Martin Baumgarten

Many here may not agree, but I feel there really isn't any need to shoot Super 8mm film at 24fps over the 'normal' rate of 18fps. The quality increase is so minor that it's not really necessary for anything but the most demanding imaging. 18fps is gentler on the film during projection as well. Even in digital transfer, the difference between 18fps and 24fps isn't that significant to ever get me to shoot at 24fps. And I have seen and also shot many films in full 2x Anamorphic CinemaScope at 18fps and they are sharp, steady, and just look great even when projected onto a 24ft, and 32ft projection screens. With the higher cost of Super 8mm film these days, that extra 50 seconds at 18fps is wonderful to have. It gives you more running time from these small cartridges, as well as lowers the overall cost of any project. I'm saddened that the cost of the 'new' EKTACHROME 100D is so expensive, but then all film costs have jumped up significantly in recent years. I've been in analog based photography all my life, so I will continue to shoot film when I can. However, I think I'd have a harder time coming into the film world just looking at the cost of everything. With some films, processing, shipping costs, and transfer, it can cost nearly $100 for one cartridge of Super 8mm which is insane. This is another reason I advocate for every Super 8mm film enthusiast to do as much of their own work as possible: processing and transfers. Unless you're working on a 'serious' professional grade project or one that you're being paid for, there is no need to have to pay the high costs that are being charged by some labs. I fully appreciate the operating costs of the available labs which tend to be in expensive areas where taxes to exist are high. Since these days, most films are shipped to a lab anyhow, there's no reason a lab can't move to a lower cost part of the country and pass on these lower costs to their customers, but that's another topic. So, go ahead and shoot your Super 8mm films at 18fps and have a blast. The cameras and film were initially designed around this standard to yield excellent results and they will still deliver such results when used carefully. I do shoot some moving scenes at 24fps since it smooths out the bumps and motion when projected at 18fps, but the film is still intended to be shown at 18fps since the rest of it is shot that way. Operating at low cost in Super 8mm doesn't mean lack of quality. The 8mm formats have always been so often a DIY film making experience. Lastly, I do hope Double Super 8mm or Super 8mm in bulk form will be made so it can be purchased and loaded at a much lower cost per cartridge by others as well as do it yourselfers.

The Double Super 8mm camera conversions standardized by using the same 16mm spools with square keyed shafts; adapters were made to slip over the original shafts on the BOLEX H-8 conversions and others. Actually, a piece of good quality vinyl electrical tape on the round shafts will snug up the 16mm 100ft(30.5m) spools and works quite well. This is a quick fix until you find the proper film spools. Just mark the 16mm spools so you know which side is ONE and TWO. I've used this tape method for years and it works fine. Alternatively you might be able to make or have made shaft adapters via 3D printing. Good luck.

This is a fairly basic camera, but was well built, so the one you are considering might still work fine. If you satisfied with the camera's basic functions, why not consider it then? Offer 15 Euros, but even the asking price is cheap. It only films at 18fps and single frame, but 18fps is fine. I have never seen the need to shoot at 24fps except to smooth out movement in moving shots, in a film that will be projected at 18fps. The quality difference is small, and for anyone getting into Super 8mm to learn, have fun, capture memories etc, 18fps is fine. The other versions of the SANKYO Hi-Matic feature larger zoom ratios and more features. One nice feature is that you can keep the pistol grip folded and mount the camera on a tripod this way, which helps keep it steady. Best of luck if you get this camera.

As with any Super 8mm camera that doesn't have some form of electric start for a tape recorder, you would have to use the Slate Method. But then, so many now use some form of electronic or digital sound recording. Anyhow, slate the scene at the beginning, then you'll have a visual cue in the film and an audible cue on the audio. In post via your computer software, just marry the two back up together. If there is some slight drift of image or sound, it will just require some slight tweaking of stretching or shrinking the picture or audio to fit. The truly rare method these days are for those that want to project film with audio on it. That requires magnetic sound striping of the film itself, and marrying back the audio to the film via careful alignment of the slate cues and recording it onto the film itself. I doubt that's what you're interested in, as most users these days desire to have their films digitized and work with them in post via a NLE software program. Anyhow, it's not difficult to do, just a matter of discipline to slate each shot at the beginning. With film costs and processing what they are, your slating only needs to be a couple seconds as that's plenty to find the synch point on the film and on your audio.

These are quite well made cameras which were made for ARGUS by COSINA in Japan as part of their joint venture for several years making Super 8mm cameras, 35mm SLRs and other photo products. The Model 708 camera has a nice viewfinder, fairly bright and easy to focus with, and some nice features: [1]. All metal body so it has a solid feel and some heft to it. [2]. The camera has Automatic and Manual exposure (although, I can't remember if the Manual Exposure is coupled to the Meter's Battery Power...which I believe it is, so if it is, it needs the battery to work in manual mode. I've got a couple versions, one is this model but can't locate it at the moment to double check). The 1.5 volt batteries will work fine if using the camera in manual mode. Just compare this against another camera or light meter, taking into the account the light loss from the beam-splitter prism, and note the exposure variation due to the higher battery voltage. Factor this in and you'll be able to use the camera's own working light meter as a guide to exposure (for those films it will meter with, for those it won't meter with correctly, just factor in the bias as well and you can still use it). [3]. There are 3 filming speeds of 12fps, 18fps and 24fps [4]. Manual focusing with the 8mm to 64mm F/1.7 zoom lens and micro prism center spot. [5]. The camera's metering system/cartridge notch index system allows for automatic exposure for ISO 25/ 40 and 100/160. But with manual exposure you can use the auto as a guide and then manually compensate for whatever film type you are using and set it. Meter requires the PX13 (1.3 volt batteries or equivalent). [6]. The camera's motor and zoom motor are powered by 4 Double A 1.5 volt batteries held in the folding pistol grip, which folds flat against the bottom of the camera, this option also allows you to use it on a tripod this way. There's also a Battery Level Check Meter on the outside of the camera with a button to activate it and also an Over/Under Exposure warning indicator. [7]. There's a cable release socket for continuous run, and for single frame, both under the lens on the front of the camera, as well as a lever to set the camera for continuous run or trigger lock. [8]. Nice rubber grip on the focusing and zoom rings. So power and manual zoom. So, if the camera runs okay, the lens is fine, and the meter works (mainly to be able to use the Manual Exposure), then it would be a fun camera to use. This is not an XL (existing or low light camera) since the shutter is a 170 degree type but I have used this camera and others from that era in lower light, making use of the 12 frames per second running speed to add more exposure power to filming. As to quality, the lens is sharp, the camera all metal mainly and heavy compared to later made plastic cameras, the overall finish is good, so I personally think it's a well made cameras, especially since so many still seem to run fine being over 43 years old now. Hope this helps. Make sure it runs first.....if at all possible.

Hi, as already mentioned, the latter version of the QUARZ DS8 has a fixed zoom lens, although the previous versions are removable, and of the same type design as their Super 8mm cartridge version. Since the prime 15mm lens block is in the camera body as is the aperture, you'd have to do a partial disassembly of the camera body to remove this lens block. You could also remove the aperture vane if you wanted to since it will be of no further use without the fixed 15mm prime lens in the body. Or just leave it at the open F/1.8 position if leaving it in, just in case you want to put the prime lens back into the camera body. This is a somewhat involved operation but is not impossible. You'll have to check the Angeniuex lens calibration for focus to the body, but in theory and from my own examination of the several cameras, it should be doable. I have thought of doing this for the Super 8mm cartridge version. But in the end, after shooting with the Meteor lens on all 3 versions (Double 8mm, Double Super 8mm, Super 8mm), that lens does give good results and the images are sharp and useful....so I just left it the way it is. But I see the point, it would be nice to be able to attach various other lenses, bellows, telescopes or super telephoto lenses. I like the mechanical body without the need of battery power. However, for simplicity sake and to have other nice features (variable shutter and a variety of running speeds), it's just easier to buy a decent working BEAULIEU Super 8mm camera to have the lens interchangeability feature. Good luck on your projects!

This lens which was commonly offered/sold on the BEAULIEU 3008S camera is a very good lens. It's small, fairly compact considering the outrigger zoom & iris motors. It was offered as a lower cost alternative to the more famous and expensive (at the time) 6mm to 66mm Schneider-Krueznach lens. It's an 8mm to 50mm zoom, is sharp and will produce fine images, just that it's smaller and thus won't go as wide or as telephoto as the larger lens. It's a great lens if using an Anamorphic lens in front of it, as the smaller design allows a better match with many lenses. Also, smaller filters and add on lenses can be easily fitted to this lens. For ultra wide angle, you can fit any of the wide angle add on lenses such as those made by Bower, Vivitar and others. If you wanted to use an add on Fisheye lens adapter, that would work easier on this smaller lens. I would rate the overall performance along the lines of the Angenieux 8mm to 64mm, but the Schneider lenses do have a somewhat different color tone to them, slight, but everyone has their preference, and I like the Schneider lenses. Good luck!

That Schneider is the better lens over the Beaulieu lens which was made in Japan, but that lens is also sharp, just I prefer the Schneider, it's wider and a bit longer. I hope your camera will work fine and give you great results!

I'll just add a couple things, since the rest was well answered by experts already. TRI-X is a nice film stock. You can process it a few different ways: [1]. Normal B&W Reversal [2]. Sepia Tone Reversal, nice deep rich brown tones using KODAK Developer T-19 Sulfide Developer formula [3]. High Contrast B&W Negative, which would be using the Reversal Process but only using the First Developer and Fixer, avoiding reversal. Or us any other high contrast B&W Developer for even higher contrast. [4]. Nice continuous tone B&W Negative using a more conventional B&W Negative Developer such as KODAK D-76, finer grain with other types, tonal changes with other types, you'd have to do a serious read on various developers and/or some testing on your own. If using a Negative Film, use ISO 100 to 125 as a starting point for your Exposure Index. Film can also be pushed or pull processed as well, and since it's in Negative form, you could even use fancy pushing type developers such as Acufine. NOTE: All of the above processing methods also apply to any 'good' KODACHROME films (those that have been cold stored).

Hi, it's worth an experiment if you don't mind the severe film aging artifacts that might results [cloudiness due to age fogging in both reversal or negative processing, significantly lower contrast unless using a higher contrast developer for Negative processing, loss of filmspeed etc]. I process these films here all the time at Plattsburgh Photographic Services. Usually, they were exposed years ago, so the goal is to save anything on the film. If you want it reversal processed, it will work, just very poor quality (I've tested much older film), and as Negative, best to process it in a developer such as KODAK D-19 or similar. This will compensate for age fogging, loss of contrast, as the developer will kick it up to a more normal level. The film grain will be much higher than what you'd expect from KODACHROME. Sadly, had this film been cold stored, even in the fridge it would be pretty a pretty good B&W film, and stored frozen it would be excellent. But, these old films are fine for B&W results, and to experiment for a variety of things, such as testing time lapse, focus settings, and anything you'd like to goof around with rather than risk using fresh film and all the incurred costs. That's where cost will get you unless you process the film yourself, as usually, it's not cheap to get it processed from the main labs that still offer such services, and only as Negative: Pro8mm, Spectra Film & Video, Film Rescue, and Rocky Mountain Film Lab. An added note: I so often have to finish off partially used cartridges that get sent in prior to breaking them open to process the film. So I also get to see what the results are from the bits I film, both in Color Reversal on old EKTACHROME films, and in B&W Reversal or Negative for the old KODACHROME films. If processing the KMA 40 as Negative, you could increase exposure by up to 1-Stop....however...it's a risk, since the age fog will exist in the unexposed silver already, so you could end up with a dense negative image. Unless you had a small stash of these films of similar age and storage history, I recommend treating this as a one off film to just do some camera testing or filming anything for fun.

There are some very affordable Russian era made LOMO anamorphic lenses on eBay. Figure about $150 to $180 in US Dollars for a lens equivalent to the KOWA and SANKOR type lenses with 2x compression ratio. Most any lens you find today will be coated or multicoated, compared some of the very basic ones that were made in the 1950s as anamorphic lens use was becoming popular in a segment of amateur film making. The IPER 16 2x is from the Russian lens made era, and they are very good. The cured or conical faced ones on the front are the earlier models versus the flat front with ribbed focusing lenses made later. Both types work well and were used in Soviet era cinema in all former eastern bloc countries. Most of the 2x anamorphic lenses available are what is considered projection lenses. However, they can be used quite well, albeit their limitations, for filming. Limitations are the longer lens barrel length that forces you to have to use a longer focal length on the camera to film thru without obtaining vignetting (actually filming the lens barrel insides). Typical minimum focal length will be approximately 20mm on your CANON 518, thus actually a 10mm focal length equivalent on the wide horizontal axis, so still pretty good.

Cut-off point (the widest angle you can zoom the lens out to before vignetting) is typically around 20mm depending on what adapters you are using, or if using a lollipop type arrangement which holds the lens in front of the camera lens, and that is affixed to the camera's tripod socket. Since the SANKOR 16-F lens is a 2x anamorphic compression lens, if filming at 20mm focal length on your CANON 518 Super 8, the actual horizontal focal length equivalent will be half that, thus 10mm. Some anamorphic lenses extend upon focusing toward infinity increasing the usable focal length to avoid vignetting, others shorten. The SANKOR design is of the type that lengthens, but that's okay, with care you can still get great images. While it may seem crazy to put so much glass in the path of the imaging rays, it's also possible to add a wide angle lens to the front of the anamorphic to get a wider field of view. You really need to conduct some experiments for yourself to see what works best for you. Most available anamorphic lenses that were manufactured in the film era prior to digital were intended for projection; those are the most common to find. However, that doesn't mean they can't be used to film with. With care in focusing you can get great results that are sharp. I've used the SANKOR with a few fixed lens Super 8mm and Regular 8mm cameras and have gotten excellent results. With the fixed lens Super 8mm camera, that 15mm focal length is reduced to 7.5mm on the horizontal axis. I've also been able to use it on a CHINON Pocket 8 and some others which have fixed focal lengths in the 10mm to 12mm range, thus 5mm and 6mm on the horizontal wide axis respectively. Just exercise care in using an anamorphic lens and make sure the front oval of the lens is vertical, and in the viewfinder that vertical lines are not leaning left or right, indicative of the lens not being aligned. There are even anamorphic lens adapters available from a couple vendors on eBay from time to time at very reasonable prices. If using these type of lens to filter thread mounts, be mindful of all that weight on your prime/zoom lens unit. You might want to build your own wooden support from plywood to fit under the camera, and have a cradle for the lens (lined with soft felt). There are many options of course. For just some simple test you can even just hold the lens against your camera lens and see what works. I prefer to have an empty filter on the camera lens lined with some vinyl electrical tape to act as an small protection rather than flush against the camera lens where it could possible do some damage or scratching to the filter threads or trim plate etc. What's great is that this same lens then later becomes your projection lens, or to be placed in front of your pickup camera lens to de-squeeze the image, unless doing it digitally in post using software. Hope this helps.

Hi John, processing VNF (Video News Film aka 7240 etc) won't harm the E-6 chemical process, other than normal exhaustion rates for the amount of film surface. The film doesn't have a remjet backing; it's a dye structure anti-halation coating that dissolves out in the process. The structure of VNF is different from regular E-6 type films since it was intended for rapid processing in the VNF-1 process. You could approximate this via an adjustment of the Color Developer (10 to 20% over-concentration) but that wouldn't be practical for your other films then. Alternatively if you could raise the temperature of the Color Developer to about 114F it would get you closer to getting correct results. This would have to be a one off run of course. If the film is old and has not been stored frozen since new, it will have a serious Magenta cast anyhow, if the Process is E-6 alone it will have a serious Magenta cast, if the Color Developer is too dilute it will have a serious Magenta cast, if you leave the room for a moment or look away from the film it will have a serious Magenta cast (joking on that last one of course). So, if it's just old film, not stored frozen since new, exposed years ago or recently, then the color will be way off as will its maximum density, so you could just process it as normal E-6 albeit an off color and too light reversal image. If you wanted you could adjust the First Developer time by cutting it 1-Stop to compensate for age and thus have it not so washed out (light), but even that might not be enough due to the age, storage history, amount of heat it has been exposed to etc. If it was anything important, I would ask the customer if you could do a snip test and add short amount to a normal film run and make a processing determination afterwards. Have fun!

Hi Derrick. This is a common processing artifact due to the nature of the rewind process. Small amounts of chemistry get trapped in the perforation areas and while the film is wound upon itself, those tiny pockets have more chemistry in them than what rests in the emulsion itself, so they are more active. This extra energy creates a ghost image of the perforation which is visible after processing is complete. There isn't any way to avoid this other than using a full immersion type of processing method (rack & tray, spiral reel, drum in tank etc). It doesn't hurt anything and isn't visible in the image, unless you're shooting in Ultra 16mm where part of the image protrudes into the area between the perforations. If so, then you will need to use another processing method. Hope this helps.

There were a variety of Super 8mm cameras made that offer lap dissolve. While I like my SANKYO XL620 the lap dissolve in this camera uses an automatically fading aperture which only closes down about 5-Stops, then closes completely when the camera stops prior to the backwinding function. So, in bright light, you can still see image ghosting of the previous image. NIZO even added a cable release socket to the top of their later silent cameras so you can have a rock steady dissolve if the camera is on a tripod; great for making people and things disappear and reappear etc. But NIZO, NIKON, YASHICA, CANON and some others use a variable shutter for their dissolve function which is superior to the aperture dissolve method. CHINON made some good cameras that also offer dissolve. Now, I know many of you feel that in-camera dissolve or superimposition isn't needed since you prefer to digitize your films and do everything in software in post-processing. However, there are still many of us that prefer to project film (as well as having them transferred) and having this feature is really nice. The BEAULIEU 4008zm2 & up models have a double-exposure, super-imposition, dissolve feature but it is only via a manually done film rewind, versus the ease of push button auto-dissolve. If someone wanted to take the extra time to tape over the cartridge core, film and fade out with a non-dissolve camera, then remove the cartridge in a film-changing bag and rewind the film either manually or using one of the devices that were made for that such as the CRAVEN Film Rewinder or EWA Film Rewinder, then put the cartridge back into the camera and film again....it's quite doable. But this works best for slow methodical type work, such as fancy Title making and other special effects done in the studio, versus quick location filming. The YASHICA LD4/6/8 series all have a variable shutter fadeout auto-dissolve function which works quite well; and these cameras can often be purchase quite cheaply, as can some of the CHINON ones that offered this feature (their last few sound cameras such as the 30RXLS and 60RXLS both have an auto-dissolve feature that when using sound film will also cross fade the audio being recorded (if recording live audio). Lastly, since this topic comes up at times in various postings: While Single-System Sound in Super 8mm is nearly extinct, aside from those cache pockets of frozen stored film that quite a few filmers still own.....despite the contrary I read here at times, the audio quality is quite good on Super 8mm film sound stripe. It was so good that ELMO, SANKYO, NORIS, HEURTIER and NIZO offered STEREO sound projectors. Their Demo film that came along with the projectors showed how nice the stereo sound could be, and these were at 18 frames per second. My own films that have either 2-Track or Stereo sound, sound just as clean as a decent cassette tape, which can be very good. I have seen Super 8mm films that were filmed and had the audio DBX encoded as well as Quadra-phonic sound, along with full CinemaScope anamorphic images! And they were so awesome they would blow your socks off! So, as with anything, it all boils down to how careful you are in filming, technique, technical attention, and for sound, how well you are recording it.....either back then or now on Sound Film, or via your own recording method for live sound capture. Use cheap mics, don't pay attention to extraneous noise etc, and you'll get lousy results. For sharp Super 8mm images, even the fixed focus single lens waterhouse stop made camera by Haiking in Hong Kong and sold under the GAF, HALINA, WARDS, PORST, REVUE and other names, will produce sharp steady images....believe it or not! Despite their technical limitations notwithstanding, since NIZOs etc, they are not. I find it quite nice to have a camera or two that I can use just for those times I want to be able to do a dissolve for whatever reason. The cost is certainly affordable these days for many Super 8mm cameras, so there's no reason for someone not to own a few for various reasons, even a small one for travel filming.

BEAULIEU is pronounced Bowl you....although Brits tend to say Bue Lee, or something like that, at least back when I lived over there in the 1980s for 4 years. Slight over or underexposure won't affect lab processing, and if you really want a film Pushed or Pulled in processing, there is an extra cost and the few labs that might offer it do it in 1-Stop increment. That slight variation in the 40 or 50 ISO is too mini to make a difference and no lab other than a manual processing lab running tight control strips could even compensate for such a tiny amount. As for over exposing to tighten the grain, you really really need to conduct some tests on your own and compare your own results to determine what works best for you. One cartridge can teach you many things, just slate each shot with the data of how you're shooting it, then this roll of film will be your reference to refer to for future filming. The only Color Negative I have shot in Super 8mm has been for setting up transfer parameters, and also testing how the film does in Reversal Processing since it seemed for some time that we might not get a Color Reversal film stock, but now we have EKTACHROME 100D back. It yet remains to be seen if Ferrania will bring back their own Color Reversal film in time. As for transfers, I prefer to project film. While I do transfers for customers, I still have yet to get all my own films digitized here eventually. As they say, the cobbler's children go barefoot. It'll take me the rest of my lifetime to get all my images and films digitized and organized, if I ever get to it. Anyhow, again, only you can determine which quality level of transfer suits your needs. I had thought that Blu-Ray was going to be the end result, but no one has requested that format, it's been either DVD or the Digital Files themselves. It's quite possible that a physically moving media such as DVD, CD and Blu-Ray will fade away in favor of storage on chip type media anyway. Those disc formats have a short lifespan anyhow.

Beaulieu used to recommend a servicing every 3 years, about the same as BOLEX recommended. This of course is based on usage, as heavier usage might require such service. Alternatively not using a camera for years can often require servicing. The BEAULIEU 6008S is their first version of the later Lexon bodied design using newer electronics for it's functions as well as sound on film recording [previously also available on their 3008S and 5008S cameras]. The 24/25fps switch is only available on the Pro version of this camera, not the S. The Pro is a silent camera that will allow use of sound and silent cartridges since it shares the same body as the Sound version, and it uses a slide in module in the rear of the camera for quartz speed control. The 'native' speed of the 6008S is either 18 or 24fps. The difference between 24fps and 25fps is so slight it makes no significant difference in practical use and as far as film transfer goes in either NTSC or PAL, since virtually all transfers now are done digitally. The 2 notches on the Beaulieu 6008S filmspeed dial are for the former KODACHROME 25/40 variation in which the Daylight Conversion Filter has to be moved into position. Even if you set it at ASA/ISO/EI 40, it's close enough to ISO 50 to work well, with technically slight overexposue which won't hurt. Exposure is relative to the subject matter of course, and all light meters are designed based on the 18% Gray Card standard, so you might want to adjust your exposure manually in various situations anyway. It's also really important to have the owner's manual for whatever camera you use, and these are readily available. If the manual helps prevent even one mistake, it's worth the cost to have it. Unless shooting anamorphically or frame masked, the aspect ratio is 4:3 so transfers to 2K or 4K seem like overkill to me since it's still 4:3 ratio. Keep in mind that 2K & 4K are both a wider aspect ratio than even HD is, so why did we all settle on that 16:9 Television aspect ratio in the first place if films are still being made wider and thus now cropped on top and bottom to fit? Crazy. Anyhow, only you can judge what transfer results will work for your projects. I suggest a test at all three if possible and do a comparision; HD, 2k and 4k. The BEAULIEU 6008S is a very good camera as long as it's working fine. It was the embodiment of Beaulieu's state of the art in Super 8mm, although there are many fans that prefer the earlier 4008 series for various reasons [largest viewfinder image of any Super 8mm camera made, dedicated manual film rewind option, frame & footage counters (although in the later 6008S there is an LED counter and in the 7008 and 9008 versions an LCD counter), the smaller compact size but then, the earlier camera is a silent film cartridge only model, and also the fine ground glass focusing screen which is removable to opt for the brighter aerial image view, and some other reasons]. The 6008S accepts both the newer Beaulieu breech-lock lens mount as well as the standard C-mount lenses. It can use both Double A Alkaline or Rechargeable batteries which is a plus over the previous design, but there are now a few options for those older cameras. The viewfinder is bright but much smaller than the 4008 models, and it has a fixed ground glass focusing circle with a black etched ring in the middle. Many found this annoying, and it was done away with on later models, and Beaulieu even offered replacement with a full fixed ground glass screen, but that is no longer to be, and most never bothered having it done due to the cost and shipping of the camera back to France. In practice, the camera works fine as it was designed and many have had fun using it. The Hall Sensor Speed Control though, is really only for the former Sound Film Cartridges, not the Silent ones, but even so, the speed runs well via it's onboard circuitry if all is well with the camera. This was their flagship model when it was introduced and I've had great results with it. Another reason many favor the older metal bodied versions is that they tend to be serviced in more places around the world. But since in most cases this requires packing a camera off with expensive shipping costs back and forth as well, it really doesn't matter as they can still all be serviced when needed, albeit the costs involved. Keep in mind, typically servicing such a camera can easily cost as much as the camera these days, unless already being sold by a vendor that serviced the camera with a warranty. In the end, it really comes down to how you like any given camera, since after a certain build quality, they will all give great results if used correctly. So it often comes down to how it feels, sounds, ease of use, and especially how easy the viewfinder is to use. I wear eyeglasses so always have to factor that in on any camera, film, cine, or digital. If I can't see to compose thru the darn viewfinder, I'm going to have an issue with any camera. Hope this helps.

Some truly great points were brought up. HOWEVER, this IS the Super 8mm portion of Cinematography dot com. So somehow, please, you working pros or fellow larger than Super 8mm format specialists, experts, hobbyists, show some respect for this section of the site, and either chime in with help for those working or desiring using the Super 8mm format, OR go to the other format sections and discuss away! I for one, am tired of the 8mm formats being berated. Most of us using Super 8mm (or Regular 8mm for that matter) have some kind of grip on the limitations to expect already. The 8mm format has a devoted following for various reasons. And, as for steadiness......please......despite the cartridge/camera issues, I have seen and have personally shot films in full CinemaScope (2x anamorphic 2.66:1 aspect ratio) with Super 8mm and it looks pretty damn good up on a 24ft wide screen, and even with stereo magnetic sound. Yes, it's not 16mm or 35mm, we KNOW that....it's SUPER 8mm!

If you use the same care that you exercise in filming, editing, and handling of Super 8mm, THEN you could also process the film yourself and save a significant amount. Granted, it may not be for everyone, but back at the tender age of 13 I realized that I could save tons by processing my own still films, and shortly after movie films (Kodachrome notwithstanding of course). The cost of the equipment needed will be rapidly returned to you over the first several rolls of film you process. At the moment, there isn't much to be done about the high cost of film, since this is sort of a niche market and we're glad just to have film available. Figure a cost of $5 per roll to process it yourself (slightly more or less depending on B&W or Color Reversal or Color Neg), and your own labor.....you will be way ahead financially. The other cost you'll be saving also is the postage costs back and forth, which add up rapidly, especially for small orders! I suppose it's a good thing that not everyone does this or we'd risk losing the few labs left supporting the film processing industry. However, I'm sure they will continue to have their 8mm, 16mm and 35mm customers. I'm hoping for bulk film to be released eventually in Double Super 8mm, which can then be slit down to Super 8mm and self loaded in a variety of cartridges, both Super 8mm and Single-8 ones. It may be some time before this pleasantry happens, but it is a possibility especially once 16mm film goes into production, via a Special Order option with KODAK. Lastly, there is still tons of expired film out there in the hands of many an enthusiast. The frozen stocks would fare better of course, but I see lots on eBay all the time, and have bought quite a bit of it myself to experiment with. Sadly, some sellers think that their closet stored 30+ year old Super 8mm filmstock is worth a small fortune, what with the increased interest in this gauge. You can always make them an offer, if allowed. And most of these films can be self processed as well. There are various methods available to process your own film, so it doesn't have to be expensive if you can't afford the sometimes pricey LOMO tanks.

I received mine yesterday. There's a limit of 5 per customer, they are $39.99 each, so best to buy more than one due to the shipping and tax costs which raises the per cartridge cost. I am hoping KODAK will sell Super 8mm in bulk version or perhaps in Double Super 8mm bulk so we can load our own cartridges. I'm sure with bulk film, we can bring the cost down. I was originally hoping the cost would be similar to the VISION 3 stocks, but it's much higher. This might be due to this initial production run. Perhaps once they do more, there might be volume discounts on 20 to 200 cartridges as in the past. Either way, still an exciting time for Super 8mm!

Fomapan R-100 is a really nice old world silver rich film, with deep blacks, clear highlights, crisp whites, and fun to use. However, unfortunately, there is a perforation pitch problem, small, however it is there when compared to KODAK standard films. The Double 8mm does tend to extend out and is noticeable after more than a dozen frames. In practice, it's nominal and the film is very usable of course. This pitch variation is also noticeable on their 16mm films, but due to the larger frame size and longer perf spacing compared to Double 8mm, it's less of an issue. The 35mm versions, made more for still film have different perf shapes, but from various others shooting it in cine cameras, their results seem workable. You'd have to do your own tests of course before committing this to a project. And yes, I have mentioned the perforation issue to FOMA some years ago, and received a polite letter and email to the effect that the punch dyes are older and they can't afford to spend the amount it would cost to redo them just to fix this variation. The film is also available in Double Super 8mm, as well as having been custom loaded into Super 8mm cartridges. Owing to the thicker film base support, sometimes there are transport issues, something to check first of course. Since most of the small DS8 and Double 8mm 25ft/7.5m loading cameras do not use a sprocket to drive the film rather a spring roller on feed and a rubber snubber prior to takeup, a wipe of the film gate and pressure plate with silicone, wax, or movie film cleaner with lubricant will help the film advance...IF there is a transport issue with this thicker film base material. Lastly, owing the built in anti-halation remjet equivalent in a dye form, there is no issue of polished film pressure plate ghosting. This reversal film is unique in that this anti-halation dye is dissolved out during the bleach stage of the B&W Reversal process. Despite a few odd issues with this film, it is a pleasure to use and it also does very well being processed in Sepia Tone Reversal having nice rich deep browns and tinted highlights and rich blacks (owing to the silver rich density they appear black where no detail is present). Plenty of those fine BOLEX H-8 cameras around. The non-reflex ones have an advantage of no light loss due to a prism, or dirty or cloudy prism, use the less costly D-mount lenses, do have reflex viewing lens unit options if needed, tend to be more robust due to lack of variable shutter issues, and they generally can be purchased far less than their reflex counterparts. Best ones to consider are those with the frame counter built in and with serial number sequence range after 100,400 which had a major change to the claw mechanism, known as the film registration claw. These tend to be steadier and the backwind claw is steady enough to film in reverse using the small hand crank if you want to. In my experience, as long as the cameras are well lubricated and cared for and work well, even very old ones will produce nice steady images. The later H-8s also had an 18fps speed setting between the 16fps and 24fps marked range on the knob. Those H series cameras run well enough to use as small film contact printers if need be! Also, the small B and D models are very nice to use as well.

Hi, first off, unless this cartridge of EKTACHROME 160 Type G has been stored in the deep freeze since new, it is now well over 3 decades old and will have lost contrast, film speed, have severe color dye shift to virtually mostly all green. Another crux in the mix depends on which of the 3 process types this film requires: Process ME-4(thus no mention on cartridge label as to process type, ran 1970 to 1981 requiring emulsion prehardening, very rare to get processes correctly now), Process EM-25 (a short lived one year approximately intermediate process which still required film emulsion prehardening but had a major developer change, ran 1981 until introduction of Process EM-26 in Sept 1981), or Process EM-26 which was the final of that generation of Ektachrome films, and had prehardened film emulsions for high temp processing and ran from Sept 1981 to Sept 1995 when manufacture of those Ektachrome movies films ceased (being replaced by Ektachrome VNF 7240 (requiring Process VNF-1) to be replaced by Ektachrome 64T and at the end Ektachrome 100D (both of those requiring the revered long living Process E-6) with Ektachrome 100D soon to return. Not to burst your bubble, but again, IF this film has only been stored at room temp, the quality will be terrible in color, and still pretty poor if processed in B&W (but if doing it that way, then you'd be better off just using a nice fresh roll of TRI-X film for B&W). Considering the higher cost to process the film in color, only to yield low contrast mostly all green color with no real shadow detail etc, you'd be far better off getting a good roll of either Ektachrome 100D which some are still selling, or the previous EK64T, or one of those Fujichrome Provia or Velvia custom loaded films, all which will yield you predictable results worth the time and cost to film, process, and have a great film of the special event! One more thing about Ektachrome 160 Type G, which many of us referred to as "G for garbage" back in the day. It was only color balanced to about 4400K cooler than normal color daylight reversal film, since it's design for intended for an all around and mixed lighting film. So, where there was daylight, flourescent light, and tungsten, it faired okay. Daylight was too cool, unless you filtered it warmer, and Tungsten was awful mostly orange due to the way off color temp range. As it aged well past it's expiration date, due to the original color layer packing, it would shift more radically, so harder to predict without some testing. With it being so old now, the only version I would trust is my own cache of frozen film. Please consider all this BEFORE you risk your time and effort in filming this special day and in the end, wish you just hadn't wasted your time, energy and money. As I have said sometimes before to others, would you eat a can of soup that was 30+ years old? Maybe if it was boiled well and was all you had after a zombie apocalypse. Same for film. Use that old roll to goof around with in testing a camera's transport system or something where it wouldn't be so sad to have it all come out ruined in the end. Oh yes, do include a color chart and grey chart, and then you'll see that all mostly green, so even that attempt will not help really, sorry. However, it will show you have severely the film has aged, which can then be measured on a Densitometer and plotted out graphically. Just my two cents here. Good luck though!

The front cover is removalable and the bulb comes out as part of a unit. It is soldered into position and part of the assembly. So before you remove the bulb from it's position, take a digital picture of it so you can put the new one back into the exact or very similar position. The metal frame the bulb is attached to comes out as one piece. You must remove this bracket unit in order to get at the bulb. Do not try to remove the bulb from the bracket holder until you've removed it. BAIA sold replacements already presoldered into these holders, but these are getting rare to find. That being said, if you can solder, you can fit a new lamp for it. Good luck!

Hi Michael, yes, I've used both versions of these tanks. The Super 8mm version is quite easy to load, perhaps the easiest to load reel type design out of all the ones I've ever seen and used. The Double 8mm version is a bit trickier to load, must be done slowly and carefully, since the film likes to jump out of the spiral groove. I have found that wiping the spiral reel and especially the clear platten top underside, it will allow the Double 8mm (16mm width) film to slide more easily into the grooves without jumping track/groove. As for processing, do NOT use the chemical port! It's is way to slow to fill and drain, and will cause all kinds of uneven processing. The best way is to have all your solutions and wash water ready and to temp, go dark, remove the lid and remove the film from the tank and set it aside somewhere safe. Fill the tank with your solution, set the timer, add the film and initiate agitation, up and down, side to side etc. Continue processing in the dark and have a wash tray nearby to remove film for wash/rinses. Once you're past the dark only stages you can turn the lights on. It is quite possible to get good results by replacing the tank lid once initial agitation has been completed, and then you can turn the room light on. Agitation can be continued via various movements of the tank on the table top, similar to using a single reel NIKOR type still film tank, also via side to side movements, and gentle rocking of the winding shaft. I do recommend highly that before the dark processing stage ends, have all items set for the next step, go dark, then remove the lid, watch your timer, and then remove the film holding at an angle for draining, rotate slowly while draining, then into your large wash tray for rinsing etc. Pour chemistry out of the Film Tank into a container, rinse it well, fill with your next chemical, and reinsert your film after setting the timer for that stage. A lot of how much you're in the dark stage will depend on whether you're processing Negative or Reversal film. With care, these Superior/Powell/ESO-S tanks will deliver quality results, one roll of film at a time. I still use these, in addition to other processing tanks and reels that I use, as well as the LOMO tanks. I've used these Superior Bulk Film design processing tanks for nearly 40 years now. Keep in mind, that the Double 8mm tank will only hold about a maximum of 33 feet of film for anyone contemplating using it for 16mm film processing. And IF doing 16mm film, IF processing Super 16mm film, load it so that the sprocket holes are in the spiral reel, otherwise there will be processing artifacts due to turbulance in the groove. Do make sure to prewash all film with good agitiation to make sure the film is not stuck to the spirals, and make sure to load the film emulsion outward, thus the tension on the film will be base side against the spiral. Good luck!

The F/8 indication is the needle position for checking the battery power. If at F/8 means there is full power. If it stays there that means there's an issue with the battery check switch, which is a small black pin button on the manual aperture setting knob. It must be retaining it's connection and/or the spring is too weak to break the battery check connection.....it will have to opened and fixed. You could also just remove the push button and see if the meter goes back to normal. If not, pull up slightly on the metal tab underneath to break that switch connection. You could leave it like that and just test your batteries externally from the on, once the meter is usable again. The motor batteries have a larger sliding switch, but this can sometimes happen there as well from age. Try this and I wish you luck in getting your camera working again!