Andy Pabst

One last thing. This camera is 'untested.' I've got AA batteries in it (but no film) and it won't run. But it feels like the trigger isn't depressing all the way. Does it need to have film loaded for the motor to run? Other than that I'm confident, I bought it from someone who sells lots of cameras and has good feedback. thanks, Andy

Fantastic! That's the ticket. And, that youtube video shows that one tenth of a volt has almost no effect on the functioning of the camera. Thank you! Rick, thanks for your help as well.

Thanks for the response Rick. One question about the Canon Autozoom. Will it run at all without the 1.3v mercury battery? Will it still run on auto and just not show the F-stop in the viewfinder? As for the Minolta. Will it slightly overexpose if I run the 64T and Tri-X film on auto? You say it will overexpose by about half a stop on manual, does the same go for auto? Because in low light i might want it to overexpose a bit. I'm not sure how to set the aperture manually. I know which direction is light and which is dark, but not which one I want for a specific lighting. thanks so much.

I bought this camera beecause my Minolta XL-400 will only accept Kodachrome 40--- I have already shot a bunch of other film on it, only to have it not come out at all-- and the wedding I'm going to use it for is coming up this Saturday. Conveniently, I find out that the 1.3v batteries it needs in addition to the AAs are impossible to find!!! AAH! Is there any other kind of battery I can use? Am I just screwed? I'm in San Francisco, so if anyone can recommend a camera shop that would be great. Thanks!

Initially, Super 8 film was a silent medium. At some point there was a sound component, with a magnetic audio strip on the film. This form is rather forgotten. As far as I know, there is no new sound super 8 film made, and no processing available for sound super 8 film. However, I'm not sure whether that means... a) Super 8mm sound film is un-processable... perhaps it can be processed, but you'll get a return with no sound strip b ) Sound Super 8mm cameras can use non-sound film and vise versa. c) Super 8mm projectors can play sound film and vise versa. As I said, I don't believe you can get new super 8mm film with a magnetic audio strip, part of the reason, I think, that you'll find seemingly cheap editing stations, sound super 8 cameras, etc. on ebay.

Ok. So Ektachrome 64T is out of the question. But any Tungston film with a 200 rating will work, such as "Vision2" (i.e. Tungston 200)? Can someone please explain to me why this is? From what i've read, it seems like the automatic shutter/light thingy (from my novice understanding of film) is configured for a particular light spectrum, so if you use a tunston rating outside this spectrum, it won't film properly. Or is it something else? I'm completely amateur, but I have used digital cameras quite a bit.

I just wanted to add that the filming conditions will be mostly indoors in a barn with lights, but it might be dimly lighting situations. thanks!

Hello, I've got a Minolta xl-400 super 8 camera and the instructions specify... "cartridges of type G color film having a film-speed rating of ASA 160 or of b&w or outdoor-indoor type A color film with daylight ratings of ASA 25 or 100 and tungsten ratings of ASA 40 or 160." According to my limited knowledge and research, that means I can't use any negative films like the supposedly awesome Kodak Vision2/Vision3 films or the only standard color reversal still made, Ektachrome 64T. Is that the case? Does this mean I cannot shoot any color films (still available) on this camera? What available film can I shoot with this camera? thanks so much, I wanted to finally use my camera to film a friends' wedding this October, I'm afraid I won't be able to!