SUPER 8MM FOCUS & AUTO FOCUS

[Dominic Haydn Rawle]

Ehat are the best auto focus super 8mm cameras and why?

[Martin Baumgarten]

They all are about on par with each other.  The auto focus systems were primitive to anything today.  Most used a contrast comparative system using a split rangefinder type setup.  These usually worked well in bright light, but struggled in low light.  Bell & Howell, Chinon, Elmo and Canon had the best ones, but perhaps Canon's and Elmo's were the better ones, slightly.  The other issue is, these systems were on late model versions in which the cameras have other nonfunctional issues, with either the drive or exposure systems.......since by lightening the camera's weight with plastics, they were made quite cheap.  Of course, there are a variety of opinions from those that actually owned and used some of these cameras.  As with anything, if you purchased one and it worked well, and you were happy with it, despite it's limitations, that was all that mattered. If you can find a working camera today with auto-focus, it's a bit on the rare side.