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Hi folks! Long time, no see! So I've had my Canon Auto-Zoom 518 for about a year and a half now. It's an awesome camera, but for as long as I've had it, the light-meter has been consistently finicky. It requires batteries that no longer exist (PX625), so I have to resort to obscure substitutes (Wein Cells 1.35V Mercury Replacement Battery) that often stop working, such and such. For the past few months, I was using somewhat of a hack with a random alkaline battery and the Wein Cell, which was working until I left my camera in the cold for a bit too long. Even now, when I bought the correct Wein Cells, the light meter refuses to work. There is no indication of the light meter being powered or anything. I've tried turning it off and on, and everything that has worked in the past. I'm wondering now a few things: Should I be using different batteries? Has the cold done irreparable damage to the light meter? Do I need a new camera? I really love the camera. It has a crisp image and isn't too bulky. (Here is a project I shot on it) I'm not too quick to drop it for another model. However, if I had to, which cameras have more reliable light meters and aren't too expensive? (I have a budget of $100-$125) Is there anything that comes to mind? Thanks so much as always, Aaron Razi Baseman

Hello, everyone! I know there's probably a bunch of "I'm new" threads on here every so often, but I'd really appreciate it if I could get some help from the people who know this format way better than I do. I recently purchased a Canon Autozoom 518 as my first Super 8 camera. I admit that I might not have done as much research as I should have, because only now am I finding out that it only goes as high as 160 ASA. I don't think it will be a big deal to overexpose 200 ASA film by 1/3 of an f-stop, but then again, I don't really understand much about exposure and film speed. I'd be filming mostly in daylight, with some interior shots added here and there. As far as I understand it, Vision3 50D works best for natural light, while 200T is better suited to bright interior lighting (though it can also be shot in daylight with the camera's filter). I plan to scan all the footage I shoot. With this in mind, my questions are: 1. How much would the overexposure on 200 ASA films (Vision3, Wittnerchrome) affect the footage? 2. Would it be possible at all to shoot 500 ASA film on the camera? Should I get an ND filter if I choose to do so? 3. Would I be better off letting the camera set the exposure automatically or should I look into manual exposure? 4. Would I need to notch hack any of the cartridges? I plan on buying Kodak's 50D and 200T, in addition to Wittnerchrome 200D. In addition, I'm kind of lost when it comes to the camera's Tungsten and Daylight filters and what they do. 5. What film stock would give me the best results in my scenario? I'm looking for a fair amount of grain (though maybe not quite as much as the Wittnerchrome stock has) and vivid colors. I'm looking to stay away from a flat image as much as possible. 6. What processing and scanning service provide the best results? I was planning on having the reversal stock developed at Dwayne's Photo or Pro8mm, the color negatives processed at Cinelab and the scanning done at Gamma Ray Digital @ 2K, but if there are better options I'd love to know about them! 7. Is there any general advice I should know before shooting my first roll? Despite having read a lot about the format, I feel like you can never be too careful when trying out something new and unfamiliar. Thank you!