Buying a super 8mm camera

I actually did quite a bit of work back in the day with Super 8 and own a dozen or so cameras. Get some film stock quick...Kodak no longer makes any and I believe they stopped developing it within the last year or two. Find a good online source and buy a bunch. You can even still find B&W.

As for cameras, they range from simple cameras with just an aperture ring all the way up to cameras with motorized zoom lenses. Some of the best were made by Beaulieu. Here is a good resource, with links to pages where you can purchase cameras: http://www.super8camera.com/cameras.php. Unfortunately, the unpopularity of the medium hasn't brought the prices on premium equipment down very much.

But often times large camera stores will have a couple of used Super 8s gathering dust in some back room, things they took in on trade back in the '80s...they are usually more than happy to unload them at large discounts. This is how I acquired most of my equipment.

Super 8 is probably the most punk of all available film/video formats, so a strong aesthetic is important. Make sure your vision is bright and clear before rolling, and the results should be astonishing. If you can make a digital transfer and can post your Super 8 project when it is finished, I am looking forward to seeing it. Good luck!

The three best - in my opinion - are:
Beaulieu 4008 ZM II - I shot two features with this camera.
Nikon R10 - the first camera I ever bought
Canon 1041 XL-S - a solid camera with a great lens and pretty good under low light conditions.

The others:
Canon 514 XL-S and 814 XL
Elmo 612S-XL / 1012S-XL
Bauer and Elmo make solid cameras on the lower end.

BTW Uranium City: Super 8 film is easy to get and going strong.

I still have over $10K worth of Super8 cameras sitting in one of my vacant bedrooms... LOL.

My number one choice was always the Canon 1014 XL-S with my next choice being the 814 XL-S.

Canon 1014 XL-S footage

Super quiet. Not a lot of drifting when trying to sync up sound to picture as long as your batteries are fresh.

After that, I like the Braun Nizo 6080

Braun Nizo 6080 footage

After that, the Beaulieu 2008, 3008, 4008, 5008, 6008, and 7008, and 9008. I like the 4008, 6008, 7008 best. The 9008 is just too damn expensive even if you can find one for sale.

Beaulieu 7008 footage

Beaulieu 6008 footage

Beaulieu 4008 footage

filmy

Thanks alot guys, i'll be sure to post the film here once finished although it won't be for a while though

Directorik, where do you get your stock? I have a heck of a time getting stock locally, much less processed. Pretty much gave up three or four years ago to avoid the hassle.

Not sure about Detroit, but here in Los Angeles there are several
places that carry Super8 film and do the processing/telecine. And
they do everything mail order, too.

http://www.yalefilmandvideo.com/

http://www.tapesuperstore.com/16mm35mm.html is located in NY.

http://www.spectrafilmandvideo.com/

http://www.pro8mm.com/

http://www.chamblesscineequip.com/Default.htm are located in Georgia.

A quick on line search and I found Filmcraft Labs in Detroit. I
don’t know anything about them but they were listed on
http://www.8mmfilmstock.com/processing.html

http://www.filmtech.com/ doesn’t sell stock, but I’ve been in
their building and they do amazing work transferring super 8.

Thanks so much for the links. I've been reading all the wrong blogs, it seems. Or at least blogs filled with Chicken Littles claiming the Super 8 sky is falling. Glad I joined this forum for this information alone...now I should dust off my cameras!

Even in the UK theres a place called the widescreen centre that sells 8mm stock and processes it. Or theres always ebay

Kodak still makes film in colour reversal, black and white reversal and negative colour varieties - and has recently introduced the Vision 3 stock in Super 8mm. Resellers also re-package numerous other Kodak and Fuji stocks in 8 form - see http://www.onsuper8.org for more.

Agree on the Canon 1014 XL-S or its fab youger brother the 814XL-S - or go for a Nizo 801 or Nizo Pro

Cheers

Giles