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Just bought a Super 8 from Salvation Army


Brandon B

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I just got back from the salvation army with a super 8 camera for 10 bucks.

It said it was "sold as is" but I bought it because one....the lens doesn't have any scratches, two..it has a Kodachrome cartridge in it already and three, when I pressed the button on it it started running the motor like it was filming.

 

So now I have questions about it....

 

I'm very new to super 8 by the way...

 

How do I know when the film has been used up all the way? It came with a kodachrome cart in it and when i press the button it runs the motor like its filming but how do i know when the film runs out? will the motor still run? what tells me its done with the film in it?

 

Can i develop film somewhere local or do i have to send it out to one of the places i heard about that are the last of the super 8 developers?

 

When filming on Super 8....can you exchange cartridges from one camera to another or is it once you put the film in one camera you have to keep it in there till its used up?

 

Also...i wish i knew about the quality of this camera...it says it's a Keystone K-612 auto instant zoom. i think its one of the 1960's cameras. I've heard these aren't very good for filming on? Nothing professional at least...but how "bad" or "good" is it really to film on cheap ones like this? was this a waste of money for 10 bucks or is it usable? thanks in advance for the advice.

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dwayne's photo or pro 8mm will process super 8 (dwaynes is the only place i know of that will do kodachrome). a bit of googling will probably show up some other options too. it is a very basic camera but that doesn't mean it wont produce interesting results. get yourself a roll of reversal film or two and have play. it will probably not meter negative properly but you never know- sometimes you seem to be able to get away with it. this is particularly true when shooting in dimmer conditions as the camera aperture will just be fully open (or nearly) and you've got a bit of latitude on neg.

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Stay away from Pro 8mm (burbank). Dwayne's is great, you can get ektachrome there for cheaper than any where except direct from kodak and they also offer the cheapest E6 (ektachrome) processing I have found anywhere. Chances are, the Kodachrome in there is no longer much good, but definitely worth experimenting with. Dwayne's will process it for $10. Try not to press the trigger any more unless you are ready to film because that little cartridge only holds 2.5 to 3.3 minutes of footage depending on your frame rate, but Im guessing it's running at 18 fps. Also, use it primarily outside. The cartridge can be taken out and put in different cameras, that is the glory of super 8. Take the cartridge out and look at the film, it will say "exposed" on it if it has all been used. The camera will still run when it has all been exposed, but when it hits the end you can usually hear a little click. Id say for $10 it doesn't hurt, especially if it gets you started with this fantastic hobby. Good luck and have fun!

 

Link to Dwayne's

 

www.dwaynesphoto.com

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Two more things to note.

If the cartridge says Kodachrome 40 then it can be processed. If it says Kodachrome II then it can't be processed by Dwaynes (who are the last kodachrome processor). There is a lab in Canada that MIGHT get a black and white neg out of it. But if it doesn't have extra footage of some great event its not worth it. Further, you have to assume that the kodachrome is very old in there and might well just give you a clear strip of film when you develop it. At best you can expect a very thin and red image.

Yes, as said above, you can take super 8 cartridges in and out of the camera. All you loose is about 6 frames of film. But the footage counter is reset whenever you open the film door. There will be a footage counter on the camera somewhere that counts up (or down) to (or from) 50. There is 50 feet of film

in a super 8 cartridge.

good luck with it.

rt

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