The 8mm director reflex camera I ordered through ecrater.com arrived safe and sound on Monday afternoon. The French-made lens, an Angenieux, was in great shape. The electronic wide-angle to telephoto zoom buttons (electric motor-driven or manually-operated—a rare camera feature for the early 1960's) needed new batteries. The light meter wasn't responding to differing light levels, and because this camera has an electronic auto-exposure feature, the film will never expose correctly: It will be either over- or under-exposed. I thought I had made a bad purchase as I falsely believed the AA batteries I'd replaced for the zoom would take care of the light meter as well. My heart sank.
Then... I looked at the bottom of the camera and saw a release bottun, I pushed it and a hidden door above the lens flipped down to reveal a label that said my Zoomatic requires yet another battery to power the electronic eye (automatic exposure control). So my friend Justin and I tracked down what seemed to be the last 1.5 V Everlast E1 battery in the Denver area at Batteries Plus in Aurora.
The battery cost about $4.00, but the guys at the store told me that if the battery is ever discontinnued, they might be able to build the battery from scratch. These guys are incredible. I think they could build a battery to power Marty McFly's DeLorean—sure beats a food processor, no? Anyway, I highly recommend the sales people at Batteries Plus at 995 S. Abilene St. in Aurora for any difficult-to-find batteries.
I had to track down an instruction manual online, and it ran me about $23.00 including shipping. What I received on Monday may very well be the Bell & Howell 424 Director Reflex. If the instruction manual is wrong, I can send it back for a refund. I just hope it's the right one, and that I don't have to keep exchanging to find the right manual. Bell & Howell never put their model number on the camera body or inside the magazine. This makes it challenging. The manual, however, does list the number on the front cover.
Also, some cameras took magazines that loaded into the camera rather than the spools a camera user would have to manually load. The way to tell the difference on Bell& Howell Zoomatic cameras as to whether they take a magazine or are spool-fed is a simple marking under the lens that looks like this:
Magazine 8mm
Zoomatic
or
Magazine 8mm
Zoomatic Eye
Any models simply marked "Zoomatic" or "Zoomatic Eye" are spool-fed. Magazines are no longer produced, and if you run across a camera that is designed for them, please know that it will make a nice fence post topper, ankle weight for running (although in this case you'll need two cameras), or something nice for your shelf. You cannot use these magazine cameras anymore to shoot moving pictures.
I'll add more tech info as it comes up. I'll be setting up shop in case 33 at the Denver Brass Armadillo on Sunday, September 5th. I am very excited to let people know that 8mm movie making is not dead.
Josh
Tuesday, August 24, 2010
Sunday, August 22, 2010
Two New (used) Cameras!
I bought yet another Bell & Howell 414 zoomatic Director Series through eBay. It has not arrived yet. I am pretty dissapointed that I didn't notice that the camera did not have the power zoom feature. So much for trying to buy the exact Zapruder model. I'm giving up on it for now, because I have found a superior camera. On to that.
I was Google shopping and came across something I never knew existed. It is a reflex (which means what you see through the view finder is exactly what you are getting through the lens. The problem with Bell & Howell cameras is that they never put te model number on the camera body or even inside the film chamber. So, we'll call this camera the Bell & Howell Zoomatic Director Reflex.
The camera was probably extremely expensive in 1962- geared more toward semi-prfessional film makers. I am urged to state that it might be worth $2,000 - $3,000 or more, if it were new on today's market. This particular model is promised to work. I'll go more into depth and provide pics of the camera once it gets here. I am extremely excited.ent so that is profw to format the docum
I am also working on my screenplay, which is proving to be extremely simple! I hsve s great book that has shown me how to format the document and make it look professional.
All my best to you fellow film makers out there.
Josh
I was Google shopping and came across something I never knew existed. It is a reflex (which means what you see through the view finder is exactly what you are getting through the lens. The problem with Bell & Howell cameras is that they never put te model number on the camera body or even inside the film chamber. So, we'll call this camera the Bell & Howell Zoomatic Director Reflex.
The camera was probably extremely expensive in 1962- geared more toward semi-prfessional film makers. I am urged to state that it might be worth $2,000 - $3,000 or more, if it were new on today's market. This particular model is promised to work. I'll go more into depth and provide pics of the camera once it gets here. I am extremely excited.ent so that is profw to format the docum
I am also working on my screenplay, which is proving to be extremely simple! I hsve s great book that has shown me how to format the document and make it look professional.
All my best to you fellow film makers out there.
Josh
Saturday, August 21, 2010
First Spool of Film I've Ordered and New Camera
The first spool of 8mm film I ordered from a man named John Schwind of California arrived in the mail today. He is recommended by Eastman Kodak as a supplier of hard to find small guage film stocks. His website is: www.zerelda.com/internationalfilm/internationalfilm.html
The film I ordered is ASA 50 Daylight Cinechrome color film. I have tested half of the reel in the Mansfield Holiday Metermatic.
The Bell & Howell 414P, I have discovered, has many problem areas (focus, light meter, and broken power zoom), so I finally tracked down the exact model I was looking for (Bell & Howell 414PD, spool fed. I purchased this camera through eBay yesterday, and I will test exposures on this camera with the other side of the 8mm spool I received.
Bell & Howell made some of these 414 models designed for magazine cartridges of 8mm film. It made loading the camera, and flipping the film half way through exposure more simple for camera users. The draw back to magazine load 8mm cameras, is that the magazines are no longer produced, or available anywhere, and so these cameras make a nice conversation piece, paper weight, or luxury liner anchor. The 414PD that I found is identical to the camera used by Dallas dress manufacturer Abraham Zapruder when he filmed President Kennedy's assassination in 1963. His camera was spool fed like mine, and now I feel like I own a piece of history. I suppose that is why most of us collect antiques- to feel connected to the past, even if we weren't alive at the time the piece was new. Zapruder's camera is in the National Archives, mine will sit with my camera collection on a shelf in my home. In today's money, my 414PD would be worth $1500.00 new. It's neat to think I can own something for a small amount of money that at one time only the elite could afford.
If anyone has questions about 8mm cameras, please don't hesitate to message me, and I will get back to you and possibly blog about your inquiry, which I will pass by you before publishing.
I can't wait for my 414PD to arrive. I'll let you all know as soon as it gets here.
Josh
The film I ordered is ASA 50 Daylight Cinechrome color film. I have tested half of the reel in the Mansfield Holiday Metermatic.
The Bell & Howell 414P, I have discovered, has many problem areas (focus, light meter, and broken power zoom), so I finally tracked down the exact model I was looking for (Bell & Howell 414PD, spool fed. I purchased this camera through eBay yesterday, and I will test exposures on this camera with the other side of the 8mm spool I received.
Bell & Howell made some of these 414 models designed for magazine cartridges of 8mm film. It made loading the camera, and flipping the film half way through exposure more simple for camera users. The draw back to magazine load 8mm cameras, is that the magazines are no longer produced, or available anywhere, and so these cameras make a nice conversation piece, paper weight, or luxury liner anchor. The 414PD that I found is identical to the camera used by Dallas dress manufacturer Abraham Zapruder when he filmed President Kennedy's assassination in 1963. His camera was spool fed like mine, and now I feel like I own a piece of history. I suppose that is why most of us collect antiques- to feel connected to the past, even if we weren't alive at the time the piece was new. Zapruder's camera is in the National Archives, mine will sit with my camera collection on a shelf in my home. In today's money, my 414PD would be worth $1500.00 new. It's neat to think I can own something for a small amount of money that at one time only the elite could afford.
If anyone has questions about 8mm cameras, please don't hesitate to message me, and I will get back to you and possibly blog about your inquiry, which I will pass by you before publishing.
I can't wait for my 414PD to arrive. I'll let you all know as soon as it gets here.
Josh
My New 8mm Camera and Film Hobby
Hello fellow camera collectors and 8 millimeter (8mm) film enthusiasts (and those who might become so)!
I began an interest in film at a young age, and now I have begun collecting my own 8mm cameras. I thought I would take a moment to write about the three cameras I have recently purchased and some information about their history- if I know any. The three cameras are: 1. Mansfield Holiday Metermatic, 2. Kodak XL55, and 3. Bell & Howell Zoomatic Director Series 414P. All of the cameras require 8mm film, although the Kodak camera will only expose Super 8mm film, which comes in a cartridge, not a spool, like the other cameras are built to expose.
1. I could find little if any information about the Mansfield camera, except that it shoots at 18 frames per second (fps) and single frames for stop motion animation purposes. It ha sa turret, which means it has three lenses which shoot normal, wide, and telephoto. One has to change these lenses manually. The camera is spring motor driven and has to be wound before filming can begin. It was probably manufactured in the mid 1950's.
2. The Kodak XL55 was manufactured in 1974. It is the camera that takes Super 8 cartridges. It shoots at 9 or 18 fps.
3. My Bell & Howell camera was made somtime between 1962 and 1963. In 1963, Consumer Reports reported that this camera was one of the best on the market for amateur film makers and those who simply wanted to shoot home movies. It shoots at 18 fps or a higher rate for slow motion projection. It also shoots at single frame intervals as well.
The great part about all of this is that the film and it's processing is still available! 8mm film making is not dead!
I plan to use the Bell & Howell for lighting and exposure testing this week, using Ektachrome 50ASA color film. I will let you all know how it comes out.
Have a good week, I'll be checking in frequently.
Josh
I began an interest in film at a young age, and now I have begun collecting my own 8mm cameras. I thought I would take a moment to write about the three cameras I have recently purchased and some information about their history- if I know any. The three cameras are: 1. Mansfield Holiday Metermatic, 2. Kodak XL55, and 3. Bell & Howell Zoomatic Director Series 414P. All of the cameras require 8mm film, although the Kodak camera will only expose Super 8mm film, which comes in a cartridge, not a spool, like the other cameras are built to expose.
1. I could find little if any information about the Mansfield camera, except that it shoots at 18 frames per second (fps) and single frames for stop motion animation purposes. It ha sa turret, which means it has three lenses which shoot normal, wide, and telephoto. One has to change these lenses manually. The camera is spring motor driven and has to be wound before filming can begin. It was probably manufactured in the mid 1950's.
2. The Kodak XL55 was manufactured in 1974. It is the camera that takes Super 8 cartridges. It shoots at 9 or 18 fps.
3. My Bell & Howell camera was made somtime between 1962 and 1963. In 1963, Consumer Reports reported that this camera was one of the best on the market for amateur film makers and those who simply wanted to shoot home movies. It shoots at 18 fps or a higher rate for slow motion projection. It also shoots at single frame intervals as well.
The great part about all of this is that the film and it's processing is still available! 8mm film making is not dead!
I plan to use the Bell & Howell for lighting and exposure testing this week, using Ektachrome 50ASA color film. I will let you all know how it comes out.
Have a good week, I'll be checking in frequently.
Josh
Monday, August 2, 2010
"'night, Mother"
I recently bought a play as a hard bound book from an independant Amazon seller. It is entitled, 'night, Mother, and the play won the playwright, Marsha Norman, the 1983 Pulitzer Prize for Drama.
I had intended to write to Ms. Norman and request that that she sign this 1983 copy of the play. I was delighted when I opened the book, which I paid five dollars for, was already inscribed and signed. It may not be worth much, but I was please just the same.
In the first December, 1982 production of the play produced by the American Repertory Theater in Cambridge Massachussets, Kathy Bates (of Misery fame) portrayed Jessie, and Anne Pitoniak was cast as Thelma "Mama" Cates. The play moved onto New York, where Bates and Pitoniak revised their roles. In 1986, the play was produced as a film, but only received a limited theatrical release. Sissy Spacek earned the role of Jessie Cates, and Anne Bancroft was cast her mother, Thelma.
'night, Mother is a story that shows both sides of the issue of suicide. Both the mind of Jessie, who is at peace with the decision she's made to take her life the very night in which the play is set, and Thelma who tries to do anything she can to keep her daughter from the ultimate act, which cannot be reversed, are explored.
I've found this story to be the most honest account of a depressed and sucidal person's feelings and thoughts, superceding Judith Guest's 1976 novel Ordinary Peopleand its film adaptation.
This play and film made me feel happy that I am still here on earth.
I had intended to write to Ms. Norman and request that that she sign this 1983 copy of the play. I was delighted when I opened the book, which I paid five dollars for, was already inscribed and signed. It may not be worth much, but I was please just the same.
In the first December, 1982 production of the play produced by the American Repertory Theater in Cambridge Massachussets, Kathy Bates (of Misery fame) portrayed Jessie, and Anne Pitoniak was cast as Thelma "Mama" Cates. The play moved onto New York, where Bates and Pitoniak revised their roles. In 1986, the play was produced as a film, but only received a limited theatrical release. Sissy Spacek earned the role of Jessie Cates, and Anne Bancroft was cast her mother, Thelma.
'night, Mother is a story that shows both sides of the issue of suicide. Both the mind of Jessie, who is at peace with the decision she's made to take her life the very night in which the play is set, and Thelma who tries to do anything she can to keep her daughter from the ultimate act, which cannot be reversed, are explored.
I've found this story to be the most honest account of a depressed and sucidal person's feelings and thoughts, superceding Judith Guest's 1976 novel Ordinary Peopleand its film adaptation.
This play and film made me feel happy that I am still here on earth.
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