USING AN EXTERNAL LIGHT METER WITH MY SUPER8

[Richard Rivera]

Hi:

 

I have a Sankyo XL-40S super eight camera (4 of them) and I've decided to shoot using the newer super 8 stocks.

 

My question is, is there a kodachrome 40 equivalent I can use without having to worry about adjusting my f-stop?

 

also, when using newer reversal film stocks (not designed for older super camera) how should I compensate with my light meter? I'd like to use Kodak super8 reversal black and white 7266.

 

With no guillotine shutter, and having a prism I assume I'm losing some portion of light and should compensate?

 

Any feedback would be appreciated.

 

Thanks

Rich

Union City, NJ

[jon lawrence]

Hi:

 

I have a Sankyo XL-40S super eight camera (4 of them) and I've decided to shoot using the newer super 8 stocks.

 

My question is, is there a kodachrome 40 equivalent I can use without having to worry about adjusting my f-stop?

 

also, when using newer reversal film stocks (not designed for older super camera) how should I compensate with my light meter? I'd like to use Kodak super8 reversal black and white 7266.

 

With no guillotine shutter, and having a prism I assume I'm losing some portion of light and should compensate?

 

Any feedback would be appreciated.

 

Thanks

Rich

Union City, NJ

 

With no guillotine shutter, and having a prism I assume I'm losing some portion of light and should compensate?

 

I have a canon 1014xl which has a split prism view finder and at eats up at least 1 stop. You also have to take into account the camera's shutter angle. The XL in the camera's name stands for eXtra Light which usually means that the shutter angle will be around 220 degrees. Most light meters measure for a 180 degrees shutter angle which means you would have to rate your film 1/3 faster on your meter (or 1/3 slower if your camera's shutter angle is 150).

A good start may be to shoot a roll of film using both the camera's internal meter (if it works) and an external one, taking note of the readings. A good choice would be Kodaks 64t as most cameras can recognise it and there's no need for telecine to see your results. If the images are exposed correctly using the camera's internal meter then you will know how much you need to compensate using your external meter and you can shoot any stock you wish.