Anyone here collect vintage movie projectors/films?

[truetone36]

I was just wondering if anyone else here collects them. I have two 16mm sound projectors (no movies yet,though) and two 8mm silent projectors with a couple dozen 1940's/50's vintage home movies. I also have a large box of Super 8 reels, though I've yet to find a Super 8 projector. Anyone else still watch film?

[bgadow]

I've got a closet full of stuff. Started with an old Keystone 8mm and now have an assortment of things. Lots of home movies that I've picked up at the flea market, and assorted oddities. It's not one of my main hobbies, but I do enjoy them. Some of my favorite finds: bw 16mm silent home movies from the 30s, taken in the Wilmington, DE area. One was taken as the drove down the highway; another is taken from the top of a hill, showing the highway, the train, and ships on the Delaware River-all lined up one behind the other. I have a shoebox full of 8mm from the 60s, chronicling an African safari that someone from around here took. Also, a 16mm sound reel introducing some of the new shows on CBS for, IIRC, 1971.

[AUdubon5425]

I have a Kodak 16mm sound projector (made sometime between 1946 and 60 - I know that's broad, I know...) that needs a good cleaning but works. I bought a while back it to watch the one reel I have, "A Storm Named Betsy" or something like that. Someone posted the film on Youtube since.

[Eric H]

I love finding old home movies and have collected a large plastic container full of them.

I have a Keystone 8mm projector from the 30's that takes three hands to run and a 50'-60's 8mm Kodak that is pretty easy to operate, also a 16mm B&H Filmosound from the 60's, just like the one we had in grade school in the 60's.

I've been working on transferring some of them to video using a Flip camera and have posted quite a few to YouTube, my favorites so far are a series covering several years of one particular family in the late 40's.
I have no idea who they are but they lived in So Cal.

[Chad Hauris]

I have a pretty good collection of projectors,
3 Kodak Pageants, one with magnetic/optical sound
a B&H 185, 285, and 385
B&H 500 series
B&H 1500 series with cracked worm gear
Viewlex super 1600
Another type I can't remember the exact name of (GPL?)
at my parents house I have a Victor Animatophone.

I really enjoy watching 16mm films and was able to get a large collection of them when the local library sold theirs.

[holmesuser01]

I collect both 16mm and 35mm films. I used to have literally TONS of 16mm film, until I discovered that tri-acetate film eventually begins to rot and emits an unmistakable vinegar smell. I sold 90% of my 16mm collection, and have started over with them. I have around 150 35mm films, and recently got a better 35mm projector with a xenon lamphouse and stereo sound...

In 16mm, I have several Victor Animatograph machines, my favorites, lots of Eiki, Bell & Howell, Kodak, and an old Natco left-handed threading projector. I've got a couple of xenon Eiki 16mm machines, too, that make an incredible picture on a large screen. I still have the first machine I ever owned, an Ampro, bought in 1970 when I got started.

In 35mm, I have a Holmes 8 portable 35mm built in the 1940's, and the newly aquired Century SA, built in the 1960's. It will be awhile before the Century is ready to roll.

[leadlike]

I have LOTS of gear. That will have to be a post for another day. I just don't have the time to get into all of it now, but I would like to say that if any of you own films, and if any of them have that vinegar smell-get rid of them or at the very least don't let them share the same room with the rest of your collection! Ultimately, all acetate films will break down, but you can certainly prolong the life of your collection for many years to come. To keep this short, anyone with any film questions is always welcome to pm me.

[holmesuser01]

I'm more than happy to talk film with anyone here, too.

I agree with Leadlike. Get that vinegar film away from your other films.

Most of my 35mm is polyestar stock Almost unbreakable... Can cause alot of damage to the projector itself if the film hangs up somehow. No vinegar, though.

[leadlike]

I wanted to bring this up too- I have had terrible experiences on buying films from ebay and fleamarkets. It almost always is badly faded, or has vinegar syndrome, or both. I now only buy my films from dealers, which surprisingly can be cheaper, but they are in business to sell a product that they stand by. The company I use most is Derann films, out of England. Somehow, their prices seem to always fall below what I see on ebay. They send out a list of used films via email once a month. Their website only lists the brand new (yes, they are printing new super 8 films in 2010) stuff, which costs several hundred British pounds for a full feature, but their used stuff is usually pretty cheap. I think I paid about $20 US for the Empire Strikes Back on super 8 for both parts 1&2. I have no affiliation with the company, other than as a satisfied customer.

http://www.derann.co.uk/

Another note on vinegar sydrome-I visited the home of a film collector, and when I entered the porch, I saw several film cans sitting on a bench by the door. I asked about that, and he said that was all the material he had that was going to vinegar syndrome-he wouldn't even let the stuff in the same house as his collection!

[holmesuser01]

I am selling off alot of my older stuff. Alot is faded, and I always disclose that to the buyer. I've never had a return.

(I am not trying to sell anything here. I do this elsewhere on the net.)

Bruce

[holmesuser01]

Originally Posted by Chad Hauris

I have a pretty good collection of projectors,
3 Kodak Pageants, one with magnetic/optical sound
a B&H 185, 285, and 385
B&H 500 series
B&H 1500 series with cracked worm gear
Viewlex super 1600
Another type I can't remember the exact name of (GPL?)
at my parents house I have a Victor Animatophone.

I really enjoy watching 16mm films and was able to get a large collection of them when the local library sold theirs.

I think a GPL is a Graflex, a division of General Precision Laboratories. I have several of these, too. Lets not even talk about the worm gear issues in the 500/1500/2500 Bell & Howells. Makes me too sick!

[vinljnkie]

I have 2 500 series Bell & Howell 16mm Projectors as well as Super 8 and regular 8mm projectors and film. I buy a lot of old school films from Ebay from makers such as Coronet Films, Encyclopedia Brittanica etc. My main focus tho is old driver's ed films, especially the notorious ones from Highway Safety Films inc. of Mansfield, Ohio that showed on scene footage of real accidents. I call them the vegamatic drivers ed films as u get to see the blood and gore from real accidents in an attempt to shock you into being a better driver. I was shown one when I was in high school driver's ed class and never forgot it. I also have a couple feature films, Pal Joey with Frank Sinatra, and Gigot with Jackie Gleason (truly his best film and the one he wanted to be remembered for) as well as a few tv shows. Mary Tyler Moore, The F.B.I., and Adam 12.

I haven't bought much recently but I've had good luck on ebay, no vinegar prints, Yes a lot of faded Eastman color stock prints but I know that most 16mm films printed for school use were printed on that Eastman crap Kodak was putting out for over 30 years.

[larschr]

I have 3 16mm projectors at the moment:

A Bell & Howell 8D 655, probably from the late 60s: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MSreml2f7wo

I have modified this projector to use a 24 volt 250 watt halogen bulb of a very common type because the original tungsten lamps are no longer manufactured and just about impossible to obtain. The halogen lasts much longer, they are cheaper and brighter and you don't even need half the wattage of the tungsten bulb to get the same light output.

A Kodak "Kodascope" from 1958: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2ogt8Li9T18

The amplifier was dead when i got it, so i replaced the capacitors and diodes. It is now in excellent working condition. I even have the users manual and the optional microphone for it. The bulb is still working and i have one more new-in-box, but when thah is used up i will probably convert it to halogen. There is enough room for the transformer inside the case, so there will not be any visible changes.

Bell & Howell 1655: http://www.youtube.com/unusualstuff#p/u/12/zgyQR_Rbqgo

This projector is quite modern in the design and runs much more quiet than the older ones. It is driven by DC motors and has a solid state amplifier. It has a 24 volt 250 watt quartz bulb.


3 other 16mm projectors i've had in the past:

A Bauer, probably model P6: The motor had lost its power and wasn't powerful enough to drive the projector anymore. Probably a shorted or broken winding, so it ended up in the trash.

A Bell & Howell, unknown model: It had a motor with brushes and would run on both AC and DC. The amplifier had a rectifier right after the power input and two UL84 tubes in push-pull acting as a oscillator to convert the DC to AC. The AC is then transformed up to about 250 volt, rectified again and used to drive another pair of UL84s to amplify the sound. In other words, this amplifier would also work on both AC and DC. It was supposed to run on 115 volts, but someone had connected it directly to the 230 volt line and destroyed the motor. I still have the amplifier in working condition, the rest was trashed.

I don't even remember what brand the last one was, but it was something rebadged cheap stuff. All the belts were completely gone, but except from that it seemed to be OK. I ended up giving it away to another collector.

[larschr]

8mm projectors:

The Yelco MP-400: This one can be used with standard 8 and Super 8. It has continously variable speed, DC motor and halogen bulb. In other words, quite modern. It is barely used, still has the "new" smell in it.

Plank "Noris 8": Good quality standard 8 projector with "Syncromat"; it looks like you can run a standard 1/4" audio tape through a mechanism on the back of the projector and this will in some way synchronize the speed of the projector to the recording on the tape. The speed of the projector is affected by the tension on the tape. I don't know exactly how this system is supposed to be used.

[Eric H]

I recently bought a small lot of 8mm film cans and one of them had footage from the 1965 World Series with the Dodgers & The Twins:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OEYckBIKSbo