WHICH SUPER-8 PROJECTORS TO BUY? A HIGH QUALITY SILENT ONE (Addendum of 10 parts series)

In this Addendum of the series of 10 articles "Which Super-8 projector to buy?", I write about a good compact silent projector for these days when you don´t need a sound projector, but rather a small machine to see your recently processed films with high quality, without scratching the films.   

Sometimes, when I process by myself a S8 film, I cannot resist the temptation to watch it without waiting for the emulsion to be completely hard. To do this, I need a small projector,  kind with films for scratch-free projection, but at the same time capable of providing great picture quality. 

I rule out sound projectors because, for this use, they are large, require a lot of white tail because the film path in the projector is very long, which, even in film-friendly machines, is not convenient for a recently processed film,  with the emulsion still soft ("green films", as they are know in Spain).

Discarding sound projectors, I carefully studied silent projectors. I discarded many because most of them have either only 1 toothed wheel or even none at all! This is not good when projecting recently processed films.

The silent projector I recommend is the following:

NORIS SUPER8 T

Finally, I opted for the small Noris in its Super8 T version because it has several advantages that convince me:

1) Two metallic toothed wheels (in further versions of this machine the wheels are made of nylon, no good for me);

2) Unthreading the film in seconds;

3) Pressure in the lamp side;

4) Stroboscope for precise speed control using rheostat;

5) Economical and durable two-pin 12V 100W lamp, with a metal reflector in the projector itself (I can buy this lamp in a lot of shops locally in my city in Spain).

6) Automatic anti-heat filter, at speeds less than 12 frames per second;

7) Perfect picture freeze;

8) Easily foldable lens holder for film channel cleaning. The size for the lens holder is the European standard of 32.5 mm, so I easily replaced the excellent original Schneider with a huge and wonderful Eumig Suprogon f 1-0 18-28 mm

9) Projection window a little larger than the norm, which allows you to see image areas hidden in other projectors.

10) Very compact size of the machine, with a box to store it.

My highest recommendation for those occasions when you do not need a sound projector but a device to project with great quality, extremely careful with the films and that takes up little space (note: some custom-made improvements, using Fumeo rollers, were made by my friend José Manuel)

Other friend Patrick, from Holland,  also modified his Noris, in his case, to project feature films:

Originally published in SilverGrain Classics

Part 1 of 10, click here

Part 2 of 10, click here (compact super-8 projectors with fast pull down: Fujicascope SD Auto, Bauer T450, Bauer T430, Silma 90 Stereo, Noris 512)

Part 3 of 10, click here (great stereophonic projectors for small pockets: Fujicascope SD15, Yelco 630, Porst 215)

Part 4 of 10, click here (good mid range projectors: Elmo ST1299HD 2 tracks, Elmo GS800 Stereo, Fujicascope SH9, Sankyo 800, Yelco 810 MT Quartzmatic)

Part 5 of 10, click here (the best projectors with rear built-in screens)

Part 6 of 10, click here (Rear sprung pressure : Braun Visacustic, Beaulieu Studio Stereo, Heurtier, Noris, Agfa Sonector S) 

Part 7 of 10, click here  (The steampunk projector: Heurtier Stereovox) 

Part 8 of 10, click here (The best of the Eumig (938, 940) and Noris (342, 4100) range) 

Part 9 of 10, click here (projectors in the premium class category for the keen ciné enthusiast, as the Fujicascope SH30, Fujicascope SD25, the Bauer Studio range of projectors, the Elmo GS1200, the Beaulieu Studio, the Fumeo 9119 and the Braun Visacustic 2000)

Part 10 of 10, click here  (about Super-8 projectors for professional use in commercial theaters, capable of projecting in screens of 6 meters (20 ft) or more of wide, even at a great distance, at quality levels that touch the physical limits of the Super-8 system: Elmo GS1200 Xenon, Fumeo 9145 Xenon 500, Beaulieu Studio HTI250, Fumeo 9143 HTI250).

Addendum (about a compact-sized, kind with film, high-quality silent projector). There are days when you don't need a sound projector, but rather a small machine to see our recently processed films with high quality, without do scratches on films.

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