So I was at yard sales this morning, and for a crisp new dollar bill I bought a Super 8 handheld movie camera. You remember them. They were all the rage back in the 70s before video cameras became affordable. (This one’s also a silent one.)
Anyone out there still using one?
It didn’t come with film, so now I go about trying to find some. I know if it’s out there, it’s gotta be pretty expensive - are they still making it? Anyone know where I can find some?
And for those of who who do have a Super 8 - do you ever take it out of the mothballs? Do you use it at all?
I just thought it looked kind of neat. True, even if I do get film I won’t get more than a couple of minutes…
I don’t know anything about this topic, but ebay should have film, and if you read the text in the ebay ads, you will most likely find that the seller has a web site to film processing, etc. Then there is always Google!
You can get super-8 film at good camera stores. You can also get it directly from Kodak, Fuji or Agfa. Bel-Air Camera in Westwood (CA) carries it, and I think Yale Laboratories might. Super-8 Sound has it, if you can deal with their attitude. (I get the impression that if you’re not using a new high-end Beaulieu, they think you’re not worthy. YMMV.)
ijm Incorporated fixes super-8 cameras. They like Elmo and Beaulieu. Really, most other brands mightn’t be worth repairing. Elmo and Beaulieu have especially good lenses. “Irv” is the owner and prefers to communicate by telephone rather than e-mail.
Super-8 is still a viable medium, but more for “experimental” filmmaking. It has its uses, but I think it works best nowadays in films that are primarily shot in a different format and use the super-8 for contrast. Several feature-length films have been shot on super-8 including Zombie! vs. Mardi Gras (said to be “the worst film ever made” – it’s available on VHS) and A Polish Vampire in Burbank. (I belive this one is also still available as well.)
Super-8 film is less expensive than 16mm, but it’s harder to come by and getting more expensive. I think 50 feet of super-8 (2 minutes, 30 seconds at 24fps or 3minutes, 20 seconds at 18fps) costs about $15, plus another $10 or so for processing. A 400 foot roll of Fuji 125 (11 minutes) runs a little over $100, plus processing.
I did google it, Violet, but I came up with a lot of links for places that developed the film, but didn’t necessarily sell it.
Thanks for the links, heathen and Johnny. I’ll check em all out when I return home later today.
Good call about the projector, hh. I could probably borrow the one they have here at the dantheman homestead, but I bet I could find a relatively cheap one online.
I don’t think ijm (linked earlier) sells film, but he does have equipment, including projectors. From personal experience, I can recommend Elmo projectors. According to the page, “Everything we sell is cleaned and serviced, and comes with a warranty.”
Johnny, luckily I don’t plan on making a movie with this doohickey. I just think it’ll be fun to play with. If the film is $15-25, that’s fine. I’ll amuse myself with it. Hell, it’s still cheaper than a camcorder.
Plus, I can’t believe the damn thing cost a dollar. Sure, maybe it really doesn’t work, although I was assured otherwise. Still, a worthy investment.
I’m checking out the great B&H site that happyheathen provided, and I’m coming up with a lot of results.
Inside the camera I have (which is a Chinon 213 P XL), the following appears:
Daylight ASA 25 100
Artificial Light ASA 40 160
I’m assuming “ASA” is the brand of film and that 25 and 40 are the # of exposures - right? And 100 and 160 are the types of film?
(Actually, looking at that site I see “40’” - does 40 and 25 refer to the feet of film? I guess since we’re talking about a movie camera, it wouldn’t be exposures, huh? ;))
When I click Super 8, here are the results on this particular site:
Now, given what I’ve told you - and if there’s more info I can provide, I sure will - do any of these films seem suitable?
Or should I click further, either googling “ASA 25 100” or even Chinon? I did google them, but didn’t come up with much. And of course, I could try the other links you’ve all suggested.
Forgot to mention one thing - this came with one of those lights you attach to the top of the camera to give you a backlight. What’s more, it works! Neat.
“ASA” equates to the E.I., or “exposure index”. I don’t remember what it stands for at the moment. If you have Kodak Ektachrome 100 in your 35mm still camera, it is ASA 100 film.
Film is colour balanced for artificial light (“Tunsten”) and natural light (“Daylight”). Daylight has a colour temperature of about 5,500°K and tungsten is 3,400°K or 3,200°K. If you use tungsten-balanced film in daylight, it will have a bluish tint. If you use daylight-balanced film under tungsten lights, it will have a brownish tint.
To balance tungsten film for use outside in the daylight, you need to use an orange filter (#85A or similar). The camera has a knob on it with a picture of a light bulb or a sun. Turning the knob to the sun symbol should put an orange filter into the aperture (which you can see if you look through the film gate). When you use a filter you cut out some of the light that hits the film. A #85 filter reduces the light by 2/3 of a stop. IIRC, using a blue filter with daylight film so you can shoot under artificial light costs you 2 stops.
So the lower number is the “ASA rating” with a filter in place, and the higher number is the rating without a filter.
ASA - American Standards Association (now replaced by ISO - International Standards Organization) - it rates the speed of the film - the lower the speed, the more light is required to expose it.
(in other words, it is telling you the shutter speed of the camera)
I suspect that the marking are giving you a range of acceptable ASA speeds - the emulsions available then really were ‘tungsten’ OR ‘daylight’ - none of this wishy-washy stuff you see in modern consumer films.
What mailers does B&H offer? I’d tend toward the kodachrome if I could get a mailer for it.
Find out how you are going to get the stuff developed, and ask for a film recommendation - Ektachrome uses a different chemistry than Kodachrome (the “tungsten” in the name says it is intended for artificial light)
And, a film with ‘X’ in its name is BLACK AND WHITE.
(have no idea what the “Vision 200T” is (except to suspect that the ‘T’ is for tungsten (artificial light)
Thanks, guys. I think I’ve found the right stuff. Looks like the total cost, including shipping, will be around $19. And that’s fine.
But before I order it, I’ll look into who can develop it. Good call there, hh. Be a shame to invest even $19 and find you can’t get anyone to develop it.
Neat.