8mm old film camera at DVinfo.net

Brian Patterson · June 22nd, 2004, 09:57 PM

Does anyone know where I can purchase an old 8mm video camera? I have seen footage shot with an 8mm camera and it looks awesome. It would be a nice feature to incorporate into my shoots!

I guess I need to know what some brand names are...I couldn't find much on eBay!

Joe Gioielli · June 23rd, 2004, 07:22 PM

Sorry if I got this wrong, do you mean a movie film camera?

If you do you have two choices, Super 8mm and double 8mm.

I perfer double 8mm because the cameras were "wind up" and usually very well made.

Super 8mm cams were electronic and sometimes not that well made. There are, of course exception.

Both are expensive, $10 to $15 for fifty ft which is good for about 3 minutes. You can get K-14 film processing at Wal-Mart for five bucks (I couldn't believe it either.), takes about a week.

Then you have to telecine, costs are all over the board on that, but it is a lot of work and it doesn't come cheap. You can do a passable job yourself but then you have to get a projector. The projector must match the format of the film (some machines handle both just to confuse matters.)

Do not buy Single 8, too hard to get a hold of, mostly a Japan thing.

As to where to buy, well, there is always ebay, but please be careful. I've gotten burned so many times. A Bell and Howell or a simple Bolex can be had for around $5 or $10 bucks. I would stick to that price range. I bought two expensive cams that came from good sellers who swore on a stack of Bibles that the cams were perfect that were both crap. Keep it simple.

I like the Bolex B8L, has a build in light meter and great glass. The Bolex P1 is a good cam too.

Check your friends and relatives, thrift stores and local family camera stores. This way you can check it out before you get buy it.

Film and video look great together. Good luck with it.

Charles Papert · June 23rd, 2004, 09:41 PM

In case anyone is interested, here's your top of the line option in 8mm cameras, film (professional motion picture negative) and telecine.

I used their setup for some of the shots in the "Scrubs" music video (see the second box down on the left side of the page). The results were amazing--actually TOO clean, like 16mm was a few years ago! We ended up using high speed stock and even pushing it in order to get the grainy look we wanted. The Super 8 is the black-and-white, behind the scenes shots, the rest is Super 16mm.

Rob Belics · June 24th, 2004, 07:00 AM

I knew the new Vision2 stocks from Kodak allowed 16mm to look as good as 35mm of a few years ago and wondered if 8mm could now look as good as 16 if you used a camera that could hold the image steady. That's good to know.

Kodak has introduced new Super8 films and Super8 sales are increasing along with a new resurgence in the format. So much so that they've even created a website for it (Kodak).

Richard Alvarez · June 24th, 2004, 09:46 AM

Charles,
Glad to see you guys going "retro" with the Super 8 stuff. I am currently working on a doc, and mixing formats. Most of it is shot on an Xl1, some shot with an old Filmo 70DA, and some shot with an Elmo 612. It's sometimes hard to tell what I shot on the 16mm Filmo from the stuff shot on the Super 8 Elmo!

Les Dit · June 24th, 2004, 11:30 AM

My companies new film scanner will be doing 8mm film. This will allow 8mm D.I. to happen !
Kind of wacky, I know, but fun. Imagine 10 bit Cineon files from 8mm film. It does look better than DV video.
-Les

Richard Alvarez · June 24th, 2004, 01:26 PM

Les,
What's the estimated transfer cost for a roll of super 8?

Les Dit · June 24th, 2004, 11:08 PM

I'm thinking $250 right now. These are cineon frames, scanned to your firewire drive, or maybe DVD ISO data . I know that's more than doing a video transfer, but this will be the absolute best quality. It will have to be done in batches, there is setup time, and we are not going to do 8mm on a daily basis.
-Les

Marco Leavitt · June 26th, 2004, 06:26 PM

Les,
Real interested in this. Does your company have a Web site or something so we can keep track of this as it develops?

Les Dit · June 26th, 2004, 08:25 PM

Yes,
www.pixelharvest.com

-Les

<<<-- Originally posted by Marco Leavitt : Les,
Real interested in this. Does your company have a Web site or something so we can keep track of this as it develops? -->>>

June 22nd, 2004, 09:57 PM	#1
Brian Patterson Regular Crew Join Date: May 2003 Posts: 51	8mm old film camera Does anyone know where I can purchase an old 8mm video camera? I have seen footage shot with an 8mm camera and it looks awesome. It would be a nice feature to incorporate into my shoots! I guess I need to know what some brand names are...I couldn't find much on eBay!

June 23rd, 2004, 07:22 PM	#2
Joe Gioielli Regular Crew Join Date: Mar 2003 Location: New Port Richey, Fl Posts: 142	Sorry if I got this wrong, do you mean a movie film camera? If you do you have two choices, Super 8mm and double 8mm. I perfer double 8mm because the cameras were "wind up" and usually very well made. Super 8mm cams were electronic and sometimes not that well made. There are, of course exception. Both are expensive, $10 to $15 for fifty ft which is good for about 3 minutes. You can get K-14 film processing at Wal-Mart for five bucks (I couldn't believe it either.), takes about a week. Then you have to telecine, costs are all over the board on that, but it is a lot of work and it doesn't come cheap. You can do a passable job yourself but then you have to get a projector. The projector must match the format of the film (some machines handle both just to confuse matters.) Do not buy Single 8, too hard to get a hold of, mostly a Japan thing. As to where to buy, well, there is always ebay, but please be careful. I've gotten burned so many times. A Bell and Howell or a simple Bolex can be had for around $5 or $10 bucks. I would stick to that price range. I bought two expensive cams that came from good sellers who swore on a stack of Bibles that the cams were perfect that were both crap. Keep it simple. I like the Bolex B8L, has a build in light meter and great glass. The Bolex P1 is a good cam too. Check your friends and relatives, thrift stores and local family camera stores. This way you can check it out before you get buy it. Film and video look great together. Good luck with it. __________________ Why ask me? I thought you were in charge!

June 23rd, 2004, 09:41 PM	#3
Charles Papert Wrangler Join Date: Jan 2002 Location: Los Angeles, CA Posts: 6,810	In case anyone is interested, here's your top of the line option in 8mm cameras, film (professional motion picture negative) and telecine. I used their setup for some of the shots in the "Scrubs" music video (see the second box down on the left side of the page). The results were amazing--actually TOO clean, like 16mm was a few years ago! We ended up using high speed stock and even pushing it in order to get the grainy look we wanted. The Super 8 is the black-and-white, behind the scenes shots, the rest is Super 16mm. __________________ Charles Papert www.charlespapert.com

June 24th, 2004, 07:00 AM	#4
Rob Belics Major Player Join Date: Apr 2003 Location: St. Louis, MO Posts: 581	I knew the new Vision2 stocks from Kodak allowed 16mm to look as good as 35mm of a few years ago and wondered if 8mm could now look as good as 16 if you used a camera that could hold the image steady. That's good to know. Kodak has introduced new Super8 films and Super8 sales are increasing along with a new resurgence in the format. So much so that they've even created a website for it (Kodak).

June 24th, 2004, 09:46 AM	#5
Richard Alvarez Inner Circle Join Date: Sep 2002 Location: San Mateo, CA Posts: 3,840	Charles, Glad to see you guys going "retro" with the Super 8 stuff. I am currently working on a doc, and mixing formats. Most of it is shot on an Xl1, some shot with an old Filmo 70DA, and some shot with an Elmo 612. It's sometimes hard to tell what I shot on the 16mm Filmo from the stuff shot on the Super 8 Elmo!

June 24th, 2004, 11:30 AM	#6
Les Dit Major Player Join Date: Oct 2003 Location: Southern Cal-ee-for-Ni-ya Posts: 608	My companies new film scanner will be doing 8mm film. This will allow 8mm D.I. to happen ! Kind of wacky, I know, but fun. Imagine 10 bit Cineon files from 8mm film. It does look better than DV video. -Les

June 24th, 2004, 01:26 PM	#7
Richard Alvarez Inner Circle Join Date: Sep 2002 Location: San Mateo, CA Posts: 3,840	Les, What's the estimated transfer cost for a roll of super 8?

June 24th, 2004, 11:08 PM	#8
Les Dit Major Player Join Date: Oct 2003 Location: Southern Cal-ee-for-Ni-ya Posts: 608	I'm thinking $250 right now. These are cineon frames, scanned to your firewire drive, or maybe DVD ISO data . I know that's more than doing a video transfer, but this will be the absolute best quality. It will have to be done in batches, there is setup time, and we are not going to do 8mm on a daily basis. -Les

June 26th, 2004, 06:26 PM	#9
Marco Leavitt Inner Circle Join Date: Jul 2002 Location: Albany, NY 12210 Posts: 2,652	Les, Real interested in this. Does your company have a Web site or something so we can keep track of this as it develops?

June 26th, 2004, 08:25 PM	#10
Les Dit Major Player Join Date: Oct 2003 Location: Southern Cal-ee-for-Ni-ya Posts: 608	Yes, www.pixelharvest.com -Les <<<-- Originally posted by Marco Leavitt : Les, Real interested in this. Does your company have a Web site or something so we can keep track of this as it develops? -->>>