steve salem

I also agree with Bill Rodgers Negative film is fantastic but it's not the true super 8 experience. Reversal film is a defining factor in the look of super 8. When Tri-X is gone so too will super 8 in my opinion. Keep in mind that I'm talking exclusively about the super 8 experience. Not large format projects where the benefits of negative stock are more valid. I'd prefer to shoot digital and spend my money on plugs to get the look that I'm after. At a fraction of the cost. I hate white dirt, white grain - and you can't get that out. But I can very easily manipulate digital to look at least as good as Negative stock - almost as good as reversal. And the increased latitude of negative film is just flat and boring. I'd prefer to hit reversal film with the right light and get some magic. You can never really capture the magic of light passing through celluloid. It's what our brains recognize as film - mainly due to positive prints that we've all seen at movie theaters. But I'm sure there are many novices who will continue to over pay for half baked transfers of negative stock. Because they'll never know any better. And there are enough people vested in promoting Super 8 for their livelihood like Pro8mm and the wedding industry that it will still be a viable market for some time. Too bad Kodak isn't one of them. Botom Line: If you're looking for the true super 8 experience you've arrived a little late in the game.

Thank you Martin - I agree 100% Negative film is not the true super 8 experience. Reversal film is a defining factor in the look of super 8. Praying for a miracle.

Personally I would welcome a product like this. Many of the characteristics of super 8 is a product of the lens. Not necessarily because they are superior lenses but each of them has it's own quirks and personality. I'd be really curious to see how they deal with the shutter though. Since there would be no way to monitor the image on a product like this there would undoubtably be flicker or rolling shutter issues. As far as "the point" of super 8 being film, I agree for the most part. But since reversal film has been whittled down to Tri-X, the "true" super 8 experience has already died. Or at least will be dead when tri-x is killed. Negative film and modern scanning techniques are NOT the true super 8 experience. Now we need a 3rd party to process AND transfer the footage - that's daunting to me. One of the reasons I invested in my own equipment for transferring was that most of the transfers I was paying for were hack. It's bad enough that I have to wait with white knuckles until my film comes back in the hopes that the lab didn't munch it up in some way. The expense for working with super 8 has gone through the roof. Hopefully someone will step up and find a way to bring a color reversal back to the market. In the meantime I be getting the "vinatage looks" in post. It will save me thousands of dollars a year. Negative super 8 stocks just look like treated digital half the time anyway. my .02 </RANT>