John Adolfi

Today I got back 5 rolls of Kodachrome Super8 film and all 5 were grainy. Here's what I did to achieve this result. I purchased new fresh Kodachrome film direct from Kodak last month. I kept it in a freezer till the day and thawed it out several hours before shooting. Shot on 3 seperate days. All film was shot on a sunny day exterior. I used 3 cameras, Nizo 801, Nikon R-10 and an Elmo 1012XL-S. When shooting I used the convience of the auto exposure system to determin and shoot with each of the 3 cameras. About an f5.6 most of the time. After I ended shooting each day I boxed up each carton and placed it in the frig not the freezer and waited a week before I sent them to Dwaynes for processing. The only other blimish other than the grain was a brief scene 10-15 seconds where two vertical hair thin red lines appeared like railroad tracks down the center of the frame. Why is my film so grainy? It looks like ASA 160 shot indoors, that is how much grain I achieved. I do not want grain. I need help in analyzing this. I got 5 more rolls to shoot from the same stock and this Sunday I got a script, a crew of people and donuts.

As promised I said I would post my results on the German chrome stabilizer plate. Here was the set up: I used two cameras 1.) Nikon R-10 2.) Elmo 1012XL-S I set up the camera on a tripod and filmed outdoors. The subject was a close up of a film slate. Each take was 9 seconds long with and without the plate using each of the two cameras. I viewed the films on a white wall where the screne was about 18" across on a Bauer T-610. The projector as far as I know is fuctioning perfectly. As I played the film I turned the framing knob so as to see that frame line we normally do not like to see. My Wife was another witness to this experiment. Here is what we both agreed on. Yes there diffently was a noticable difference in picture stability. After viewing it 3 times my Wife and I both thought there was an easy 50% reduction of line jitter. Was the jitter completely eliminated, no but the improvement was enough to make a believer out of me and as I continue to shoot super-8 this will most defineately be a tool I will consistantly use, enough said.

What constitutes "great" Mini DV tape stock. And why? What sould I stay away from, Walmart brand? Radioshack?

I wish I could but I'd need that article to get it all right. It was not difficult but I would need that article. Anyone have the 197778/79 issues of Modern and Popular Photography and help find that 3 part article?

Thank you and which brings up a good question. What constitutes a "good" Mini DV Tape?

And Flying Spot will develop and transfer ASA500 Vision 2 super 8 stock? Where can I by some of it? Who's got the best price? I'm in.

I just ordered 4 rolls {(2) asa25 and (2)asa 200} of film and will be testing it over the next few.

In 1978 while in highschool in phtography class I did very little work due to the distraction of a particular item in class. A stack of photo magazines. I used to read during class the Modern Photography magazine section on super8 filmmaking. I remember there was a 3 part series on how to make 3D movies in super8. Well I fashioned the board base, glued the mirrors on to the hinged bookends and drilled and mounted the metal piece of a the clipboard to the base. Then attaching a screw to the base I attached my camera, adjusted the mirrors and filmmed away. After development I would set my projector up with polarizes lenses in from of the projector and through the same mirror aparateus I projected into it adjusted the mirrors and put muy glasses on and watched "Skinny Vision" in 3-D. Boy I'd like to try it again.

Thanks for responding. My goal as I shoot Super8 is to get the absolute best picture I can get. Yes I guess I too want it to look like 16mm. As for shooting Pro8m, I could and Kodak has the ASA 200 and 500 so there is a choise today. I may just stick with purchasing the two emulsions from Kodak unless I need something specific from pro8.

Here's some info on the single 8 advantages that got me thinking. I got this from the US distributor who sells the film on E-bay and his site. What are the advantages of Single-8 film? Pressure Plate in Camera One of the biggest complaints about Super 8 films is the unsteady image, particularly at the ends of the roll. This is due in part to the primitive plastic pressure plate built into the Super 8 cartridge. When Fuji designed their cartridge, they engineered the pressure plate inside the camera creating a steadier image. Full Rewind Capabilities Whether you use a crank or a camera with a built in rewind, Super 8 cartridges are prone to rewind problems and can only back up a limited number of frames. Single-8 cartridges work like a cassette and were designed to easily rewind making double-exposure and matte effects a breeze. Stronger Film Like today's professional motion picture release prints, Single-8 film is on a tough, clear polyester base. Polyester film is not as vulnerable to vinegar syndrome as acetate film and it's not as easily scratched. Plus it's 1/3 thinner, meaning you get more feet per movie reel. With polyester film, you use splicing tape or for true professional splices you can use an ultrasonic splicer. No Filter with R25N R25N is a daylight balanced film like Kodachrome 25 was. That means you don't need a filter between your lens and subject when shooting outdoors. Kodachrome 40 requires a daylight filter. Available with Sound Stripe Although sound film is no longer available, Single-8 film can be sound-striped at the time of processing for a small additional charge allowing you to add sound to your films with properly equipped projectors.

I just scored a Fujica ZC1000 single 8 camera. It should arrive in 2 weeks from Germany. I'm looking forward to shooting 200 asa tungsun film in low light to see what it can do. Also I want to see the difference in the RT25ASA daylight balanced film compared to the K40. My understanding is that the yellows and reds are more saturated than the K40 and the grain is a bit more on the RT25. The only draw back is the extra cost $18 for the RT200 and the 4-5 week wait. But Japan does an outstanding job at quality control and I have much confidence and am excited in the integrity I will benefit from them.

What are the top 3 Rank or anyother manufactured transfer machines used for super8 transfers.

Would like to hear from anyone who has shot negative Super8 film. I'd like to hear the pluses and minuses. Cinepost's transfer guy told me that Kodachrome transfers the best. Negative looks like bad super8. Please I would prefer actual experience not textbook information. Thanks.

Just sent out 5 rolls of Kodachrome to Dywanes. One of the rolls was the test roll with both without the stabilizing plate in the cartridge. I'll let you all know this coming week what the results were. I used both the Nikon R-10 and the Elmo 1012XLS

What is the skinny on super-8 to DV transfers. Please refer me to a site or link if this has already been beat to death. I would like to know what equipment does the best job and who does it. Cinepost says they can do a better job than pro8mm. I asked and they were very confident. That is all I have on the subject other than they did a good job for me. But I had only one transfer done.

On the instructions of a book I'm reading I took my Super8 camera and headed to the back deck where the sun was beating down over my shoulder. We rigged up a bed sheet above my wife and had her stand underneath just after we shot some test footage without any panels or reflectors. We then shot with the bedsheet above with and without a gold and white reflector aiming light to her face and upper torso. Please fill me in with the finer points of using this. The results are supposed to be the difference between amature and professional. Long shots you can't do this. So only medium to CU's? Parachut material is best or something else? PVC for framing? Give me your tricks please. Thanks.

I used CinePost and they were very good. However I've nothing to compare their transfer to. I would like to know what the best Rank machines one needs to look for in a facility and what other factors make for an outstanding transfer. How about a list of transfer in order of quality starting from the best to worst. I transfered my super8 to digi beta and then dubbed it from there to Mini DV. I'm hoping the extra color space in the digi beta will translate to a better quality final format of DVD. That's if I can find someone to transfer it into my G5. Hey friends please share!

Hello friends! I'm new to this site but not to Super8. Looking forward to your insights and ideas. Here is my future website to display my super-8 movies. Anyone have or know of another website where I can see super8 on the net? John Movie Webpage