REGULAR 8

[sciolist]

It's a shame that I have to spell out everything for you. Keeping a camera in storage for long periods of time that has not been wound down is the same as shooting short scenes with a spring motor that constantly has tension in it. If you are making a film and there are significant lapses of time between each scene, which is usually the case, then you are getting cumulative tension every time such an instance occurs. Overtime, you put more stress on the spring motor than you would if you wound the spring more or less for just enough time to cover the scene and therefore letting the motor rest between takes.

I haven't misunderstood you; I've challenged you to provide proof of your assertion. You haven't. What you say contradicts information provided by the maker of the cameras. If what you say is correct, then surely some of the dozens of Bolex compact 8mm cameras I've owned and used would've exhibited the weakened spring motor that you're suggesting would have resulted from "overwinding" by a previous owner. None has.

[Juno]

The proof is in the simple logic that most people should be able to understand. As I said, back in the day they did not use these cameras to produce "works" which required significant lapses of time between each take due to planning. And besides, just because Bolex does not mention it in their manual is no reason not to believe it. They also don't mention that you should not allow your kids to use it as a bath toy. A big part of Bolex's revenue came from service and maintenance so they made money off of such repairs. I am not implying that they would deceive anyone but if you consider that back in the day people shot family events that did not require the spring to be left in a wound state for great periods of time it was really a non issue. Besides the web site that you referenced pointed out the importance of not storing the camera wound. I don't remember the C 8 manual saying that even though it is obvious. Should I not believe that point made on the web site? The simple logic of cumulative stress from storing a wound spring for long periods of time and the cumulative stress of letting the spring stay would for great lapses of time between scenes of a generally lengthy film project should be enough to prove my point. Otherwise, I give up. I don't know what else to tell you!

[Old Uncle Barry]

I NEVER leave a stored camera wound up and have experienced no dramas.Oh! Yes-there are Bolex units in my collection.