Just bought Canon 814 Super 8! Am I nuts? Some advice please.

msp1518

msp1518

I must be nuts because today I just decided I needed to learn how to shoot film and bought a Canon 814 Electronic Super 8 Movie Camera. It was just $22 and the eBay seller is 100% so maybe I will be okay. From description...
seems to work at all frame rates (18, 24, slow motion and single frame). The camera runs on 4 AA batteries. The auto iris seems to work nicely and the lens appears clear and scratch/fungus free. The cover for the lens barrel has been removed, see pic, so you don't get the focus marks on the lens. You shouldn't rely on this anyway...use the split-focus system in the viewfinder for best results.
Click to expand...

I love 1.78:1 and have seen amazing footage online of widescreen footage shot by Super 8 cameras but little as to how it can be achieved. I do see lenses are out there, but can be very hard to find (maybe because I am not looking in the right place?).

Machining the gate out to achieve a 1.58:1 aspect ratio has also been mentioned here. What would that cost?

I'm a complete newbie to this. Despite shooting my short film on Super16 9 years ago, i know jack about film photography. I relied on my DP (and he delivered).

At my age it is about time I learned so i am motivated, but would love to advice, points in the right direction, etc.

I've read about the Braun Nizo S80 and 136KL and wonder how they compare to the Canon I just bought. These two seem to be available in refurbished, repaired and cleaned units for around $120 to $175 with warranties.

This is all that comes to mind right no. god help me. :blush:
 
Sort by date Sort by votes
As Michae1 said, my advice would be to avoid Pro8. Their stock
is unreliable and since they are among the few that offer negative
stock their customer service is poor.

What did you do through Pro8, IndieBudget? You obviously had a
good experience with them. Always goor to hear a different
perspective.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
Pro8.....No I actually THOUGHT about getiing some stuff from them way back when when I played w/ some Super 8 and reg 8, but I got rid of the cams and all digital now. never did any biz w/ them...

actually I did use Yale.. they were good to work w/ IMO, but I only used them once.

matter of fact I got 2 small cans of 8mm sittin in the fridge right now ( 2 years old ) and i have no film cam.. need to dump them off somewhere, any body want 2 rolls of 8mm , just paypal me $6 for postage
 
Last edited:
Upvote 0 Downvote
Hammerstone said:
That's a bummer. I was hoping that since they were actually designed for sound, that their shutters would be a little bit more precise...oh well...
Click to expand...

The misunderstanding is.....understandable.:) But the reason it didn't need to be more precise was because both media were being recorded to the same roll at the same time on the same machine. No matter if the speed varied, both would vary accordingly. It becomes important for speeds to be constant when you have 2 machines recording on to two different media. ie, camera and audio recorder.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
I purchased some film from Pro8 via eBay and will be trying it out this weekend. Lord only knows what will happen. Free processing, but since I have to have it telecined, which they charge an arm and a leg for, it's not the greatest deal.

I've been reading as much as I can about Super8 in an attempt to prepare myself for my first shots. Hopefully I have read enough to be ready this weekend and not end up with out of focus mush! :)
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
IndieBudget said:
Ghetto telecine.....aim a projector at the wall and shoot w/ a camcorder .. you have something to work with !

OK, OK it will have some issues I know !
Click to expand...

This can be done, a little easier if you aim projector at something translucent and then aim the camcorder at that. Sort of like a ground glass, but I never had one of those. Blink-vision from the frame rates differences, and bad quality, but it worked for doing nle edits in college before cutting anything. :D

There's a few folks out there using single frame projection and a DSLR to do DIY telecine. Don't have the DSLR to give it a try though, or a projector that will do frame by frame.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top