Ektachrome 100D - Jumpy Footage, Faulty cartridge?

Chris Smart · August 23, 2022

Hello!

I've been shooting Super8 for about a year now after playing around with regular 8mm since 2019. I recently ran into an issue with one cartridge of Ektachrome 100D. I'm shooting with a serviced Nizo S8T and I'm pretty sure it's not a camera issue but I don't have enough experience with Super8 to say that with full confidence. The reason why i think it was the cartridge is because I shot with another roll of Ektachrome 100D a week later and that footage did not have any issues. The problem I'm seeing is severe image jittering and jumping. Could this be caused by a lack of lubrication inside the cartridge or the film just being wound too tight inside? Anything I should look for before Insert the cartridge?

Looking for any tips or tricks to help prevent this from happening!

Thanks!

Simon Wyss · August 24, 2022

Do you know whether the take-up drive of the camera was well taken care of? The film run with the Super-8 system is a floating affair in which a correct pull from the take-up core is crucial. Kodak uses the same thickness base as ever but a stiffer triacetate. With lame-ish cameras problems occur. I’d advise to go back to Double-Eight.

Chris Smart · August 24, 2022

Thank you for the reply, Simon! I was afraid someone might say that. I will never stop shooting Double-Eight, I love it, I just really appreciate the ease and convenience of shooting Super-8 in a run'n gun situation. This camera had a full CLA and has been delivering pretty good footage prior and after this instance. Was just curious if anyone else has experienced this before. This is my first Super8 camera.

Tyler Purcell · August 24, 2022

I shot a 12 roll doc with Ektachrome Super 8 last year, it was jumpy as all heck, but I attributed that to my camera having an issue. I did fix the camera and the problem went away. The takeup speed was high for some reason. I figured when I re-built it, I somehow damaged a switch. Non sound super 8 cameras, don't have this problem. But Sound cameras, can increase the speed when running sound film. Sometimes those switches get stuck.

Chris Smart · August 25, 2022

Oh very interesting, thanks for the info! My collection of working Regular 8mm cameras has almost reached its limit so I'm starting to look for more reliable Super 8 cameras. Knowing that sound cameras could potentially increase the jitter/jumpy image problem, this is good to know.

Thanks!