Look what I found in a junk shop

[Chris Dodkin]

Walking through a junk store in the middle of Arizona last week with SWMBO, I stumbled across this beauty.

It is a Eumig 8mm film camera - the C3R 'Continental' - from 1958.

This is a 'clockwork' silent movie camera, with rotatable lens turret - giving you the ability to rotate in a wide angle or telephoto lens to suit each shot. Each lens has an adapter that sits in front of the optical viewfinder, giving you the correct field of view each time.

Lens optics are:

Eumigon 1:1.9, 12,5mm,
Eumacro een 2,0 x
Eumicron 0,5x

It's built like a tank, and as far as I can tell, it still works - it winds and runs like it's new, and you can set the film speed in FPS using a small dial on the side.

It has manual aperture adjustment via a sliding lever next to the main lens, and a full time 'electric eye' light meter in the viewfinder for accurate exposure.

It came with a case, manuals, and 2 unopened rolls of Kodak 8mm film (expiry date May 1971)

Princely sum of $50 to me

When launched, this camera cost £84 17s. 3d

I just love the retro look and feel - and it reminds me so much of the later Eumig model my granddad used, and later gave to me.

 

[Pete Askew]

Wow, and the lenses look in pretty good nick as well. I started with a Russian cine camera with a similar spec but I bet the lenses on this one would have wiped the floor with it. So, what's the first movie gonna be then?!!

 

[Chris Dodkin]

Pete - I gave the camera and lenses a good clean - not sure how good the optics are, and won't be able to tell until I put film in it I guess.

I'm thinking an 8mm silent movie down at the pier and beach - surfing USA - nice and retro.

 

[Pete Askew]

Sounds good. Did you ever look at the movies that Phil Holland has on his site http://www.phfx.com/ - there's a couple with a similar theme and with some really nice cuts. He doesn't appear to have stayed though which is a shame.

 

[Darren Bradley]

I Look forward to seeing the film!

 

[Pete Askew]

Will there be popcorn?!

 

[Thomas brookes]

That is stunning !!!!! What a great find!!!!!!

 

[Chris Dodkin]

I checked online last night, for suppliers of 8mm film, labs that will dev it, and services which will scan the film to disc.

It's all do-able - but each roll of film will cost about as much to buy/dev/scan as the camera cost!

 

[Chris Dodkin]

Also looked closely at my new purchase, and it appears to have a US (Unimark) version of the wide and tele lenses - These look visually different to all the European versions I've seen in photos online, and the 2x looks to be a fixed focus lens, where as the Euro Eumacro version had a small focus ring and focus distance markings on it - as here:

Photo courtesy of Limousin 33

Unimark looks to be the US importer of Eumig, based on some old ads I've seen from that period - so maybe they did a US version.

I'm wondering how the fixed focus tele will work though - I can see the wide not needing any focus, but a 2x tele?

The manual with the camera looks to be describing the Euro model, and specifically reminds the user to focus the tele lens when using it!

 

[Pete Askew]

So a Dodkin remake of The Lord of the Rings might come in a bit pricy then! Still, even Peter Jackson had to start somewhere. And Hollywood is just up the road after all...

It would be nice to see what you could get old of it though. Maybe we should all chip-in!!

 

[Pete Askew]

Or, how about...

https://sites.google.com/site/olexserviceskinor/film-processing ?

 

[Chris Dodkin]

That looks like some crazy home moonshine contraption!

I'll have a go shooting with some film - probably a roll of colour, just to see what the camera can do - have it scanned to disc and then edit it up on the Mac.

50ft of film isn't a very long movie though - even at 16 frames per second (which I've learned is the 'standard' speed for 8mm)

Maybe I should do two rolls together and see if I get a better rate at the dev/scan lab.

 

[Pete Askew]

Then you can have an intermission!! With ice creams and, to keep that vintage feels, a lady selling 'smokes'!

 

[Chris Dodkin]

I want the ice cream mini tubs with the wooden paddle spoons

 

[Tim Pindar]

Chris, as I mentioned on another forum we had a similar Eumig when I was a boy.

I was at my mother's place today and the camera is buried somewhere to be discoverd later. However I did find this, which is what you needed to play the cine films:

There are plenty of films lying around, I'll have a play and see if I can get it to work!

 

[Chris Dodkin]

Tim - that looks mint - nice!

 

[Pete Askew]

Aha, movie nights will soon be on then. Mind we might have to use a web cam so we can all see them!!

 

[Chris Dodkin]

Just checked online, and that P8m would be new in 1960 - so the same time-frame as my C3R (and your C3 if that's what you have)

Love the industrial design - almost art deco

 

[Tim Pindar]

IT WORKS!!!!

Nice modern car:

This is me!!!!!!!!!

In rewind mode - also showing original instruction book

Seriously, when my 90-year-old mother sees these, she'll be over the moon.

 

[Tim Pindar]

Chris, I think our camera was probably an Agfa - not unlike the one below. I obviously remembered the Eumig name from the projector.