Standard 8 Film Question

Benjamin Clarke · April 7, 2012

I've never screwed around with standard 8mm film before, only 16mm and Super 8, and I'm looking at testing out a few standard 8mm cameras that I have picked up over time.

I always used to load 16mm film in complete darkness, but I hear that isn't needed with standard 8, you only have to be in the shade and it won't affect the film in any way.

Any truth to this?

Richard Tuohy · April 8, 2012

I've never screwed around with standard 8mm film before, only 16mm and Super 8, and I'm looking at testing out a few standard 8mm cameras that I have picked up over time.

I always used to load 16mm film in complete darkness, but I hear that isn't needed with standard 8, you only have to be in the shade and it won't affect the film in any way.

Any truth to this?

Standard 8 film comes on a daylight loading spool - as do the 100' lengths of 16mm. The spool basically prevents light from getting to the film from the sides. However the outer layer or two of film does get fogged when you handle it in the light. As with regular 16mm on 100' spools, you certainly can load standard 8 cameras in subdued light, and most people do (Kodak changed their recomendation to load 100' 16mm rolls 'in subdued light' to say 'load in total darkness' I think because of the emergence of Super 16, where very slight fogging on the non perforation edge of the film would be a problem). I recommend you do, at least the first few times. Yes, the outer layers of the film will be ruined by this process. Also, when you change the spools over when you have shot the first side of the film and re-thread the camera you will again fog that part of the film. So the beginning and the end of each side of the roll will be fogged, creating that classic 'rolling in' and 'rolling out' effect. Once you have done it a few times, loading standard 8 cameras is so easy (with the 25' cameras there is usually no sprocket wheels or anything - just the gate and claw) that you should do it in the dark so as to get the most images out of your roll of film.

cheers,

richard

Benjamin Clarke · April 8, 2012

Standard 8 film comes on a daylight loading spool - as do the 100' lengths of 16mm. The spool basically prevents light from getting to the film from the sides. However the outer layer or two of film does get fogged when you handle it in the light. As with regular 16mm on 100' spools, you certainly can load standard 8 cameras in subdued light, and most people do (Kodak changed their recomendation to load 100' 16mm rolls 'in subdued light' to say 'load in total darkness' I think because of the emergence of Super 16, where very slight fogging on the non perforation edge of the film would be a problem). I recommend you do, at least the first few times. Yes, the outer layers of the film will be ruined by this process. Also, when you change the spools over when you have shot the first side of the film and re-thread the camera you will again fog that part of the film. So the beginning and the end of each side of the roll will be fogged, creating that classic 'rolling in' and 'rolling out' effect. Once you have done it a few times, loading standard 8 cameras is so easy (with the 25' cameras there is usually no sprocket wheels or anything - just the gate and claw) that you should do it in the dark so as to get the most images out of your roll of film.

cheers,

richard

Thanks for the reply, RIchard. And it just so happens that it's nanolab who I was looking at buying some stock from.

Cheers.

Edited April 8, 2012 by Benjamin Clarke

Dom Jaeger · April 8, 2012

Thanks for the reply, RIchard. And it just so happens that it's nanolab who I was looking at buying some stock from.

Cheers.

Good choice! We're lucky to have Nanolab here in the Southern Hemisphere.

The 25 ft spools from Richard are actually a few feet longer than that to accommodate the film lost during loading. I tried some stock from Wittner in Germany and was a bit disappointed to find that they supplied exactly 25 ft..

I'd definitely recommend loading in low light at least the first few times, to see what you're doing. As Richard mentioned, most Standard 8 cameras are pretty simple to load, but there are a few things to watch. It's important to make sure the take-up spool is properly located on the bottom spindle. Standard 8 spools have a 3 key hole on one side and a 4 key hole on the other - on most cameras the take-up spindle takes a spool with the 4 key hole to the bottom. Once you've laced the film, run the camera for a few seconds to check that both spools are turning.

It's not always possible to find total darkness to load in. At 2 minutes or less for each side I find I often need to reload wherever I am, so I have a changing blanket in my car. I've occasionally used a public toilet, but walking into a cubicle with a camera in hand sometimes gets me weird looks.. B) Personally I like the flashes, fade-ins and fade-outs that you get at the start and end of each side, they're like the sign-posts at the borders of an altered reality!

Charlie Peich · April 8, 2012

Personally I like the flashes, fade-ins and fade-outs that you get at the start and end of each side, they're like the sign-posts at the borders of an altered reality!

Exactly! Well said Dom.

How else could we tell when the 50ft roll was half over?