40th Anniversary of Super 8 film

[Tim Tyler]

From its beginnings as the home movie medium of the 1960s, Super 8 film is alive and well and serving a vital segment of today's filmmaking industry.

 

Eastman Kodak Company remains committed to providing Super 8 camera users a range of products and creative choices. As such, Kodak has added a new color reversal film to its Super 8 portfolio -- the super-saturated, fine grain EKTACHROME 64T motion picture film, available in August of this year.

 

"Introduced in 1965, Super 8 film has found new life with each new generation of filmmakers that continue to embrace the format," said Bob Mayson, general manager and vice president for Image Capture products, Entertainment Imaging at Eastman Kodak Company. "Forty years after its introduction, this small-gauge film still provides an easy, inexpensive way for students and enthusiasts to work at film resolutions and color depths as yet unmatched by the latest digital technologies."

 

"In fact, many of today's great cinematographers and directors began their careers decades ago, at the counter of their local photo shop, buying a cartridge of Super 8 film."

 

"That's why Kodak has continued to invest in the Super 8 business," he added. "And we're just thrilled to introduce this vivid, new emulsion to the marketplace. It's a great new product with very high image quality and excellent color reproduction, providing our Super 8 customers another creative tool for their toolbox."

 

The new 64T expands the current Super 8 portfolio that includes two black and white reversal films -- in medium and high speeds covering a range of lighting situations.

 

Super 8 customers will also find latest VISION2 technologies available in 200T and 500T speeds -- incorporating the highest quality images, improved sharpness and grain, along with a full systems approach, optimizing the entire imaging chain.

 

"With Super 8 gates now available for high end scanners, coupled with the VISION2 film technology advancements, Super 8 is what 16mm film used to be," says Mayson. "Super 8 color negative has become another option for professionals with low budgets."

 

As part of the portfolio revamp, Kodak will discontinue sales of its Super 8 Kodachrome film. Final sales of Kodachrome Super 8 will be based on product availability over the coming months. Sales of Kodachrome 16mm film will continue, unaffected by this announcement.

 

The decision to discontinue Kodachrome in Super 8 was driven entirely by marketplace dynamics.

 

"Because the 'home movie' market has shifted to digital, sales of Kodachrome Super 8 film have declined significantly. In tandem with that decline, the availability of processing for Kodachrome Super 8 cartridges has diminished. In other words, fewer and fewer labs worldwide have the machines and the chemistry necessary to process this film emulsion in the Super 8 format," according to Mayson.

 

Kodak will give customers at least a year to process their Kodachrome Super 8 film with Kodak or to seek an alternative.

 

As noted earlier, Kodak remains committed to the Super 8 format, as evidenced by the new film announced today, building on a product line that covers the needs of enthusiasts, from a choice of stocks in negative, Black and White and reversal films. Kodak's intent is to maintain the format as long as it is supported by marketplace conditions.