Eumig C3 regular-8

I inherited this camera long ago and since I got a projector, I ordered a roll of Ektachrome 100. The problem is that the meter does not work, at least it's not to be trusted, because the needle is sticky. So I am left to my devices.

I can divine from information in the manual that it has a shutter angle of about 160* for a shutter speed at 24fps of right at 1/50s or so. So I can use a meter or my best guess and set the aperture accordingly, but I would have to trust that the camera's aperture markings are accurate. Since I somehow doubt they are, I will have to cross my fingers and do some bracketing for my first roll.

Besides all this, I won't be able to shoot in daylight at this rate since the camera only goes to f/16. The camera has filter threads but they are tiny, so I guess it's time to get the tape out.

I've never shot 8mm before. From what I gather you basically waste the first few feet of every roll as a "light shield" during reloading.

If someone else has camera and knows if the aperture settings hold up or any other quirks, that would be great to know.

Are you sure you ordered regular 8mm film, not Super 8? I didn't think that Kodak made film in regular 8mm anymore.

Well, it's possible that I got the wrong thing. I basically called Dwayne's with my credit card in hand because I need the film before the weekend. They said pretty much all they had was this Ektrachrome 100 speed film. It's on their website as Double-8.

Double-8 should be what you want. The spool has an excess over 50' finished length, so the amount that is fogged from loading the film when processed and cut off, then slit and spliced end-to-end at the lab still gives you 50' of useable film. You do know that after you shoot one time thru the reel you have to turn the film reel over end-to-end and re-thread to get the total length of shooting the roll can do. The lab processes, slits and splices the film into one 50' reel. The actual length of the 8mm perforated 16mm wide film is a little over 25'.

Justin Silber said:

Are you sure you ordered regular 8mm film, not Super 8? I didn't think that Kodak made film in regular 8mm anymore.

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They don't, but they make Ektachrome 100D in 16mm, and third parties reperforate and respool the film for use in double 8mm cameras. There are many B&W and color emulsions available in double/regular 8mm (and even 9.5mm) this way.

Thats daylight film, so take that into consideration. You won't want to shoot at f16 anyway (too much diffraction) so I'd put a ND filter on there. I usually use a 3-stop filter with ISO 100 film when shooting outdoors. (thats .3 x3 = 0.9ND). You can tape a filter on there. Using a hand-held meter and the indicated aperture number should be fine.

If you get serious about it you can have SK Grimes make an adapter. I had them make a few for my Bolex and they were about $60 each.

I used to have a bunch of small series IV and V adapters for movie cameras but sold them all on e-bay as they did not fit Bolex. You can get the small Series IV and V filters here: http://www.chamblesscineequip.com/catalog/filters.htm

I'm out in the cold I guess, now that I think about it. Unless I can buy some ND filters locally.

By "filters" I was planning on shooting my X1 green filter, which is a bit over 2 stops. But then I remembered this is color film! Of course I always use colored filters on B&W to attenuate light, but I don't have a proper ND filter at all. I do have a circular polarizer which I think is 1 stop, so by using that at f/16, at a higher frame rate, I might be able to just squeak by in the daylight.

By the way, what frame rate is best to shoot at if I'm planning on later experimenting with NTSC telecining? This camera seems to have FPS steplessly adjustable. It has three evenly spaced markings on the dial....8, 16 and 32 fps. I would have to interpolate a guess for 18 and 24fps.

UPDATE

I just got my roll back from the lab. I ruined the middle 1/3 of the final reel because of a blunder when flipping the spools over. Otherwise, it came out fine. My "first guess" calculated exposures were fine (maybe just a tad overexposed) and my 1-stop brackets were worse...1 stop over was pretty bad, but 1 stop under was watchable. I was surprised at how viewable was footage shot at what must have been -3 or more stops, such as during the footage-burn after a roll change. I have to try to use that footage for real next time! It wasn't very fogged after a couple feet. I also have to remember that in low light, I might want to shoot even if i have to underexpose.

My Brownie 500 projector is hopelessly bad. The top reel hub falls off intermittently, the auto-feed doesn't really, and i have to keep my finger against the feed roll or it will backlash. Image quality was surprisingly good. I have to say I was surprised, especially after seeing how tiny the exposures were on the film. Detail and motion both surprised me.

I bought a Baia viewer-editor that says on the box it can be used for both regular-8 and super-8, but I could not get it to work with this film. I couldn't get the film to run on the sprocket, nor get the spools to line up. I guess I will have to sell it and try to find another one. I did ebay a 8mm splicer. At least with that I can cut out the ruined middle of the film even without a viewer.

My other option would be to shoot super-8, so I could use this viewer-editor...I have a super-8 camera but it seems really low quality. I think I will keep using my Eumig; I like how it has manual controls. I watched a small-guage film made from the '70s at my church, and every time a light fixture entered the frame, the auto-iris stopped down hopelessly dark (The instruction manual for this Eumig camera actually suggests using a sheet of newsprint to take an average light reading for indoor shooting). Quality seems very good. There was one time, where it looked like there was some focus wobble going on, but I suppose it's hard to say if it was the camera or the projector (the camera has fixed focus).

BetterSense said:

UPDATE

My Brownie 500 projector is hopelessly bad. The top reel hub falls off intermittently, the auto-feed doesn't really, and i have to keep my finger against the feed roll or it will backlash.


I would start looking for a good DUAL projector. In my over 40 years of retail the Bell & Howell made some of the best projectors. Then whichever way you go you will have a better projector than the Brownie.

I bought a Baia viewer-editor that says on the box it can be used for both regular-8 and super-8, but I could not get it to work with this film. I couldn't get the film to run on the sprocket, nor get the spools to line up. I guess I will have to sell it and try to find another one. I did ebay a 8mm splicer. At least with that I can cut out the ruined middle of the film even without a viewer.

The Baia was not a good editor. The Japanese made some very nice dual editors

There was one time, where it looked like there was some focus wobble going on, but I suppose it's hard to say if it was the camera or the projector (the camera has fixed focus).

Click to expand...

The wobble might have been a loose pressure plate in the projector.

Good luck with it.

Francis in VT

There is a guy on Craigslist selling a Bell and Howell dual-format projector for only $30, but it needs a bulb. I don't know where I can find a bulb, or if it's even possible to do so.

for the bulb
check out grey supply company: http://www.topbulb.com/
another place is the bulbman ... Dead Link Removed

i have bought from both of these folks, they have lots of stuff
and an online catalog as well as people who know their product line
who answer the phones ...

and in case you have lowel lights .. ( hot lights ) they sell bulbs ( tungsten )
for about 1/3 or 1/4 what you buy them for in a photostore ... ( the SAME bulb )...

good luck!

john

I have a great bell and howell, but the bulb is $65 , so for now I picked up another projector that has a $30 replacement bulb. That is a little more manageable. I am going to get a bulb for the Bell and Howell eventually. It is a great unit!