Please help Vicky choose a camera!

[vicky the viking]

Hi there Super 8 shooters!

Please recommend a camera to me!

I need a solid and reliable camera for some upcoming work.

Bottom line, great image quality is desired over gizmos.

I've heard that the Nizo cameras are good, but which one ?

Also been recommended Canon...

Your help would be appreciated!

Thanks,

Vicky :twisted:

[vapparn]

Do you need slow motion? Do you use internal light meter or external? What do you want film? How silent camera you need? Do you need sound sync? Do you need long zoom lens or what kind of lens you need, fast one? Please be a bit more specific...

[lemonhorse]

hi blanka,
i'm a satisfied Nizo 801 user (K40; Plus-X; Tri-X).

here is a Nizo Specification chart:
http://www.merzbarn.com/Specification_c ... _chart.htm

Greetings,
Lemonhorse

[vicky the viking]

oh, hi! :roll:

sorry, point taken! Slow motion would be great!

gonna be shooting street theatre performances (non sync audio) - shooting in natural light.

If I can get a camera that has a good internal light meter, then I would rely on that for now.

Looking for the best lens for resolution/contrast.

I guess a 1,8 would be fast enough...

thanks again,

vicky :twisted:

[vicky the viking]

hi blanka,
i'm a satisfied Nizo 801 user (K40; Plus-X; Tri-X).

here is a Nizo Specification chart:
http://www.merzbarn.com/Specification_c ... _chart.htm

Greetings,
Lemonhorse

hi!.... thanks for the link, the Nizo 801 looks like a good camera!

.. what are the images like? good colours?

is the camera reliable?

thanks,

vix

[S8 Booster]

canon 814 xls is a camera that gives most bang for bucks. reliable - do everything except not to fast slomo, imagery unbeaten. best auto exposure in buzz. all manual too. up to iso800 in automode and will set any filmspeed kodak will come up with in the future.

t

[Patrick]

For filming low light performances, an XL camera is usually recommended. These have an unusually large shutter opening in combination with a large maximum aperture lens. Such cameras usually have XL in the model name. The Canon 1014XLS is one of the top guns of super 8 but usually sells for very high prices. If you dont want to fork out a stack of cash, choose another XL model that has a fairly versatile zoom range to make it easier to compose performers in a mix of close up and wide shots - for example - something like 7 - 50mm or greater. I actually can't recommend any other XL models myself as I don't own hardly any XL cameras. Perhaps others can put in a few more suggestions.

[timdrage]

My Sankyo ES-44XL has always served me well! I don't know how 'good' it is in the grand scheme of things, but I've got decent results. It has 36fps slomo (plus single frame, 9 and 18 fps.) Zoom is 8.5-34mm. Has Macro focusing too. One drawback is the removable battery clip, but you can easily replace it if lost or broken by a standard 4xAA battery holder from Radio Shack/Maplin/whatever.

I only recently found out about 'XL'... that explains how I managed to shoot stop motion with only 2 anglepoise lamps with 200w bulbs back in the day!

[Patrick]

I should also point out that at this point in time, Kodak do not offer any fast colour reversal films in super 8. The 'fastest' was an Ektachrome 125asa film but that has been discontinued not long ago. Your other options for colour are negative films - 200 and 500asa but they need to be transferred to video for viewing a positive image out of them. The only other fast reversal super 8 film stock available at this time is a black and white one - Tri-X. This was rated at 200asa but Kodak updated it recently and may have changed the film speed a little.

If you want to shoot with a fast colour reversal film in 8mm with the same frame size as super 8, your only choice is the 200asa colour film available in single 8. Of course for this, you need a single 8 camera. Fuji is the creater of the single 8 system - the film dimensions and perforation size are identical to super 8 but the cartridge is a totally different design. Actually, single 8 has one main advantage over super 8 in that single 8 cameras have a metal pressure plate for improved picture steadiness and less chance of 'film breathing'. Additionally, exposed single 8 films can be projected with any super 8 projector. The only gripe with this format is that you have to order away for films and then after shooting, send them off to Japan for developing.

[vicky the viking]

wow... thanks for the tips!

so it seems to be a toss up between the Nizo 801/Macro

and the Canon 814xls

Both of these cameras look great...

They both seem to be around the same sort of price...

Two people have recommended the canons,

anyone else for the Nizo?

I like the look of them both, and I'm sure either would suit my needs.

I'm guessing the Canon would be the younger camera?

Vicky

[Roy Brown]

Having used all the above cameras I suggest the Canon 1014e. It can be purchased regularly on Ebay for anywhere between 100 - 300 dollars. It is a masterpiece in features, reliability and imagery. The lens is superb, the viewfinder bright and the ergonomics pleasant. Lastly it can handle the many different ASA stocks being released.

I Prefer it over the 814e because of resale value and the ability to do in camera dissolves.

Hope this helps

[Lunar07]

A Bauer S209XL, S207XL, C109XL, or C900XL is highly recommended.

oh, hi! :roll:

sorry, point taken! Slow motion would be great!

gonna be shooting street theatre performances (non sync audio) - shooting in natural light.

If I can get a camera that has a good internal light meter, then I would rely on that for now.

Looking for the best lens for resolution/contrast.

I guess a 1,8 would be fast enough...

thanks again,

vicky :twisted:

[Patrick]

Woops! I see now that you typed 'street theatre performances' rather than indoor theatre performances. So an XL camera is not a necessity. I second that choice for a Canon 1014E. I have one myself...extremely versatile camera. The only thing which could be tricky is using the split image rangefinder on moving performers...though the majority of reflex super 8 cameras use a split image rangefinder. What I have done in similar situations is to try and get as physically close to the performance as possible and then prefocus at the maximum tele setting on a particular point on the stage or ground where most of the activity is occurring and then zoom out just enough so that the performers are still relatively large in the viewfinder. The depth of field should be adequate for most of the movement within a confined space. And you could also try for some close ups when the performers are fairly still.

[audadvnc]

The Nikon R8 / R10 cameras are very good, I'm very pleased with my R8. Not an XL camera but lens opens to f1.8, and is sharp beginning around f2.8. The light meter uses older 1.35V batteries, but works with newer 1.5V batteries. One feature these cameras have is the ability to track multiple ASA ratings, and should expose the newer Ekta 64T film correctly.

I was just shooting this weekend with a Bauer S715XL, which is also a fine camera with a dynamite Angenieux lens. Its range of ASA readings is not as wide as the Nikons, which may make it less useful in the future, after the passing of Kodachrome. But you will be hard pressed finding a camera that takes a clearer image than the Bauer.

[ccortez]

wow... thanks for the tips!

so it seems to be a toss up between the Nizo 801/Macro

and the Canon 814xls

Both of these cameras look great...

They both seem to be around the same sort of price...

Two people have recommended the canons,

anyone else for the Nizo?

I like the look of them both, and I'm sure either would suit my needs.

I'm guessing the Canon would be the younger camera?

Vicky

I'm a Nizo guy, but I've never used a Canon and do not participate in the "holy war" btwn the Euro lenses and the Japo ones. I have an 801 and an 801 Macro, use them frequently and interchangeably.

Are they reliable? A good example should be. Mine are, umm, fiddly... meaning, if I screw around with them enough I can take them from broken to fixed in a short time. But they are old and they do have their moments. I'd be surprised if the same weren't true for most any camera this age...

Great color, sharpness, contrast etc. I really like the lens characteristics, and I have the Bauer 715 XL that I could choose over them but usually don't. (BTW, the Bauers are also great cameras, any XL model should be a great shooter.)

Some of the smaller Nizo cameras are also nice, and some have the advantage of all metal knobs, etc. whereas the 801 has some plasticy bits that could be better. Besides which, many models are more common and cheaper on eBay than the 801; the main advantage of the 801 being some intervalometer shutter settings.

How to decide? IMHO, the Nizo is much cooler looking.

c.