Scoopic 16m or Kodak Cine Special 2

[Jakyll_k93]

Hello there

I hope this is the right place to post this as I am new here and alittle new to filming. I wanted to ask for advice on a choice i have to buy either a Kodak Cine Special 2 or a Canon Scoopic 16m. My question is for filming which would be better to use they are about the same price but I can see downsides to both.

For the Scoopic I think a downside could be that it seems to have a fixed lens that i cant change out for another which may become more limiting for future en devours.
The Special 2 has the interchangeable lenses which i think could offer alot of freedom for different projects however I don't know what lenses are compatible with it and the price of compatible lenses could be quite pricey.

Both the scoopic and special 2 can film between 12 and 60 FPS however the scoopic seems to have an extra settings called ASA which I must admit I am unfamiliar with.

The Special 2 however has a stop motion setting for clay-mation and animation that the Scoopic from what I can see is unable to do.

Another thing the Special has is masks that could be used to border the image or create effects that the Scoopic doesn't seem to be able to do.

Film can size seems to be in favor of the Scoopic. From what I can tell the scoopic does have a 400 foot film can that can be attached to the camera along with standard 100 foot rolls that its built with. The special 2 has only 100 and 200 foot canisters that I can seem to find and as far as i can tell 200 foot rolls arn't made anymore so the 200 foot can is only half useful. The one thing the Special does have for a leg up against the Scoopic is that the Special has quick change film canisters that can be changed out in seconds where the Scoopic seems to be minutes.

Finally the Biggest thing is if one of the cameras break. The scoopic seems recent enough that it should be easy enough to fix if it gets damaged. The Special 2 however seems to be somewhat rare to where if it gets damaged I could be S.O.L. entirely.

I would very much like some help on deciding between the two.

 

[webestang64]

I personally have no experience with those cameras. When I was looking for info on a Beaulieu 16mm camera I got good info from here.....

Cinematography.com

 

[compur]

"ASA" means film speed. Same as ISO today.

Though the Scoopic has a fixed lens it is a zoom with macro capability and wide focal length range. The Kodak can use interchangeable lenses but they have a special mount for this camera and are scarce and difficult to find.

There is no such thing as a professional film camera that is easy to repair. Best advice here is: Don't drop it.

The Canon can do single frame exposures.

Here are their manuals:

https://ia601605.us.archive.org/19/items/CineKodakSpecialIICamera1956/Cine Kodak Special II Camera (1956).pdf

https://www.zachpoff.com/site/wp-content/uploads/Canon-Scoopic-16M-Manual-ocr-web.pdf

 

[Dave442]

I took a dozen or so film classes with 8mm back in the 70's. We always had half the cameras broken down.

That Canon uses a rechargeable battery and that may be an issue in finding some current batteries that fit, something to check out before buying.

Film lengths of 100 ft shouldn't be a problem, it's rare to do a long take, although a couple scenes in "The Post" started to have that Alfred Hitchcock feel.

Most of the time is then spent splicing, and we always had one splicer that worked and one broken.

 

[compur]

I live near the Echo Park Film Center which gives low cost (and some free) classes in film and video. They even teach how to process your own movie film.

From their web site:
"Learn how to develop your own black and white 16mm and Super 8 footage in buckets and Lomo tanks using eco-friendly ingredients such as coffee, beer, wine, cola, fruit, flowers and more!"

It's a very friendly, cheerful place. I've never taken any of their classes but once a year they have a "yard sale" where they sell assorted film gear at very cheap prices. I guess the stuff is donated or maybe just abandoned or whatever. I've given them some movie cameras and gotten some great bargains there over the years.

 

[Jamesaz]

I've used the cine special for industrial time lapse. For that purpose they worked well.

 

[Jakyll_k93]

I live near the Echo Park Film Center which gives low cost (and some free) classes in film and video. They even teach how to process your own movie film.

From their web site:
"Learn how to develop your own black and white 16mm and Super 8 footage in buckets and Lomo tanks using eco-friendly ingredients such as coffee, beer, wine, cola, fruit, flowers and more!"

It's a very friendly, cheerful place. I've never taken any of their classes but once a year they have a "yard sale" where they sell assorted film gear at very cheap prices. I guess the stuff is donated or maybe just abandoned or whatever. I've given them some movie cameras and gotten some great bargains there over the years.

They wouldnt happen to have a branch near Reading Pa. if they do i would love to go take some lessons

Also to close this out I went with the Cine Special 2