Robert Hughes

The Zone System was developed for b&w still photography by the F/64 group which included Ansel Adams and Minor White. It is a method of controlling the dynamic range of the negative and print for optimum image quality. Basically, the exposure scale is subdivided into 10 regions, from Zone 1 (black, no details) to Zone 10 (specular highlights, no details). By controlling image contrast through lighting, filters, development process and printing adjustments, a photographer utilizing the Zone system will render images with the maximum amount of dynamic range the photographic medium can provide.

"If Clark Kent marries Lana Lang and Superman marries Lois Lane, will that be bigamy or menage a trois? " - Washington Post

Just because the negative can still get detail at x stops over doesn't mean you'll be able to make much use of it. In the darkroom they talk of the "blocking" of highlights, where the negative is so dense the only way to get print media to react properly is to dodge & burn by area. In previous years, one way to lessen the extremes of contrast was to make a contact-printed mask, to bipack with the original negative and effectively push the shadows closer to the highlights, but I don't know if anybody does that in MP film work anymore. Any comments from the lab guys?

Or just not worry about rewinding Super 8. Do multiple images in post, it's much easier there. Or (if you must do an in-camera effect) use 16mm.

Yeah, thanks Dominic. I couldn't remember where I got the file from, otherwise I would have referenced your site.

Heck, I see your problem - it's your posting name. Change it to "Verde Green" or "Violet Brown" and your yellow tinting problems will disappear. :lol:

The most obvious advantage adding effects filters in post is you can decide to not use that filter after it's been shot, or set for a greater or lesser degree of intensity. If your filter effect is done in-camera, it better be what you had in mind, otherwise you're going to have to re-shoot.

I recall a tornado in Minnesota several years ago. A local news copter moved in right next to it. Recall that tornados pick up bits of debris, like trees and houses, and suck them up the funnel. Also, secondary vortices come out of the clouds with no warning. This pilot could have had a house fall on him while 500' in the air. But he got his scoop and came back alive, so was the local hero that week.

I don't want to second guess your project, but since it's your first one I'd say take it right to DVD and move on to the distribution phase. If the distributors and audiences are pounding down your doors for an HD or 35mm print, have them pay for it. But you're probably not going to have much interest in a 9 minute short. Use it as a show reel to interest backers in your next project.

Herb et al - Here is the "Interim Operations, Maintenance and Parts Manual" pub. date July 22, 1974. I am uploading it to the web as I send this post. It's a pdf file: CP16 Interim Ops, Maintenance, Parts Manual 7/22/1974

My guess is - it depends on the dynamic range of the telecine CCD sensor and preamp circuitry. If the telecine can handle the shadow and highlight detail of your film image you can probably do it either way, but some productions shooting in high contrast situations pull process or use contrast reduction filtering on camera to give the transfer process a greater range of flexibility and a higher chance of success.

It's true, when choppers lose their blades, they are nothing but big rocks way up in the air. There are a few graphic clips on YouTube that demonstrate how quickly helicopters become deathtraps.

It's entirely appropriate and worthwhile to get the best performance out of the gear you've got, and good Super 8 looks great - that's why people still use it. I think I saw some color S8 footage in the flashback scenes of the new Lindsay Lohan movie. And Trevor M. / Santo's "Poe" film demonstrates that PlusX in Super 8 can look pretty sharp. But chasing after the final .01% seems to me as guilding the lily. Super 8 is what it is, a low-cost, antique home movie format, with all that entails. Work to its strengths, its characteristic look, its ease of use. As for designing a special camera, you'd be better off finding a Bolex DS8 and saving those brain cells for more profitable use.

Ahh! I am so angered and disappointed in this movie. This is a cinematic crime against the universe and the blame lies squarely at the feet of the executive producers. They should be tossed into the closest blast furnace and incinerated. Hey, I'm just a film fan, my standards are none too strict, but I just saw a worthy project turned to crap. They had everything going for them - a compelling backstory, gorgeous cinematography and well-executed effects, a serious and creditable cast - all they needed was a worthy obstacle, as if the fate of all life on earth and firing off a jillion megaton bomb on the sun weren't big enough challenges. Follow me into a scripting session between the execs and the writers... P:"It's got the potential to be this generation's 2001. But it needs a bit more oomph, more drama, ya know..." W:"Well, sir, we could crash the two ships together and cause a serious breach..." P:"Nah, that man versus machine thing is so old hat. We need the human element. Wait a minute! I've got this old Freddy Kruger mask - let's throw him into the third act. Yeah-Friday the 13th on the Nostromo! They'll eat it up!!! So - write it in." W: (slackjawed) "But - the project isn't ..." P: "Just do it! Well, I've got a date with a porn star. Ciao." - and so it goes, another $100 million dollars down the cesspool orifice. :angry: Suppose it's appropriately a Faux Searchlight production...

Olex, do you know if reloadable cartridges & stock loads are still available? I've never used one.

I've got a pre-production service manual available to put up on your site if you'd like. PM me.

Reminds me of the first time I shot 16mm. I was so jazzed - everything looked like an art film! Welcome to to a whole new realm of possibility.

Yes, it shows the people and landscape in an entirely different (and much more friendly) way than we're accustomed to seeing from TV news videos. Pretty nice for a 40 year old camera. Was it originally shot in S16 or framed in widescreen from an R16 original?

dbl post

Nikon R8.

Any of those higher-end cameras you mention will give very good image definition - if it has been recently serviced. Ebay attic finds are usually in need of attention in order to bring them back to good functional use. As for noise, again you'll have to check the unit to know, but Super 8 cameras in general are not built for very quiet operation - the Nizo 4080 / 6080 being a possible exception. Some Beaulieu 6008 / 7008 Pro cameras had built-in crystal sync, and aftermarket sync kits are supposedly still available. You'll be hard pressed to find a better camera than that Canon 1014xls; it's generally considered the cream of the crop in terms of usability and image quality.

Hi, Mike. The L398 is a straightforward incident light meter, years ago every film student carried one. You need the white globe and the high slide; anything else is gravy. Sekonic still supplies globes, discs and high slides for the L398 if you need. If you have questions about whether it is calibrated properly, take it outside on a sunny midday with the high slide inserted and globe facing the sun. Using the "sunny 16" exposure rule, you can get a good estimate of proper exposure by reading the exposure time at f/16: it should be the inverse of the ASA rating you've dialed up. For example, if your meter is set to ASA 100, at f/16 you should read around 1/100 second. Give it a try. If you don't have a high slide, sorry, you're out of luck.

One handy characteristic of Super 8 cartridges is that visual inspection shows a length of film; that length is fogged anyway unless you load your camera in a black bag.

Go ahead & scan it in, then put it up on your website so us other CP16 owners can get a copy. :)

Perhaps if their top level mgmt had spent more energy on development and less on hype manufacture they would be getting fewer embarrassing threads like this on the Web... <_<