Agfa Movexoom- Why so cheap?

Forum covering all aspects of small gauge cinematography! This is the main discussion forum.

Moderator: Andreas Wideroe

Muckymuck
Posts: 477
Joined: Tue Nov 21, 2006 1:01 am

Agfa Movexoom- Why so cheap?

Post by Muckymuck »

I have seen these cameras sell for £100 plus yet now there are two going for next to nothing.

Is there something inherantly wrong with the model which has just been discovered?

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll? ... &rd=1&rd=1

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll? ... &rd=1&rd=1
User avatar
jpolzfuss
Senior member
Posts: 1657
Joined: Wed Jun 22, 2005 12:16 am

Post by jpolzfuss »

Hi,

those Agfa Movexooms can't auto-exposure the e64t (and most likely the e100d) correctly. Hence you're back to manual exposure or to manually correcting the auto-exposure... . Not to mention that the prices for Super8-cameras have dropped by at least 50% in the last two or three years.

Jörg
This space was left intenionally blank.
User avatar
jpolzfuss
Senior member
Posts: 1657
Joined: Wed Jun 22, 2005 12:16 am

Post by jpolzfuss »

... btw: compare those prices with the prices in the super8wiki... they're still too high (even though that Agfa is rated as a very good camera)...

http://super8wiki.com/index.php/Agfa_Mo ... Electronic

http://super8wiki.com/index.php/Agfa_Mo ... Electronic
This space was left intenionally blank.
Muckymuck
Posts: 477
Joined: Tue Nov 21, 2006 1:01 am

Post by Muckymuck »

Interesting if that is all it is!

I have a Movexoom 6 which cannot do Ektachrome 64T or 100D either but I read that by switching the exposure compensation dial + this setting will expose 100D at 80 ISO (no filter) or Ektachrome 64T (if notched for 160T) at 50 ISO (with filter) and therefore give exposure of just 1/3 f stop over and under respectively.

I tested this a while back- in fact I think I posted it here somewhere- and the results were perfect for both! So it is a myth that these films cannot be used with these cameras!

I might buy myself another then if there's no other problems with them! They have lap-disolve, intervalometer etc you can only get on a Nizo or high end Canon otherwise! :D
aj
Senior member
Posts: 3556
Joined: Thu Oct 02, 2003 1:15 pm
Real name: Andre
Location: Netherlands
Contact:

Re: Agfa Movexoom- Why so cheap?

Post by aj »

Muckymuck wrote:I have seen these cameras sell for £100 plus yet now there are two going for next to nothing.

Is there something inherantly wrong with the model which has just been discovered?
Very beautiful viewfinders on these. Almost like modern high-eyepoint.

The auctions have barely started. Do these end at startprice?
Kind regards,

André
Muckymuck
Posts: 477
Joined: Tue Nov 21, 2006 1:01 am

Post by Muckymuck »

See above Jpolfuzz's link to some others which have gone for only a couple of euros! They do seem to. Funny because I'm sure I saw these go for not much less than Nizos not long ago. That might have been before the end of Kodachrome 40 though...
filmamigo
Posts: 272
Joined: Fri Aug 19, 2005 5:52 pm
Location: Toronto
Contact:

Post by filmamigo »

Let's see what the final bids are.

I bought my Movexoom 10 in March '06. Bidding started low but I paid about $130 IIRC. What I received was an immaculate camera, beautifully built and in as-new condition. I love it, it was worth every penny.

I shoot with an external meter, though I used the internal meter on a roll of Tri-X and it was spot-on.

The Movexoom seems to be an unknown camera over here in the Americas. I researched cameras for a long time, looking for a machine that had the features, lens quality and durability I wanted. The top Canon's seemed great, but they go for a lot of money around here. Market pressure from the US must keep those prices high. Whereas, the Agfa only seems to be known in Europe.

Admittedly, not every Agfa is great, but the Movexoom 6 and 10 seem like world-beaters to me.

I appreciate how electronic the cameras are. Relying on electronic control of stepper motors is a very good design choice. All of the camera's functions should operate with a high degree of accuracy, with less mechanical dependency. So long as the MOS circuits aren't prone to blowing, this camera should be serviceable a very long time.
David W Scott
Producer / Director
"The Behaviour of Houses"
http://www.behaviourofhouses.com
aj
Senior member
Posts: 3556
Joined: Thu Oct 02, 2003 1:15 pm
Real name: Andre
Location: Netherlands
Contact:

Post by aj »

I suppose there is a trimmer inside to adjust the EE system for both ISO rates. Like in the Bauer 715XL or Canon 310XL. Anybody got a clou? Or are the trimmers inside properly labeled?
Kind regards,

André
User avatar
Taqi
Posts: 429
Joined: Tue Sep 16, 2003 4:24 pm
Location: Cayman Islands

Post by Taqi »

This guy says he can adjust:

http://www.film.project-consultant.net/html/agfa.html


The movexoom 6 & 10 are pretty good cameras - well designed, highly spec'ed, good build quality (I read somewhere that they were built in the Nizo factory - dunno whether that is true) and they are usually pretty cheap. Certainly not far short of say a Canon 814 xls
what what
super8man
Senior member
Posts: 3980
Joined: Wed Oct 15, 2003 11:51 pm
Real name: Michael Nyberg
Location: The Golden State
Contact:

Post by super8man »

Personally, I think the bottom is starting to fall out of the market on super 8 cams...all shapes and sizes. Perhaps S8 filmstock sales are down and lethargy in the market is growing at exponential rates?
My website - check it out...
http://super8man.filmshooting.com/
User avatar
jpolzfuss
Senior member
Posts: 1657
Joined: Wed Jun 22, 2005 12:16 am

Post by jpolzfuss »

Taqi wrote:I read somewhere that they were built in the Nizo factory - dunno whether that is true
Several other Agfa-cameras have been built by or in corporation with Minolta (e.g. the Microflex-series). But the Movexoom 6 and 10 have been completely built by Agfa AFAIK. And AFAIK there's no connection between Agfa and Nizo. The only other connection is between Agfa and another company is between Agfa and Elmo: Agfa constructed the viewer for Elmo's Album-system (which is supposed to be compatible to Agfa's Family-system).
BTW: Those very low prices in the Super8wiki are final prices here on eBay Germany!
This space was left intenionally blank.
Muckymuck
Posts: 477
Joined: Tue Nov 21, 2006 1:01 am

Post by Muckymuck »

[quote="super8man"]Personally, I think the bottom is starting to fall out of the market on super 8 cams...all shapes and sizes. Perhaps S8 filmstock sales are down and lethargy in the market is growing at exponential rates?[/quote]

Maybe it is just the time of year? People shoot less super 8 in winter? I know I seem to use several times as much film in the summer.

Or is it that the brief 'revival' of the retro look is over and Super 8 is to be consigned back to the dark days of the 90s with little interest and just a few Kodak stocks available. GK film doesn't seem to be doing much with Cinevia...maybe it just isn't viable for them?

Whatever the case... I'll still be shooting for as long as films are available.
aj
Senior member
Posts: 3556
Joined: Thu Oct 02, 2003 1:15 pm
Real name: Andre
Location: Netherlands
Contact:

Post by aj »

Cinevia is suffering from a nurtured and sustained hype feeling where we are to believe that high demand is exceeding production.

While there actually is a serious human health problem on the production side and a quality problem with the cartridges. Since GK it is a one man's enterprise things are hampered seriously. Production of raw Cinevia is obviously difficult and finding a suitable S8 cartridge in a market with limited numbers of manufacters is understandable difficult too.

So, it is not related to not doing much but more to real life problems.
Kind regards,

André
aj
Senior member
Posts: 3556
Joined: Thu Oct 02, 2003 1:15 pm
Real name: Andre
Location: Netherlands
Contact:

Post by aj »

super8man wrote:Personally, I think the bottom is starting to fall out of the market on super 8 cams...all shapes and sizes. Perhaps S8 filmstock sales are down and lethargy in the market is growing at exponential rates?
The local Amsterdam Cine shop (http://www.parallaxe.nl) is surviving on Super-8 solely. Would it be for the still camera department things would have gone broke a year ago.
Kind regards,

André
woods01
Posts: 822
Joined: Thu Jul 31, 2003 3:09 am
Location: Vancouver

Post by woods01 »

This month is traditionally the slowest time of the year for retail and for
eBay. Everyone blew their wad at Christmas so somethings gotta give.
But if you've got money to spare then happy bidding :)

But I would bet that with k40 gone all the 40/160 asa auto cameras have
shifted from being useable cameras to collector items. Most casual
shooters don't want to shoot Tri-X or 200T in their automatics, they
want colour reversal in my view.
Post Reply