Is this a joke?! Super 8 projectors going for upwards of $500?!?

[Damián]

This's got to be a joke, or someone trying re-e-e-a-l-l-ly hard to cash in on old junk (as much as I love the Minolta sitting in my closet).

http://www.8mm16mmfilmscollectibles.com/super-8.htm

I found this site casually a few minutes ago and started browsing.. the guy wants upwards of $500 (with most models closer to $750 - $1000) for those machines! Is he or she kidding?!

Surely home cine equipment hasn't gone up in value that much yet, .. or has it? :confused:

[-=Rudy=-]

Can't you find these at garage sales and thrift shops for a couple of bucks?

I actually need an 8mm projector one of these days. (Not Super 8...not to be confused with a hotel chain. :laugh: ) Dad shot a few dozen reels of it over the years, and I want to transfer them to video one of these days.

[Ed Bishop]

I've still got the old Bell & Howell camera(similar to the one Abe Zapruder used to film the Kennedy assassination), projector(which still works 40 years later!)and screen my aunt gave to me about 15 years ago....can't imagine any of it is worth a lot of money, but working, vintage equipment might fetch a pretty penny with collectors and enthusiasts who love the medium.


:ed:

[Michael]

...many of the Thrift Shops I've frequented throughout the years always had a few projectors dirt cheap! There's a customer for every product be it may be over priced!:laugh: You know what W.C. Fields said..;)!

[-=Rudy=-]

I've still got the old Bell & Howell camera(similar to the one Abe Zapruder used to film the Kennedy assassination), projector(which still works 40 years later!)and screen my aunt gave to me about 15 years ago....

I actually have Dad's projector, but the takeup reel is slipping. I'm also wary of the projector bulb. These bulbs have very short lifespans, and I don't even know if I could get a replacement these days. It is also a Bell & Howell. I inherited that along with about four 35mm cameras.

[Ben]

Can't you find these at garage sales and thrift shops for a couple of bucks?

I actually need an 8mm projector one of these days. (Not Super 8...not to be confused with a hotel chain. :laugh: ) Dad shot a few dozen reels of it over the years, and I want to transfer them to video one of these days.

Hey, Rudy...these are the guys....

http://www.film-to-video.com/


Excellent work!


Best,

Ben :wave:

[Damián]

I actually need an 8mm projector one of these days. (Not Super 8...not to be confused with a hotel chain. :laugh: ) Dad shot a few dozen reels of it over the years, and I want to transfer them to video one of these days.
I want to get our family movies on some more stable format, .. they're like 25 years old and counting, and the film must be deteriorating. The reels smell kind of like vinegar now, which I don't remember before.

The projector is missing a belt which I'm SOL on. :(

[XMIAudioTech]

I want to get our family movies on some more stable format, .. they're like 25 years old and counting, and the film must be deteriorating. The reels smell kind of like vinegar now, which I don't remember before.

You are experiencing a common (but irreversible and always fatal to the films) malady known in the industry as 'Vinegar Syndrome'. VS is caused by the cellulose triacetate film stock breaking down into its basic components: cellulose, water, and acetic acid. The acetic acid, if left unchecked begins an autocatalytic process that speeds up the breakdown of the film stock... The process can also spread to unaffected reels of film that are stored in close proximity to VS films.

There are ways to retard the rate of decay, but once VS starts, it is virtually impossible to stop, and the usual end result are films that are shrunken (from loss of water and acetic acid) and unprojectable by any methods. :(

Some links on VS:

American Cinematographer articles on VS (http://capital.net/com/jaytp/VINEGAR.HTM)

VS Discussions at film-center.com (http://www.film-center.com/vs1.html)

Get them copied soon, if they are of any value to you!

Good Luck

-Aaron

[Damián]

You are experiencing a common (but irreversible and always fatal to the films) malady known in the industry as 'Vinegar Syndrome'. VS is caused by the cellulose

..

Get them copied soon, if they are of any value to you!

Wow, thanks. Really informative. I hope I'm not too late.. the film does look a bit curled up lengthwise already, if that makes sense. Anyway, what are people transferring these things to now? I don't think it's VHS any more, and I don't know the first thing about this.

[-=Rudy=-]

They'd probably dump the footage into a computer and burn it to DVD these days. That's probably what I'll end up doing. Having a service do it for me would cost a small fortune.

[Damián]

They'd probably dump the footage into a computer and burn it to DVD these days. That's probably what I'll end up doing. Having a service do it for me would cost a small fortune.
No kidding. :realmad: I just went to a photography store to ask if they did it, sure they did- at $50 (American dollars) per hour of film. I'd rather the movies rot than be scalped in this manner. VHS was less expensive, and they also offered a 'CD' option- when I asked the guy 'what format' he just sort of changed subject, so it's probably some compressed data stream format that will look like s***.

[RDK]

Run-of-the-mill projectors (and Super-8 cameras) are still thrift-store cheap, but for top-of-the-line models, old unused stock, or ones that simply work like-new can be pricey. A couple of years ago I sold my Canon Super-8 camera on Ebay for over $800. It was a top-of-the-line model with sound, still with the box and all accessories. Went to a young filmmaker in NYC. It's very tough to find these in *good condition* these days...

[Damián]

No kidding. :realmad: I just went to a photography store to ask if they did it, sure they did- at $50 (American dollars) per hour of film. I'd rather the movies rot than be scalped in this manner. VHS was less expensive, and they also offered a 'CD' option- when I asked the guy 'what format' he just sort of changed subject, so it's probably some compressed data stream format that will look like s***.
I just asked around some more. The DVD transfers are not straight DVD transfers but rather Super 8 --> VHS --> DVD.

So essentially all of the cool grain of Super 8 will be lost in the haze of the intermediate VHS step. Cool huh?!? :realmad: