on this machine. I heard these came on the market at the same time the firts video cameras for home use did, it was an absolute failure.

[J. Craig Shearman]

The story on the Polavision Super 8 system was that they got stuck with thousands of these units and would give them away to anybody who visited the Polaroid headquarters the same way other companies would give away a coffee mug or ballpoint pen with their logo on it. I never saw one, but from the review in Super 8 Filmaker magazine at the time, the image quality was pretty awful. It could only be show on the viewer, about the same size as a 13 inch TV, and could not be projected. There was no sound. And yes, they came out just about the same time as the first video cameras, so the timing was fatal.