Max 8:New life for super 8 or gimmick?

[jaxshooter]

I see Pro 8mm has come out with "Max 8",a wider super 8 stock designed for 16 x 9 HDTV.Is this much different from SD 8?My complaint is that it comes from Pro 8mm which will mean that equipment will be grossly overpriced.Anyone have any info or experience with this?

[tlatosmd]

It's nothing but SuperDuper8 stolen by Pro8.

[LastQuark]

The price is actually quite reasonable - about US$500. The problem is, they cannot convert all cameras yet even on the camera they built like the Beaulieu 7008 Pro II. I was told to check back with them on January.

[reflex]

I see Pro 8mm has come out with "Max 8",a wider super 8 stock designed for 16 x 9 HDTV.Is this much different from SD 8?My complaint is that it comes from Pro 8mm which will mean that equipment will be grossly overpriced.Anyone have any info or experience with this?

Max 8 uses standard Super 8 film. All they're doing is widening the film gate and mirror shutter on a Beaulieu 4008.

It's basically the same as Super Duper 8, except that the Beaulieu is notoriously difficulty to alter for widescreen. Like SD8, the frame will be slightly off-center from the lens and the extra frame area will be susceptible to damage during processing.

[Justin Lovell]

are they recentering the lens when they do their modifications?

[Rick Palidwor]

The price is actually quite reasonable - about US$500. The problem is, they cannot convert all cameras yet even on the camera they built like the Beaulieu 7008 Pro II. I was told to check back with them on January.

Is that price for the entire camera, converted to max 8, or a max 8 conversion on top of their camera prices? Their camera prices are already too high and if that is the price of covnersion it's ridiculous. You can do it yourself for nothing. Mitch in Toronto does it for $50CDN (more for the Nizo's because of the tiny springs).

Rick

[LastQuark]

The price is actually quite reasonable - about US$500. The problem is, they cannot convert all cameras yet even on the camera they built like the Beaulieu 7008 Pro II. I was told to check back with them on January.

Is that price for the entire camera, converted to max 8, or a max 8 conversion on top of their camera prices? Their camera prices are already too high and if that is the price of covnersion it's ridiculous. You can do it yourself for nothing. Mitch in Toronto does it for $50CDN (more for the Nizo's because of the tiny springs).

Rick

That price is for the mod only. Take note that the Beaulieus use mirrored guillotine shutters. I don't think it will be as simple as widening a gate. Can Mitch also mod the Beaulieu's? What's his email? I'm sure there will be a lot of interest.

[Rick Palidwor]

are they recentering the lens when they do their modifications?

This is the question we all need answered.
If they are not recentering that's a high price for a wider frame, despite how justified the price might be for those cameras (I don't think Mitch does them, but you'd have to ask: mitchsperkins@yahoo.com).

I'd just as soon leave my Beaulieu in tact, if I had one, and pick up an R10 and widen the gate myself for less than the price of a Beaulieu mod.

Rick

[LastQuark]

are they recentering the lens when they do their modifications?

This is the question we all need answered.
If they are not recentering that's a high price for a wider frame, despite how justified the price might be for those cameras

Rick

It is much more complicated. The "lens is shifted over and the eyepiece has been adjusted so the entire frame is visible".

http://www.pro8mm.com/pro8_pdfs/Press/P ... p_Show.pdf

I'd just as soon leave my Beaulieu in tact, if I had one, and pick up an R10 and widen the gate myself for less than the price of a Beaulieu mod.

But then the R10 is a different camera than a Beaulieu. This is more a matter of personal preference. I have both cameras by the way.

On the R10 mod, do you see any vignetting because of off-centered lens?

[Rick Palidwor]

The "lens is shifted over and the eyepiece has been adjusted so the entire frame is visible".

On the R10 mod, do you see any vignetting because of off-centered lens?

You answered my question. They claim they have re-aligned the lens and viewfinder. That's significant and cannot be compred tos simply widening the gate. They are doing it "right".

The R10 is prone to vingetting as is pretty well any camera.

Rick

[ccortez]

and the extra frame area will be susceptible to damage during processing.

and wack vignetting.

[Shion]

It's nothing but SuperDuper8 stolen by Pro8.

What do you mean by "stolen"? SuperDuper8 wasn't patented or anything like that, was it?

Not trying to discredit Mitch and Rick, but is it possible that they weren't the first to come up with this idea anyway? In principle, it's exactly the same as Super16 and Super35, which have been around for years. I wouldn't be surprised if somebody else tried it years earlier... although I'm guessing Mitch/Rick were the first to make a feature film in the format.

-Bon

[Rick Palidwor]

It's nothing but SuperDuper8 stolen by Pro8.

What do you mean by "stolen"? SuperDuper8 wasn't patented or anything like that, was it?

Not trying to discredit Mitch and Rick, but is it possible that they weren't the first to come up with this idea anyway? In principle, it's exactly the same as Super16 and Super35, which have been around for years. I wouldn't be surprised if somebody else tried it years earlier... although I'm guessing Mitch/Rick were the first to make a feature film in the format.

-Bon

There has been much discussion of this in the past and it seems many people have messed with this idea, though we weren't aware of it at the time and Mitch had not heard of super 16 at the time he started (mid-80's). So we don't lay claim to the idea. But yes, we may have been the first to make a feature with it.

And as you say, there was nothing to "steal". I read an article some years back saying that Pro8 was musing over a wide-8 format, which they were also going to call super-duper 8, and I thought "yes, we beat them to it". This was after we had finished Sleep Always, and I think the article was from before we started. Maybe our going out with Sleep Always prompted them to act on their old idea, which became Max 8. Who knows.

Rick

[tlatosmd]

What I mean is that they took open source stuff and seemingly copyrighted it. Like, someone making you pay anytime you're using the sound or letter 'a'.

[audadvnc]

Reminds me of some of those New Age gurus that would take credit for you waking up in the morning.