SANKYO -- the forgotten contender?

[Santo]

In a past life I blew 5 years of my 20's as a high school art teacher.

During that time, I supervised the production of about 375 super 8 animated shorts on about 12 to 16 different mid-range Japanese super 8 cameras I used to pick up from thrift stores in the mid 90's. Sounds crazy when I think about it, but it happened.

I used to get a new one every semester, sometimes two a semester depending on wear and tear.

I know a thing or two about Japanese super 8 cameras and their performance.

The best three cameras I ever had during that time period were a Nikon SuperZoom 8, a Canon Autozoom 814, and a Sankyo whose name and model number eludes me.

I remember that at that time I had a stack of some magazine called (I believe) Super 8 Filmmaker. I picked it up as a disgard from the local public library and wish to hell I still had them. In that magazine they went on and on about Sankyos in particular as the best middle to high end range cameras they tested (far above Cannons and most of the other Japanese cameras they were testing).

And yet, I see little reference to Sankyos on sites like this.

Who here has some of the top Sankyos? What's worth looking into as a purchase.

[skyliner]

It's a best kept secret thing. I have a Sankyo one of these CME 880s
http://valueservices.org/reelimage/movi ... report.htm
They are very sustantial cameras. All cast metal unlike the CME 660 which is plastic. Unfortumately the 880 is 18fps so I have to use the 660 for 24 but it's almost as good.
The 'Hi Focus' focusing system is the best I have ever found, just move the pink image over the green image and its tack sharp, very fast to use and no squinting.
I havn't tried the later stuff but these two are among my favorites.

[David M. Leugers]

Apparently Santo you have not read some of my responses over the past two years! 8)

I too, am a big proponent of the Sankyo line of S-8mm cameras. They were never the most
flashy or pretty cameras around, but they could really deliver the goods. They have stood the test of time as most examples today still function perfectly. This is a testament to their design and build quality. While I will drool over the beauty of my Nizo, I will not hesitate to grab one of my Sankyo's to film any important event and I don't worry about them getting damaged or scuffed up from use. The surprising thing to me (and which as I remember, Super-8 Filmaker was very impressed by) was the quality of the lens. Every Sankyo I have shot with produces sharp and contrasty images. I have never had a Sankyo projector, but I bet they are pretty good also.
Yeh, Sankyo is one of the best buys out there!

David M. Leugers

[pelluet]

Sankyos' are certainly a well kept secret, after using Elmos, Braun Nizos' and Canons my Sankyo 620XL-S supertronic remains my favorite. Nice lens great gizmos [interval timer lapdissolve etc], and pretty sexy looking. When I get it out in public [so to speak] after the shock of realising it is super 8 people often ask if it is a current model!

Prices are low too but that will probably all change now!!

Mike.

[pelluet]

Should have said above, if any one is looking for a neat little silent Sankyo the EM [electromagnetic ] range are good. They are the EM20XL EM30XL EM40XL and the EM60XL.

They all have excellant lenses and the 40 and 60 models have in-built interval timers, faders, delayed start features, single frame 18 and 24 fps, back light controls, flash sync [ which can be used for pulse sync] and are very neat and light.

They often come up on Ebay for £30 - £50. A bargain!

Mike

[Santo]

supertronic! now that rings a bell!

i'm not in the market to buy one right at this exact moment, but that's the fun corny retro-name i was looking for. that's what it was called, i'm pretty sure! future reference!

thanks!

[Patrick]

I was at a 'trash and treasure' market one sunday and there was a Sankyo at one stall. I cannot recall the model number but this was one of the most sophisticated super 8 cameras I have ever seen. This thing was really big, bigger than your average 'serious' super 8 camera. The lens was very large too. It was a sound model and it was loaded with features too numerous to count. A very impressive find but my money was low at the time.

[Herb Montes]

I don't have any in Super 8 but I do have a regular 8mm wind-up Sankyo. An 8-Z. Besides a 3 to 1 zoom, reflex finder, automatic iris which doesn't use a battery, backwind and variable speeds it has an interesting feature I haven't seen in other cameras. It has a "TV" filming speed which allows you you to film off a television screen without the scan bars showing up. If you have tried filming off a TV you know what I mean. Anyone else seen this feature in other cameras? In the past I have had to use an XL camera running at 18 fps to film off TV screens and try to reduce the scan bars.

[filmbuff]

I use a ES-44XL with an external intervalometer for timelapse. Excellent glass with a nice big viewfinder.

However I like Sankyo clocks better than their cameras

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?Vi ... gory=13861

[RCADDY]

I have a Sankyo Sound XL-25S that I am willing to part with. Anyone interested can make an offer and e-mail me at robertfromreno@yahoo.com. Thanks,

Robert Caddy

[dave]

top of the line sankyo the supertronic 620xls
its yours for$150 plus shipping

[livio]

Very nice thread, even though it will make Sankyo prices fly...
I haven't any Sankyo camera, but I've got two Sankyo projectors that never let me down: a Dualux 1000, nice and gentle with film, variable speed, almost pocketable, it can stay in a backpack, good if you have to go at frends' home to show something, the only drawback is the 50 W bulb (there's a version with a 100 W bulb, but unfortunately not mine); and a Sound 502: strangely it has only a single tooth claw but anyway is very gentle also on bad splices. A little bit mechanically noisy, but with a very clear, strong and good audio.

[Angus]

I've always been under the impression that Sankyo is a respected brand but not mentioned in the same breath as Nizo, Nikon, Canon and the better products from Chinon and Elmo.

I have owned a Sankyo MF-606 super 8 camera for some 23 years, and I have to say it is compact and sturdy but not my favourite. I'd say my statement above is fair...not a match for the best but it is a fair performer. I find it tricky to focus, and its depth of field seems quite small compared to several other cameras...not usually a problem with super 8.

I used to have a Sankyo 8CM reg 8mm camera, and it was a *very* nice piece of equipment. Some of the later super 8 offerings are, as people have said, very sophisticated....but I admit I've always put Sankyo in the same bracket as Bell & Howell, Yashica, the cheaper Elmos......certainly not bad but not the very best.

[Redjohn]

I have a collection of several different makes of super 8 camera but it is the later Sankyo cameras that still just work even though they are now some thirty years old.
My favourite is the EM 40 and 60 XL. These cameras are available quite cheaply on Ebay. Whilst the film drive on many cameras has become weak over the years causing a film transport stall in many of my cameras the Sankyo cameras have a very powerful film wind mechanism. I find that the images from these cameras are the sharpest I have in my collection.
The only thing that lets these cameras down is the black foam light seal inside the cartridge chamber but that is easily changed.
These cameras will auto meter the 100 D film but it is possible to set exposure manually for any film type and the camera side panel is fairly easily removed where it is possible to make metering adjustments should you have the workshop manual.
In the same range is the EM 20 and 30, both of which have a separate metering window, the EM 40 and 60 are TTL.
Using a 100 D cartridge in the EM 20 and 30 necessitates switching the filter to bulb for daylight use so as to remove it from the light path. It is also necessary to open the camera up by 2/3 of a stop. I find a small piece sliced off a glue gum stick inserted into the metering turret achieves this. This is needed as the EM 20 and 30 do not have a film chamber cartridge sense pin for daylight/artificial light whilst the EM 40 and 60 do. No adjustments needed on the EM 40 and 60.
The sound versions of the cameras are the 320, 420 and 620 supertronic, great cameras but, in this soundless film era, are a lot bulkier than the silent versions.
What can I say great cameras and the silent ones are as cheap as chips on Ebay.

[xCraigx]

Hey, old thread bumped recently... so... I'm bidding on an ES44XL and from some clips on youtube, I could see that the lens is sharp on an outdoor shot and not so sharp on darker settings. I attribute this to possibly the lens is only sharp when stopped down. I'll have to test it to see, if I win the $5 US bid.

The "top" brands most likley are sharper with lens aperture wide open. Manual exposoure can be used to get faster film and stop the lens down to maybe 5.6 as min aperture and assure good shots with decent DOF.

Update: won the camera for $5. I was outbid on a Canon 814-xls that sold for just over $300.00 us. I bet there is more value in my $5 dollar camera then the canon for the price difference. I just won't be shooting with slow film... I'll be trying the negitive stocks from pro8mm and getting scanned most likely at gotmemories.com to start with. I'm a tack sharp kind of guy, so if I can't get it, the equipment must go.