Beaulieu Nightmare! Please Help!

[BonnutFilmStudio]

The worst possible thing happened today. I was loosening my tripod, lost grip and the my Beaulieu 6008s toppled over landing on it's lens. I test the motor and all functions and everything seemed fine but then I looked through diopter and it looks really fuzzy like portions of the viewing area have been fudged out. The top left corner of the frame and vertical portion on the right side are fine. But the rest of the frame is fudged out, I'd say about 85%. I have never in the past had any kind of field damage or accidents before and my first one happened on my prize S-8 camera.

I took it to a camera place and they said it may be an issue inside the lens but when I detached the lens and looked through the body itself, it seemed that that same fudgy area was still there. It looks as though something is dirty and needs to be wiped but I don't want to run any risks on wiping those mirrors unless I thought it would be the right decision. I really have never seen this before as I've never ever damaged any of my cameras in the 15 years that I've been shooting S-8.

Has anyone seen this before? Is my camera a paperweight? Is the cost of repair waay to high? I paid about $800 for this camera. Also the drop was about 2.5 feet and landed on the lens.

It would mean the world to me if you could get some good news, but really feedback in general is really appreciated.

[Davideo]

Have it professionally repaired. Send it to Marvin Meister at Photo Center:

(323) 653-6688
7961 Beverly Blvd
Los Angeles, CA 90048

He's been repairing cameras since 1967 and has reasonable rates.

[Scotness]

It could actually be something simple too that you could fix yourself under the right advice- I'd try getting in touch with Bjorn (Sweden) or Milan (Australia) - I think they're the only two licensed Beaulieu agents in the world -- if you PM me I can give you Milan's phone number - I think if you search the board you'll find Bjorn's details too

Scot

[BK]

It sounds like a lens in the viewfinder is knocked out of alignment.

Bill

[Nigel]

There are no more 'licensed' Beaulieu agents or service. Beaulieu is dead as a company and has been for quite some time. People may have been agents in the past--but that is the past.

Get in touch with someone that can fix it first and foremost.

Be sure that they are qualified beforehand. There are a hell of a lot of techs out there. Parts will be the hurdle not the worker.

At this point it is all you can do.

Good Luck

[aj]

- I think they're the only two licensed Beaulieu agents in the world --

Scot

Licensed Beaulieu agents? Beaulieu has quit cine cameras 10 year ago. Wittner has bought a/the truckload of parts and seems to own the entitlement to the Beaulieu cine brand.

Most repair people work from parts spenders. For Beaulieu new parts are availble from Wittner. But there are types of parts which they have but don't sell.

[Scotness]

Well maybe licensed isn't the right word - but they were both licensed by Beaulieu when they were still in business - so that's good enough for me now

[richard p. t.]

If the visual defect is just as visable without the lens on, then the problem is with the reflex system in the camear (the mirrors and the viewfinder lens). You can confirm that its the reflex system by putting another c-mount lens on the camera to see how it looks. I think that if a mirror has come loose in the camera it will be easier for a diy-er to fix than if its the lens. but it depends on how valuable you perceive the camera to be. If it is very special to you, get it done professionally. If you are practically minded, (and you have confirmed its the camear reflex system) then unscrew the handle and open the camera and see what you can see.
good luck,
richard

[Jean Poirier]

This link is in French but following the instructions I was able to correct a misaligned viewfinder.
http://fiston.production.free.fr/super8 ... am6008.htm
Your problem seems to be more serious but if you are careful you may be able to see where is the damage.

Good luck. Jean