Projector Photo Gallery
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The "H" (pic 1 below) for some reason never seems to have been as popular as the 200B, despite having the same claw as the Super Vox, notable for its gentle treatment of films. I've worked on several; the problem seems to be that the drive inside the mechanism is geared and sounds a bit grinding, not helped by the lack of any rubber feet. Its steel pressing construction doesn't help to give the impression of quality.
Hard to say that the Lux is any more than a curiosity. It has lots of Mazac problems; you can see the motor on one has been replaced by what looks like a Specto motor. The gate also tended to disintegrate, warp or jam, until the introduction of a steel gate in the YC model, also identifiable by its larger, 200B size lamphouse and top. The notching mechanism, small lamphouse (and thus low light output) and lack of sprockets were already anachronisms when it was introduced, although higher-powered modern tungsten halogen lamps can deliver better light. The problem is more light equals more heat and more heat fries the notched titles (of which one sees countless examples), which undermines the whole point of the Lux. Nonetheless, it has been highly regarded in the 9.5 cine world; however, the only realistic way to have more light and still not burn titles is a sprocketed machine with a complex mechanism for dropping a heat filter into place at titles, which only the Bolex PA/DA models do.
The Specto is generally regarded as one of the best silent machines for 9.5 and, converted to tungsten halogen (or even HID) lighting and with 800/900ft arms, is still an excellent machine. Many 8mm zoom lenses can be used in place of the rather slow original.
The Specto was produced in Standard 8mm, 9.5mm 16mm and also 9.5/16 and 8/16 versions, all pretty much the same mechanically. Standard 8 machines wre rendered obsolescent by Super 8 and so were often little used and have survived in excellent condition. The common mechanicals mean one can transplant the necessary bits from a cosmetically-challenged 9.5mm machine and end up with a new-looking machine, as in pic2 above.
The Specto also had a unique variant, only on 16mm. This was the Analyser, the principle ability of which was running at 0, 2 or 16fps. It developed over time, with other features such a single-frame advance, backwind and remote control. This required some complex mechanics and electrics super-added to the basic machine. Nowadays, they are just a curiosity, but they were used by the armed forces eg for analysing the effectiveness of air tactics and gun-fire. By the time the development reached its ultimate expression in the machine in pic 3, all sense of tasteful colour schemes had obviously gone. Salmon pink and dark blue! Really? Quite what these late machines were used for I still can't tell you, because I would then have to kill you.
The Vox was a revelation when 9.5 sound burst onto the UK scene in 1938 (having been introduced in France the year before). The "S" silent projector had already appeared, with various giveaways like the sound loop guide and fixed 24fps capability that, at least in retrospect, made clear what was about to happen. Later, the Super Vox appeared, with a more powerful lamp and weighing even more than the hefty Vox. The only pic of a complete Super Vox I seem to have is pic 3, with the amp disconnected. The series had a final fling in France with a 16mm version. These machines are still capable of excellent performance when retro-fitted with tungsten halogen lighting, a better lens (eg the old-series B&H) and a photo-diode or solar cell. "Wow" is the main problem, due in part to having only two sprockets but also, I think, to the relatively small diameter main drive shaft which terminates in the lower sprocket. It isn't supported well enough, and therefore bends, and the addition of an extra point bearing outside the sprocket on the Super Vox didn't really fix it.
The Super Vox in pic 4 has been adapted as mentioned above. It never did have an amp; I got it for my 21st birthday and Peter Leverington undid some turns of the main 31 volt lamp tranny and fitted a 24v halogen lamp for me. I tried various lamps, including the 24v 250w dichroic, but that seemed to me to make the whole machine too hot, so I stuck with the "peanut" type. A photodiode feeds sound to an external pre-amp and amp. In France (pic 5) there was a 16mm version
The first picture of the Gem is one of my favourites, taken with huge amounts of light as well as flash; the b/w one is a McKee pic and the other was playing with colour. The Gem is one of the best-looking 9.5 machines, a sort of late Art Deco job. However, as I was dismantling it on acquisition, as I usually try to do, I was simultaneously stripping down a Eumig P8 to steal the transformer and any other bits of use (for instance, the lamp mirror can, with a bit of work on its mount, fit a 17.5 Home Talkie). One of the principal reasons for the demise of 9.5 was very apparent; the Gem was over-simplified, mechanically crude and, I thought, poorly engineered, whereas the P8 was a complex and solidly-built piece of engineering. I do not know why Pathescope were unable to make a financial go of things even when producing such cheaply-made machines. Were they particularly inefficient, or what?
To show I am not totally biased in favour of 9.5, here is another of my favourite projectors. The B&H 606H on the left looks just right and is a great colour. Its predecessor, the 606, was a dull brown and generally less elegant. I have to say, I think the idea of B&H using a mechanical friction brake to control the speed, which I think is true of all the 8 & 16 machines of this style, is a bit crude compared to the rest of the engineering.
A really gorgeous-looking 8mm machine is the Bolex M8R. It has been described as possibly the best Standard 8 projector. For some obscure reason, Bolex did a version of this in that horrid, drab olive green. Mad. Next is the later 18.5, with it's special low-speed capability and finally yet another looker, the Eumig P28. This as can be seen is avariant of the Eumig Super which appeared on both 16 and 9.5, but in a striking colour and with a few extra bells and whistles.
Earlier 16mm projectors are nice , too. I have a soft spot for the old GB L516, and I have acquired a number of them, partly for spares but mostly because I really dislike the thought of such superb machinery just going to the tip. They can be a bit noisy, but that's not really the point, is it? In the same way, I find the old B&H machines hard to resist, even if I can never tell what model they are. Some of them also have very useful, high-power transformers that I use to power all my 110 volt machines, and the speakers are first class. Two examples are shown above of the early type of B&H semi-professional machines; the family resemblance to the silent machines is obvious and they used the same basic mech. B&H later took the rare step of completely re-designing their basic mechanism.
Another good-looking 16mm machine is the Ampro Stylist (pic 4). It's never quite worked for me, but it is undeniably attractive. So far I have come across a brown one and a grey/silver one. There was also a Stylist Major, tho' I've not actually seen one. Actually, I think I prefer the previous model, the Premier (pic 2). I saw one once at the old Buckingham Movie Museum , and always hankered after one, tho' it took me until 2005 to actually get one (the wonders of ebay). I also acquired recently a silent Ampro which, lo and behold, has exactly the same basic mech as the later sound machines. Some theatrical 35mm machines did the same, only in a more extreme way, in that sound heads were completely separate, often made by a different company and interchangeable.
Moving on to more modern machines for a moment, here are two of my Xenon machines, the Elmo GS 1200 (right) for 8mm, and the Elf EX2000A for 16mm. I got this in the first place because my CRT video projector was delivering brighter and whiter pictures than a 16mm machine with the standard 24v 250w dichroic. Can't be doing with that sort of thing. With a really good 8mm print (and why they can't all be like that I don't know), like The Lion King, the results are stunning. I nearly always find 16mm a disappointment; there are so many poor prints and dupes and so much dross among the titles.
This is the Elmo ST1200 HD. There is a school of thought that says the ST1200 does most of what the GS1200 does, without all the complexity and at a much cheaper price.........
On the modern front, the best thing that happened to 9.5 for many years was
the appearance of the Buckingham Elf conversions (editors, too). They have transformed 9.5 sound and Tony Reypert deserves great credit for single-handedly doing more for our hobby than most of the rest of us put together. Not being one for moderation, I naturally bought two. And a Xenon. A fourth I sold on.