super 8 camera from Pro8

B

Bokes

Well-known member
Anyone familiar with Pro8's new super 8 camera?
They just introduced a new film called max8. Negative widescreen.

I use the DVX100a for production- but would like to get back to my roots and produce some creative short films.
 
They are terribly overpriced, repainted/rebranded versions of 30+ year cameras, imho.
That said, if they made "SuperDuper8" commercially viable, I may be a customer.
 
I got to go with Brian on this one. Pro8, formerly Super8 Sound are now and have always been the highest priced player in the Super 8 game. If you can charge the cost to a client, and are in the LA area, they do offer convienence. Super8 is still a viable format, for specific uses, and I still love it. I would do a search, both here and on the web for Super8 resources first. It is still possible to pick up working Cameras at yard sales, in local classifieds and on E-bay (my first choice actually). I would pick up a used camera from one of those sources first and try out the different resources and the work flow and see what you can make of it.


If you got the cash though, go with Pro8.
 
The whole place is expensive. I went to Pro 8 last week with a roll of old 8mm film of which I really only needed about ten seconds of footage transfered to mini-dv and they wanted $350.00. They said I had to pay for 200 feet which was the minimum price of any 8mm transfer.

I suppose they do good work. But you must pay for film cleaning, color correction, gate set-up fee, and transfer. The guy at the counter was helpful and suggested I do what he does and buy a variable frame rate 8mm projector on e-bay and then project the footage trying to find a frame rate that won't show scan lines in a video camera.

I'm looking for somebody else in LA area to do a transfer to mini-dv.
 
That's the thing -- the work I had done there was the lowest quality, least-satisfying I've had done anywhere. I greatly preferred the work Yale does, or the transfers at MovieStuff. Pro8mm has a really, really bad reputation at 8mm.filmshooting.com, and I don't really have any experience that would lead me to come to their defense.

I'd say look elsewhere if you want customer service.
 
classic pro8mm

classic pro8mm

i have the classic pro8mm with cyrstal sync. I love super 8 so much to the point where i love this camera. It's the best camera you can buy if you want to shoot super 8. I love super 8 because of its flexability. Sure you can find super 16 sync cameras for around that same price. But nothing beats the versitility of shooting with super 8. I have shot stuff on it and it looks amazing. Granted i was using the new vision 2 stock opposed to regular super 8. I shot this trailer for a skateboard film im making. http://www.jonwolf.org/sub_trailer2.mov
 
On a customer service note,



I had a problem with alot of the film i shot not coming out. About 3 rolls of footaged never came out that i shot. So i called pro 8mm about it and got a snotty receptionists who claimed that i could "bring it in if i had any problems". Seeing is how im anti LA/NYC and i make films in the woods of New Hampshire, that doesnt work out for me. So she hung up the phone on me as soon as i stated i was from New Hampshire and it would be impossible for me to come by the office. Ive had my ups and downs with customer service at pro8mm. I can respect them because they are keeping something alive. Super 8.
 
by the way, max8 has nothing to do with the filmstock. they're just widening the camera's gate to create a wider aspect ratio. plenty of d.i.y. type folks have done this on their own. it's just like how you shoot s16 or reg16 on the same stock.

those beaulieu cameras are great, but pro8's markup is absurd. there are plenty of great s8 cameras to be found on ebay. beaulieus, nizos, canons and nikons. even if you have to send a camera to new york for a $300 overhaul, you'll still come out way ahead of pro8 pricing.
 
So their camera is nothing more than a refurbished BEAULIEU?
Which might not be a bad thing. It does have interchangeable lens.
I might be able to get the company I work for to pay for it.

If not- I might go with a Canon 814 XLS.
 
Their camera is a refurbuished 4008. I personally like the 7008/6008 a lot more than the 4008, and you can get those off ebay for 1/2 to 1/4 what Pro8 charges for them. But, Pro8 does refurb them and includes a fancy new paint job.

Their "Classic 16" is a Beaulieu R16, refurbed and repainted and about 5x as expensive as you'd pay on ebay.
 
Barry or anybody else, do you know of a place in the LA area other than Pro 8 that does 8mm transfer. Found the place in Texas that you mentioned but I don't want to risk sending a non-replaceable 40 year old roll of film.

You see, it is of me from 1964 in a Beatle wig with a guitar I made out of cardboard playing and singing along to a "Hard Days Night". It is going in a doc I'm doing on music of the sixties and I just don't want to risk loosing this little bit of film.

So if anybody can suggest a place in Southern California that I can hand carry it in to transfer, I'd appreciate it.
 
Bokes said:
If not- I might go with a Canon 814 XLS.
Click to expand...

I would go with the 1014 XLS, this was my favorite Super8 camera of all time. The lens was fabulous and at it seem like it made light, and would hold up under very low light conditions, even with K40. I loved that camera and am so sad that it got ripped off...
 
My 1014 got ripped off to. Garage sales have yielded the best bargains, but of course you'll pay nothing if it's an old woman who found the stuff in her basement. My best finds in the last 2 years, a Bolex 16mm M5 with a 400 foot mag, mag motor, camera motor, leather case and battery- $50.00, Canon 1014xls - $20, Nikon Super Zoom 8 - $5 . I think the menatality has always been from camera stores, at camera shows, pro retailers, is that film students, film makers and such will pay exuberant prices for a camera that is no longer made. I've seen people at camera shows blatantly b.s. a student and end up selling them a piece of crap low end super8 camera for 50 - 100 bucks, which in reality would be worth 5 bucks.
 
I agree with the general consensus that Pro8mm cameras are nothing more than a Beaulieu 4008 with a paint job and Pro8mm advertising all over the body.

I really get ticked when Pro8 tries to take credit for a camera they never designed or built. And, the Max-8 they promote is nothing more than a scam in my opinion.

For me, cameras from ebay or garage sales are also risky. Two thirds of the cameras I buy from private parties are not functioning. I have found that the cost to repair cameras like this often exceed their original purchase value.

Instead, I now buy from reputable camera stores that provide serviced equipment and warranty with everything they sell - at reasonable cost. This means a camera may cost more than ebay, but far less than Pro8mm cameras. This is where I get the best value.
 
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