Using old super 8mm lenses at DVinfo.net

Joe Carney · June 25th, 2003, 10:36 AM

The thread on alternativ affordable 35mm adapters has me thinking about other way.
At a camera show recently I picked up a Cosina professional 7613 Super8mm camera. Currently I'm trying to find someone to fix the electric motor inside, since it has lots of 'pro' features and I only paid $15.00 US for it.

It also has a beautiful 1:1.7/77mm relfex lens with Macro capabilites. No scratches, no humidity/fungus damage. The lens gives a soft look similar to Robert Altman films from the 70s (M.A.S.H. and others). The nice thing, is this lens
has manual focus plus internal zoom through. I was told by the seller it's considered a 'fast' lens. Don't know what that means, but apparantly that is good.

If I can't get the motor repaired, I am thinking about taking apart the camera and finding a way to do with this lenses what others are trying to do with their custom 35mm adapters.

Has anyone else thought of adapting old 8mm and super8mm lenses in this fashion? Any info would be appreciated. There are a lot of cheap non functioning super8 cameras floating around with perfectly good albeit cheap lenses.

Richard Alvarez · June 25th, 2003, 10:43 AM

Yas, I've thought about it, but considered it a dead end. Here's why.

The focal length on these lenses, is designed to put the image at a specific point on the film plane behind the lens. No guarantee that will be the same point as your ccd. Though the size of a Super 8 frame and SOME ccd's are fairly close... there's no guarantee that the image would match up.

Some lenses have electric arpertures, that wouldn't work on your camera.

The list goes on...

You can get a lot of the same "soft" look with promist filters... easier to deal with than removing the lens on your Dv cam.

Alternately, I reccomend shooting with super 8, transferring to tape and editing on your computer anyway. Great way to get that film look and quality for short subjects.

Richard

(owner of 12 super 8 cameras.)

Joe Carney · June 25th, 2003, 11:13 AM

I see what you're saying. Normally I would agree with you..
but this camera is a little different than most others I've seen. The zoom through internal lens is manual, actually moves forward/backward using the focus ring. Then there is the fine focus ring that adjusts the outer lens. This camera has several options I've not seen on other super8 gear in this range, including aperature adjustment, a backlight compensation button, 24fps, the list goes on.
Yes I would prefer to get the motor working and transfer to tape, but if not...I may take a buzz saw and try something anyway.
And for 6 bucks, I purchased a lens cap, rubber sun gaurd and a filter adaptor that holds up to 4 filters.

I also have some detachable cmount lenses from other 8mm cameras I've collected. There are lots of those floating around camera shows too. Someone told me they would also work with some of the older 16mm equipment. Apparantly there was a market for 16mm home/educational movie cameras at one time.

I was hoping some enterprising individual had already done some work on this.

My reason for all this..
If I can get it to work, you can actually use the lense to 'pull focus' on dolly and rack shots the old fashioned way.
Just a dream I guess.

Adrian Douglas · June 25th, 2003, 10:59 PM

Joe,

by "fast" he was refering to the T-stop or the iris size. This is known as F-stop in video/still photography and is what the 1:1.7 is refering to, and yes it is considered to be "fast" as the lower the number the more light is let in.

Bruce A. Christenson · June 26th, 2003, 10:52 AM

Richard,

Given you own 12 super 8mm cameras, which makes & model(s) do you recommend and which do you recommend avoiding?

Thanks
[bac]

<<<-- Originally posted by Richard Alvarez :

Alternately, I reccomend shooting with super 8, transferring to tape and editing on your computer anyway. Great way to get that film look and quality for short subjects.

Richard

(owner of 12 super 8 cameras.) -->>>

Joe Carney · June 26th, 2003, 01:19 PM

Adrian, thanks for the tip.
The first thing for me to do is find some electronic whiz and see if they can fix it. I can't see any corrosion anywhere. It could be the thing is just worn out and need to replace things.

This particular model has German and English on the labels for all the controls.

June 25th, 2003, 10:36 AM	#1
Joe Carney Inner Circle Join Date: Jul 2002 Location: Centreville Va Posts: 1,828	Using old super 8mm lenses The thread on alternativ affordable 35mm adapters has me thinking about other way. At a camera show recently I picked up a Cosina professional 7613 Super8mm camera. Currently I'm trying to find someone to fix the electric motor inside, since it has lots of 'pro' features and I only paid $15.00 US for it. It also has a beautiful 1:1.7/77mm relfex lens with Macro capabilites. No scratches, no humidity/fungus damage. The lens gives a soft look similar to Robert Altman films from the 70s (M.A.S.H. and others). The nice thing, is this lens has manual focus plus internal zoom through. I was told by the seller it's considered a 'fast' lens. Don't know what that means, but apparantly that is good. If I can't get the motor repaired, I am thinking about taking apart the camera and finding a way to do with this lenses what others are trying to do with their custom 35mm adapters. Has anyone else thought of adapting old 8mm and super8mm lenses in this fashion? Any info would be appreciated. There are a lot of cheap non functioning super8 cameras floating around with perfectly good albeit cheap lenses.

June 25th, 2003, 10:59 PM	#4
Adrian Douglas Trustee Join Date: Oct 2001 Location: Chigasaki, Japan. Posts: 1,660	Joe, by "fast" he was refering to the T-stop or the iris size. This is known as F-stop in video/still photography and is what the 1:1.7 is refering to, and yes it is considered to be "fast" as the lower the number the more light is let in. __________________ Adrian DVInfo.net Search for quick answers Where to buy? From the best in the business...DVInfo.net sponsors

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June 25th, 2003, 10:43 AM	#2
Richard Alvarez Inner Circle Join Date: Sep 2002 Location: San Mateo, CA Posts: 3,840	Yas, I've thought about it, but considered it a dead end. Here's why. The focal length on these lenses, is designed to put the image at a specific point on the film plane behind the lens. No guarantee that will be the same point as your ccd. Though the size of a Super 8 frame and SOME ccd's are fairly close... there's no guarantee that the image would match up. Some lenses have electric arpertures, that wouldn't work on your camera. The list goes on... You can get a lot of the same "soft" look with promist filters... easier to deal with than removing the lens on your Dv cam. Alternately, I reccomend shooting with super 8, transferring to tape and editing on your computer anyway. Great way to get that film look and quality for short subjects. Richard (owner of 12 super 8 cameras.)

June 25th, 2003, 11:13 AM	#3
Joe Carney Inner Circle Join Date: Jul 2002 Location: Centreville Va Posts: 1,828	I see what you're saying. Normally I would agree with you.. but this camera is a little different than most others I've seen. The zoom through internal lens is manual, actually moves forward/backward using the focus ring. Then there is the fine focus ring that adjusts the outer lens. This camera has several options I've not seen on other super8 gear in this range, including aperature adjustment, a backlight compensation button, 24fps, the list goes on. Yes I would prefer to get the motor working and transfer to tape, but if not...I may take a buzz saw and try something anyway. And for 6 bucks, I purchased a lens cap, rubber sun gaurd and a filter adaptor that holds up to 4 filters. I also have some detachable cmount lenses from other 8mm cameras I've collected. There are lots of those floating around camera shows too. Someone told me they would also work with some of the older 16mm equipment. Apparantly there was a market for 16mm home/educational movie cameras at one time. I was hoping some enterprising individual had already done some work on this. My reason for all this.. If I can get it to work, you can actually use the lense to 'pull focus' on dolly and rack shots the old fashioned way. Just a dream I guess.

June 26th, 2003, 10:52 AM	#5
Bruce A. Christenson Regular Crew Join Date: Jan 2003 Location: Forest Grove, OR Posts: 122	Richard, Given you own 12 super 8mm cameras, which makes & model(s) do you recommend and which do you recommend avoiding? Thanks [bac] <<<-- Originally posted by Richard Alvarez : Alternately, I reccomend shooting with super 8, transferring to tape and editing on your computer anyway. Great way to get that film look and quality for short subjects. Richard (owner of 12 super 8 cameras.) -->>>

June 26th, 2003, 01:19 PM	#6
Joe Carney Inner Circle Join Date: Jul 2002 Location: Centreville Va Posts: 1,828	Adrian, thanks for the tip. The first thing for me to do is find some electronic whiz and see if they can fix it. I can't see any corrosion anywhere. It could be the thing is just worn out and need to replace things. This particular model has German and English on the labels for all the controls.