Camera Test

The Camera

Since I announced the 52 Weeks Project my mind has been occupied over which camera to use. My first thought, and my wishful thinking, had me immediately considering a refurbished camera from Pro8mm or Du-All camera that I knew would be well-serviced and modified with crystal sync. A camera running crystal sync would allow location sound and that seems like a good thing at first. But, Super 8 cameras tend to be a bit noisome and, given the constraint of straight-8 shooting there's enough that can go wrong in a take, especially with sound, that considering I only get one take, just doing all post in audio seems smarter. I'll record reference sound of course, but dialog will be ADR. Those cameras are also expensive. They're probably worth it, but I don't really have the excess to spend.

So I started looking at reasonably-priced but solid cameras. I decided to save money by looking primarily on ebay and doing my homework on the cameras. there were a couple of must-haves in a candidate:

• Manual Exposure - I plan to rely heavily on fast emulsions, like Kodak's Vision 3 500T, which weren't available when these cameras were made and so cameras with only auto exposure won't work right.
• A good zoom range with decent optics - I generally prefer shooting with prime lenses, but that's not so easy to do in the realm of consumer cameras, which Super 8 cameras are, albeit of another generation.
• 24 Frames Per Second - A lot of these cameras were manufactured in Europe and have 25fps but not 24. Something to be wary of. A note here - you can get away with shooting at 18fps and make a cartridge stretch. Generally I won't be doing that; mainly because it increases the cost of telecine and I'm trying to work out a package deal based on the mainstay which is 24.
• Single-Frame Exposure - Most of these aren't built for automated time lapse but a lot of them were built to do single frame for animation and whatnot. Over the course of 52 weeks I may get bored and decide to do a stop-motion holiday special, or decide I'm the next Ray Harryhausen. More likely I'll decide on a manual time-lapse for a film. In either case I'd like the option.
• A useful filter threading - Since I'll be using fast film to cover my indoor bases I'll need to rely on neutral density filters in daylight situations. While I may at some point endeavor to rig a mattebox or something, I'll probably start off with circular screw-on filters.

The camera I was first drawn to, the Leicina Special, is a beautiful camera but doesn't have manual exposure. I began looking at the Canon 1014, which is nice but doesn't really justify the price increase over its little brother. So I started looking at the Canon 814XL-S which is a very well spoken-of camera and, being from the early 80s, a relatively new model. In the end, I compromised on a deal I couldn't pass up - a slightly older Canon 814 Autozoom that I found for under $100. I've shot a little with the 814 before and, assuming the one I just bought is in good condition, it's a really good camera; not the best Super 8 out there, but it meets my needs and should hold up to the task before it.

I should receive it next week and I'll run a test roll through it. As soon as I get that back I'll be posting it here, unless it turns out to be total trash. Until then, I'll be continuing to look at labs to handle the project; and that should be the topic of my next post.

(photo courtesy of flickr user Callum Rice)