Nikon R8 Built-In Filter

[Raffinator]

I just purchased my first Super 8 Camera, a Nikon R8!

 

I shoot mostly student stuff on 16mm where everything is manual, so all these

Super 8 automated functions have been a bit bewildering to me.

 

There is a built in filter on the R8 that I am assuming is an 85 for converting

daylight into tungsten. I need to displace this filter, using a filter key plate, when

I shoot with tungsten light.

 

My question is this: does the built in light meter compensate for the exposure

difference when using a filter? and if so, does it then "not" compensate when I

use the filter key plate to displace this filter (shooting indoors with tungsten light, p.e.)

 

I should probably just meter everything by hand anyway.

 

Also, if I am using a daylight negative stock, will the film cartridge "tell" the camera

that I am using daylight balanced film, or would I have to displace the filter?

 

Or maybe would it be better to always "displace" the built in filter and use

a good quality glass filter in front of the lens? ( I am assuming that the built in

filter is gelatin)

 

As you can see, I am thoroughly confused.

 

Any info would be greatly appreciated!

 

Raffi Kondy

[Chris Keth]

I'd just meter manually outside of the camera's system, personally. Is the filter removable? Built in filters would be a really odd way to build a camera, for just the reason's you mention.

[Raffinator]

The filter is not removable. I did some research and it looks like most Super 8

cameras were created with built in filters, except the professional ones, of course.

This seems to be because the only films available for super 8 were the kodachrome

reversal films (tungsten), and since shooting outdoors is the most common form,

it made sense to have the filter in place as the standard setting on these cameras.

 

The unfortunate thing is that if you shoot indoors with the kodachrome stock, and you obviously

don't want to use the filter you have to "displace" the filter with this filter key,

which looks kind of like a little bottle opener, and probably gets lost just as easily.

You stick it in a slot on the top of the camera, and viola, no filter.

 

Anyway, I pride myself on taking my own readings, so I won't be relying on the internal

metering system, unless of course I just want to pick up some quick footage in a "run and gun"

type of situation.

 

Raffi Kondy

[Matt Pacini]

R-8, great camera.

I have an R-10, which is the same camera, but with a 7-80 zoom.

 

Anyway, you should be able to defeat the 85 filter in the camera by shoving a quarter in the filter slot on the top of the camera (assuming that you don't own the filter key).

 

The problem with using an external light meter with Super 8 cameras, is that 99.999% of Super 8 cameras use a beam splitter for the viewfinder, which steals a bit of exposure. (I think the Beaulieu's are the only cam that doesn't).

The internal camera's lightmeter compensates for this so as long as it's in working order, it's probably going to be more accuate than an external meter, which of course, sounds heretical to say.

(I learned this the hard way when I got back some underexposed film).

 

If I had to guess, I'd say with the R-8 you're losing about 1/2 a stop or so, so as long as you figure that in your metering, you should be OK.

 

Matt Pacini

[Rick Palidwor]

The R8 is a great camera, as is the R10. I would trust the internal meter. It gives you T-stops instead of F-stops.

 

The built-in filter is an 85A and is not always the best choice - for e.g. the Ektachrome VNF requires an 85B filter. You are better off to use a nice glass filter that screws on to the front of the lens in all cases.

 

On standard colour cartridges there is a small notch in the bottom right corner. On b&w cartridges this notch is not there, causing the b&w cartridge to depress a small pin in the film compartment which disables the built-in filter for b&w shooting. To know if your daylight negative cartridge disables the filter, look to see if there is a small notch there (I have not shot this film so don't know what the cartridge looks like). But regardless, you are better off to permanently disable that built-in filter and then filter your shots at the front of the lens as required.

 

Back to the internal meter for a second, while I always trust my internal meters I have found that they are often slightly biased toward overexposure (to compensate for the notorious backlit-silhouetted amateur home-movies) so we set the compensation dial to minus 1/2 for all our readings and we get better results - at least with the reversal films, where a slight underexposure is better than a slight overexposure.

 

Rick

[Raffinator]

Thanks for the info guys! Very helpful.

 

I just bought a cartridge of Kodachrome 40, so what I will

probably do is a simple exposure test: shoot a grey card using

the internal spot meter on the R8, then shoot the card at an exposure

according to my own meter and watch the difference when I project it.

 

(Theoretically I should be able to tell the difference according to the readings, but we all

know that meters are all a bit different, especially one on a twenty plus year

old camera.)

 

Maybe I will do a test using the internal 85 versus a glass 85 over the lens, too.

 

The whole "notch" concept bothers me, but I have to remember that these cameras

were created for people who were using them on vacations, weddings and family

re-unions, and did not want to bother calculating anything (especially after downing

a few).

 

Raffi