Need Help Understanding an 8mm camera

S

Swanpond

After going through some stuff in my grandparents attic, we came across an old 8mm film camera. Or it could be super 8, I"m not sure. I was hoping someone would be able to tell me some things about it. On the front it says ETONA 8 (XX Auto Zoom - EE). It has one lense on it that reads "ETONAR ZOOM 1:1.9 No. 14024. I have looked inside it and can see where the film is loaded and it actually had some film in it. Also, i cranked it and pushed the button and it does run through the spools. Can someone give me some advice to this camera?

1. Is it 8mm and not super 8 (hopefully i'm not being an idiot and that is the same thing)?

2. How do I properly load film and shoot?

3. How do I treat the film? Is it just like a 35mm still camera where the film can't be exposed and such?

4. Where can I buy film for it?

Any other advise would be greatly appreciated.
 
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I can only tell you that the 1:1.9 on the lens means it's maximum aperture is f1.9. :( I almost picked up an 8mm film camera at a thrift store, but that's as close as I've gotten to one. One of my friends shot a movie 20 years ago on 8mm, and he tells me the resolution is a little less than standard definition video. Of course, you could digitize it into 30bit RGB and have much better color resolution than miniDV, I would think. Then again, that is just speculation.
 
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1. It's 8mm. A Japanese made camera from the 1960's.

2-3. 8mm is a "daylight" load camera. Each spool is 16mm which
you run through the camera twice. You can load it in subdude light
- a dark room is best but even loading in shade is fine. After you
shoot the 25ft reel you will flip the reel over and shoot the next 25ft.
The lab then slits the 16mm film lenghtwise, splices it together and
you have a 50ft reel of films to show on your projector. Or transfer
to video.

4. Kodak stopped making 8mm stock years ago, but there are a few
places that supply it. Check http://www.8mmfilmstock.com/
 
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I don't think that's the case Will. I believe that 16mm stock is
different than 8mm stock. My understanding is that 8mm stock
has different sproket holes than 16mm.

Swanpond - if it's an 8mm camera then you use 8mm film stock,
not super 8.

So what's been happening during the 8 months since you asked your
questions? Have you used that camera at all?
 
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