PRO8MM FILM RIPOFF!!!

Post by **woods01** » Wed Mar 23, 2005 8:00 am

Alex wrote: However, one can demand that the kodak serial number that is given to each roll of 35mm film also be put on the super-8 slit version so that people can see for themselves how old the film is and if it's new or a re-can.

Other than calling Kodak's hotline is there a 'trick' to reading the S/N?

Post by **matt5791** » Wed Mar 23, 2005 9:26 am

supermag400_inventor wrote:I find all of this information about Pro 8 very enlightening. It has suddenly occured to me that half of the film tests I've shot with the Supermag have had all of these issues that others have had with the film stocks from Pro 8. Dirty, scratched, fogged and discolored film. Perhaps I'm wrong, but the logic is very clear to me. The films they sell should be fresh, new stock from Kodak or Fuji. NOT SCRAP FILM! I think that the films I've been using are from odds and ends they cut off the heap. No wonder I've gotten grungy images on my tests. Perhaps it's time to change to Wittner stock or someone else.

Does anyone know where I can get 1000 foot spools of K-40 or Fuji reversal stocks? I would love to get some beta testing of these stocks in the Supermag...that would tell me a great deal.

All this time, I've been blaming myself for the fuck'ups. ....Hummm!
Could I be wrong?

Were they supplying the film free? is not short ends ideal for this? Surely one of your main objectives is sorting the film registration in the gate - again surely short ends are fine for this purpose.

If I was pro8 I would be supplying short ends if it was free. If you were paying for it then I would be asking what you wanted to pay for - fresh or short ends.

Matt

Post by **christoph** » Wed Mar 23, 2005 9:36 am

supermag400_inventor wrote:I'm not the one making the film. That's Pro 8's job. If they don't do their job properly, then the person using the Supermag will blame not only Pro 8 and the film but the Supermag as well. Don't you agree?

sure, but people using your mag will still have to deal with the problem as the only reasonable source for the film material *is* pro8... so if their stuff is crap your mag would be pretty uselesss :/

better talk to them and ask them how to improve their products and customer relationship.
++ christoph ++

Wed Mar 23, 2005 9:47 am

It is true that the ends are fine for rough testing, however, if the image quality is being questioned also, then the quality of the film should be better. The better the film stock, the better the test.

YouTube · Post by **Andreas Wideroe** » Wed Mar 23, 2005 11:11 am

Nigel wrote:What about the fact that their propaganda has started to appear on this sites homepage?? Doesn't anyone find that odd?? Andreas needs to sell space but these aren't ads. They are Pro8 written "Articles". Maybe Andreas got paid for the articles which is fine but if it is free for them then that seems like a bad move to me.

Nigel, I didn't like reading what you wrote. If you only knew how much time I spend maintaining this site and how little I get back from it. I've received $100-150 (thanks to the few kind souls out there) in donations and ads this year. It doesn't even cover 5% of what I pay - so be happy I still serve this site for you!

About the Pro8mm "propaganda":

These are pressreleases that I post because I want this site to reflect what's going on in the world of super8. I have got NO money whatsoever from Pro8mm. I can't spend all my time looking for news, therefore I post what I recieve. Send in your own stuff and I'll post it if I think it may serve a general interest.

I will post any news about what's releated to 8mm filmmaking so every company and person who does something special are welcome to send me their pressrelease or info.

I wish I would receive more news and pressreleases than I actually do!

Andreas

Post by **Uppsala BildTeknik** » Wed Mar 23, 2005 11:35 am

This site has proven to be so much fun and educational, there you are!
A small donation for the site.

Have you really not gotten more donations? I guess most people think "oh I will someday...." and it never gets done. Not so much of greed but of laziness.

Hmmm how can I know that.... :oops:

Post by **timdrage** » Wed Mar 23, 2005 12:47 pm

supermag400_inventor wrote:Does anyone know where I can get 1000 foot spools of K-40 or Fuji reversal stocks?

K40 plus Orwo B/W and Fuji neg can be obtained in various lengths (only the K40 in the full 1000 tho) from:
http://www.wittner-kinotechnik.de/katal ... s8_60m.php

I;m astounded that Pro8 are trying to pass off old short ends in their insanely expensive cartridges!! If you're gonna pay that much for 'professional' stocks you'd expect to actually at least get fresh film! Unbelievable. Surely if this is true some legal action could be taken by those who've been ripped off? Trading standards and all that?

Post by **MovieStuff** » Wed Mar 23, 2005 2:03 pm

Nigel wrote:
You are making an add-on film mag and yet you can't tell what bad film looks like???

Obviously Dave recognizes that the film has damage but it would be a reasonable assumption that the raw stock coming from Pro8mm would be free of defects. It may very well be but, if it isn't, then that only makes Dave's job harder than necessary. More to the point, there is no way that even you would know if the film was scratched and fogged due to mis-handling by Pro8mm or by the new mag, so why are you trying to bust Dave's nuts about this, as if the difference would so obvious to anyone?

Roger

Post by **MovieStuff** » Wed Mar 23, 2005 2:28 pm

matt5791 wrote: Were they supplying the film free? is not short ends ideal for this? Surely one of your main objectives is sorting the film registration in the gate - again surely short ends are fine for this purpose.

Registration is only one issue. There are also issues relating to light leaks and scratching that can only be sorted out with fresh film that is guaranteed to be free of such defects.

matt5791 wrote:If I was pro8 I would be supplying short ends if it was free. If you were paying for it then I would be asking what you wanted to pay for - fresh or short ends.

But Pro8mm does have a vested interest in the success of this mag because it would mean increased film sales and the ability to shoot longer loads in the cameras they sell. Again, I don't know if the film they are providing is defective or not but it is in their best interest to provide quality stock, whether it's free or not.

Roger

Post by **David M. Leugers** » Wed Mar 23, 2005 3:10 pm

For testing of registration, scratching and for light leaks of the magazine, why not take the 50ft spool of film from inside a Kodak cartridge and load it in the Supermag? Seems to me a simple way to get pristine film for testing. The short load is no big deal because a larger load only tests the feed and takeup of the magazine and I am sure that has already been accomplished.

David M. Leugers

Post by **reedsturtevant** » Wed Mar 23, 2005 3:13 pm

Uppsala BildTeknik wrote:I guess most people think "oh I will someday...." and it never gets done. Not so much of greed but of laziness.

Hmmm how can I know that.... :oops:

That exactly describes me :oops: so I just went to Paypal

Andreas: thank you for your site!

Post by **Nigel** » Wed Mar 23, 2005 4:48 pm

Andreas--

Perhaps you misunderstood what I was getting at. What I am saying is that a business like Pro8 should be paying you for that de facto advertising. They are a business and by having two articles on the front page gives them some great space which they may end up profiting off of at your expense.

I am sorry if you took it as a personal attack--that was not my intention or aim.

Good Luck

Post by **ccortez** » Wed Mar 23, 2005 5:04 pm

christoph wrote:
supermag400_inventor wrote:I'm not the one making the film. That's Pro 8's job. If they don't do their job properly, then the person using the Supermag will blame not only Pro 8 and the film but the Supermag as well. Don't you agree?
sure, but people using your mag will still have to deal with the problem as the only reasonable source for the film material *is* pro8... so if their stuff is crap your mag would be pretty uselesss :/

better talk to them and ask them how to improve their products and customer relationship.
++ christoph ++

true enough, sadly. even if we were to buy 400' loads from somebody else, who is setup to process those lengths in Super 8?!?

(if this has been covered before, feel free to ignore me or shame me into using search...)

Post by **Uppsala BildTeknik** » Wed Mar 23, 2005 5:23 pm

Nigel wrote:

What I am saying is that a business like Pro8 should be paying you for that de facto advertising.

I think it is not advertising but "normal" press release and info.
Thus they should not need to pay.

Post by **reflex** » Wed Mar 23, 2005 5:29 pm

reedsturtevant wrote:
Uppsala BildTeknik wrote:I guess most people think "oh I will someday...." and it never gets done. Not so much of greed but of laziness.
That exactly describes me :oops: so I just went to Paypal

Andreas: Your site has been a fantastic resource for me since I discovered it last year -- I'll do what I can to donate a bit every few months.

OK, what about the rest of your lounge-abouts???

I had a small balance left in my PayPal account that I donated a couple of weeks ago -- I challenge everyone else to give $15, too.

I think that posting press releases is an excellent idea - it gives people a quick and easy place to find out about new Super 8 developments. My company gets quite a bit of attention (in a different industry) from free "new product" announcements in magazines and press release postings on industry sites. This is simply the way things are done. If you want to knock the Pro8 posts off the main page, all you have to do is make your own cool S8 product, too.

James