Saturday, 24 April 2010

New Old Stock Chinon 8mm Movie Cameras,

New Old Stock Chinon 8mm Movie Cameras

Chinon Zoom 8
Jack Berg Sales is a wholesale liquidation company that offers a variety of strange electronic gadgets from the 1960s and 1970s. We first mentioned them several of years ago, and RT co-author Bohus just reminded me of their existence. Their prices are incredibly steep, but where else are you going to find brand new 8-track stereos with stacking turntables these days?
One device in particular caught my attention: A brand new Chinon Zoom 8 Movie Camera from 1963. It features a Chinon 9.5-30mm f/1.8 zoom lens, electric eye exposure and runs on 4 x AA batteries. This camera is several years older than Kodak's Super 8 cartridge format and uses "Regular 8" film on tiny 25-foot reels (available from John Schwind's International Film, prices start at about $10 for B&W). Strangely, it's mis-classified under "Video Equipment."