New Camera, New Challenges

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

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

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