Canon 1014/814 & Beaulieu

[trocadero111]

I've been researching into high-end Super 8 cameras lately. Apparently, the Canon 1014-lxs and 814-lxs have been largely praised by the film community.

Despite sound-recording capabilities, these cameras are fairly heavy. And since Kodak has ceased production of Super 8 sound cartridges, would buying an "-xls" model be pointless? Would the Canon 1014-e or Canon 814-e be more appropriate?

Beaulieu, I've read, are also good cameras. However, they require specific battery/packs which are difficult to find and even more so expensive to get (as opposed to Canon 1014s and 814s which use regular alkaline batteries).

Any feedback is greatly appreciated!

[kuparikettu]

Well, it's certainly true that Beaulieu cameras require their own batteries. They can be, however, bought as new: http://www.beaulieu.de/pages/s8_azub8.php
One can also buy a contact block and external batteries or power up the camera directly from wall.

I guess it comes back to what you want to use your camera for. I myself bought a Beaulieu 4008 ZM, had it this summer serviced by Björn and modified to Max8. Today I also received eleven cartridges of Vision3 (thanks BlueCineTech!) and within two weeks we'll be shooting a self financed pro bono ad for a church youth happening.

For me the option of having c-mount, good slow motion speeds and the possibility of having the gate widened were decisive when I bought it.

But what do you want to do with the camera?