Jashica Super 8 cartridge loaded 8mm movie camera for sale.

[Juliet f]

Hello, I have been pointed to this forum as my mum has been having a clearout in her loft. She came across our old cine camera that was used to take the family films in the 1970's. My dad loved it and looked after it extremely well but mum is at a bit of a loss as to what to do with it now!
Do people still buy these and does it have any value at all?
It is in good working order and still in the original box.
If anyone has any hints/suggestions or interest in it please let me know. I would be very grateful.

Thankyou. Juliet Fellows.

[Roy]

Sorry to say, It's nearly impossible to sell Film cameras these days. You might try Ebay and put it for auction under the antigue Photography section. There may be collectors interested, but don't expect much cash for it. I have six film cameras, all state of the art at the time and can't find byers.
Best of luck. Roy

[Dave Watterson]

Hi Juliet,

Much more important is what happened to those family films. If he took good care of his camera, it is likely your dad also took care of the films.

Whatever images they have will be much more valuable than any camera. If the films have not already been transferred to video get that done as soon as you can. But try to get a recommendation from your local cine club or a reliable photo dealer about who to get the transfer from. You need someone who can take an individual interest in each film, tweak the settings to get the best out of each scene and so on.

The camera will be Yashica with a Y not a J. The company were well-known for their still cameras but produced a range of 8mm movie cameras. The original company was sold to Kyocera and the brand name has since passed to a Hong-Kong based group.

So far as I can see they tend to get prices of just a few pounds when they turn up on eBay.

How about this as a better way of disposing of something which meant so much to your father? Have it mounted on a nice polished board, or even fitted into a glass case, for use as an unusual movie trophy at a school, college or cine club - maybe one used by any grandchildren? Then the winner would feel proud of it and treasure it.

Dave

[paul120]

good idea really thanks for posting..

[Juliet f]

Thanks so much for your replies, it's really helpful to have feedback from you as I have no knowledge of cameras whatsoever!
What a good idea about making a trophy....i'll set my husband to work on that idea, or maybe i'll see if our local college would like it for their photography dept.

The treasured family films did get put onto video tape a few years ago thankfully, though we have to turn the sound down on the telly as they put the most ghastly background music on the tape!

Thanks again for being so friendly.

Juliet .

[FILM THURSO]

Hey Juliet, Some very good advice here. whatever you do, DON'T DISPOSE OF THE ORIGINAL FILMS! Even though you have them on video the original movies will outlast any modern transfer so always keep the originals. They are best stored in a cool dry envirorment preferrably in airtight cans or sealable bags.
No matter what format they are they will still be playable long into the future. Not only that, whilst a treasure record of your family they are also an important record of everyday life at the times in which they were filmed. At Film-Thurso we always recommend that people keep hold of all their original films and photographs for historical reasons as well as their durability. Keep those preciuos originals.

[Brian Saberton]

Just a bit of nostalgia, but my first Super 8 camera was a Yashica. The model was an electro 8 LD6 and one of the features was a limited backwind facility that enabled you to do a lap dissolve in the camera (something of an obsession with super 8 users at the time). It could also do fades but beyond these gimmicks it was in fact a very good camera with a pretty high quality lens and I still have it in my collection of old equipment. I agree with Dave though - whilst the camera is now worth virtually nothing, the films will always have a high personal value

[Blue Audio Visual]

Hi all.

I'm interested in buying Super 8 cameras.

Roy - What do you have for sale? Let me know and I may make an offer.

They are best stored in a cool dry envirorment preferrably in airtight cans or sealable bags.

This is most definitely NOT the best practice: acetate films as used for home-movies should be stored in ventilated containers to prevent "vinegar syndrome".

Thanks,

Bart

[FILM THURSO]

Really! Something we must have missed when we asked a major archive about it. Our Nitrate films are holding up realy well too!

[Blue Audio Visual]

There is an ENORMOUS body of information out there attesting to the truth of what I am saying.

I have no experience with Nitrate film, so I won't comment. With Poly based film such as one might find many commercial prints on, I'm sure that you may well be correct.

However sealing in acetate based films (e.g. nearly all Home-Movie stuff with the exception of Fuji Single 8) is a bad idea. Whilst it is true that the major cause of deterioration is the temperature that films are stored at, unventilated storage of acetate films is also known to be a contributing factor to breakdown of the film base. An alternative is to store the film in a sealed container with a molecular sieve, something you did not suggest.

A film archive can afford to keep their stuff in a temperature controlled environment. If it is cool enough, then the effects of unventilated storage may be not all that significant.

In a normal domestic situation this simply isn't going to happen: the films will be put in a box under a bed, or back up in the attic etc. and people are unlikely to invest in molecular sieves (or even know what they hell they are) or other such technology. They are certainly not going to start stuffing their fridge or freezer full of old family movies in airtight cans or sealable bags.

So I stand by what I said - your advice is incorrect I'm afraid, certainly for a normal person who wants to preserve their home-movies.

[FILM THURSO]

Well we never suggested the stupid idea of putting films in the attic or freezer (although unused films can definately be stored there if still SEALED funnily enough). The attic is certainly a very bad place for film. Video and other magnetic media will also suffer up there and similar in the basement but you are not entirely correct I'm afraid.
Vinigering can spread to the next film when a can is unsealed or not air tight. Most modern homes are capable of holding sustained temperatures suitable for film preservation. Most film regardless of plastic type will last for over 100 years but it's survival is more often than not an issue of circumstance.
The ability of each film to survive depends on the quality of it's batch. Our collection of films in all types has newer films with faded emulsions whilst older films are holding up better. We have no vinigering in any of our stock and our earliest acetate stock dates from 1935. Our nitrate stock contains an original 1922 print which is in superior condition to a documentary from the 1950s which we have.
Regardless of the way a film is stored the technique is only delaying the inevitable and while we don't encourage any storage that is to the detriment of a film, the harsh reality is that in the future that film will eventually be lost.
Similarly some people don't know how to even use a film nevermind understand how to preserve a film and to that end all this info is quite useless. Many people have their films transferred to video or dvd then rashly throw away the original. We encountered an instance where an 8mm film which required attention to its joins, was binned after the person had made a very bad video transfer. We've made many copies of that film and done as much as we can to retrieve a usable picture but ultimately it's never going to be as good as what went in the bin.
Options for preservation are at best the reprinting of the original film which of course, no matter how well done, will be not quite as good due to grain-to-grain loss but it will sustain the availability of the material. For the domestic owner that means running the original only when there is a need for a new video or dvd so as to put the wear and tear on the copy.
The method of preservation will ultimately depend on a number of factors and no one method is so precisely right as the film will have the final say in the matter. Plastic is organic at source and therefor it will eventually disolve.

Even archives have film breaking down in their vaults!

[Blue Audio Visual]

We have no vinigering in any of our stock and our earliest acetate stock dates from 1935.

In that case your collection of films is exceptional were that statement to be true. Purchase some A-D strips as that is the only way to tell for sure, you can't rely on sniffing it etc. It is highly unlikely that you have no vinegaring whatsoever.

Most modern homes are capable of holding sustained temperatures suitable for film preservation.

Temperature optimal for film preservation and those optimal for human comfort are entirely different.

The best advice IMHO to give out to normal people would be to store acetate films in ventilated containers in cool dry rooms with good airflow. It is impractical to expect people to be able to store their films in a optimal archival environment at home.

[FILM THURSO]

Blue, you argued like this in a previous thread. We are not interested in you cause to be absolutely right. Our statements are true. We've been in the business for 25 years and after this long we are still open to differing views and even the possability of being wrong. However in view of the fact that our collections are holding up nicely whilst taking on board your thoughts regarding preservation, our regular checks of all our film shows us that the method of storage is working for us and major archives have not found fault with our arrangements. We therfor feel asured that our method is suitable for film preservation. If it comes as any consulation, we always recommend regular checks at least on a monthly basis. As this requires the films to be opened that would constitute ventilation. Please relax and understand that those precious films have far more chance in modern homes than they did in the homes they were when they new.

[Blue Audio Visual]

With all due respect I think that you have failed to understand the point that I have been trying to make.

I'm sure that you keep your films preserved in an exemplary fashion. I am not questioning the practices at your institution.

Your original comments were directed towards Juliet. In my opinion the advice you gave her was poor and generally unsuitable to give out to the general public who may have little or no knowledge of film preservation.

we always recommend regular checks at least on a monthly basis. As this requires the films to be opened that would constitute ventilation.

You did not make this point when you advised Juliet in the first post. In fact you have only mentioned it after I bought up the fact that enclosing acetate films is a bad idea.

I don't feel the need to prove myself right constantly. It was you who reacted to my original post in a sarcastic and unnecessarily brusque manner. I'm afraid to say my friend that it is you who can't stand being told that they are wrong...

This is a discussion forum. It would be a poor venue for the interchange of ideas if people always agreed with each other 100%

[FILM THURSO]

You did question our practices flatly refuting the advice given stating that it was completely wrong. The advice given for Julie films was fine because it is suitable for domestic film storage.
This has gotten tedious now.