Hey everyone.

I was considering purchasing a Mini DV camera and then I stumbled upon sonnyboo's Super 8 article. I have a few questions since this looks like very affordable FILM.

What kind of camera should I get? From where?

How do you edit?

Where do I buy the film? Is it expensive?

Will the cam be simple enough to operate?

Is this something that is going to be around for awhile and I won't have to scrounge to find film?

What about external mics?

Thanks. And if you're confused by my last question ( I am too ) just throw everything you know about them at me. :)

How do you edit?

You can either slice & glue your film together on a splicer, or have the film transferred to video and edit on your computer.

What kind of camera should I get? From where?

I got mine from E-bay (arrives any day now). You could also try local pawn-shops, I guess. Only one company still makes a Super-8 new... and apparently it's kinda pricey.

And that is the limit to my Super-8 knowledge. http://www.stevenrichards.com/images/smiley_pac.gif

Hit your local thift stores for cameras also. I have found about three cameras, working mechanically. Two of them are packed up in the states so I have not had a chance to run film through them.

The one I have with me in Korea is a Yashica Super-800 Electro (star of the upcoming short film "The Camera"). I bought this camera for $5 at a thrift store in Utah. It was brand spanking new including a case. I downloaded instructions of a website. I have yet to run film through it because of being in Korea but plan to do so before I leave.

So check thrift stores also!

.....Kodak Info on Super 8 (http://www.kodak.com/US/en/motion/super8/tips.jhtml?id=0.1.4.4.10.8&lc=en)

What kind of camera should I get? From where?

First of all, Super8 is an outstanding medium to learn filmmaking on in my opinion... I've had at least 50 different kinds of cameras over the last 25 years and I've narrowed my favorite brands down to the following:

Canon (especially the 1014XLS and 814XLS --also the older 1014 Auto Zoom and 814 non sound cameras)
Nizo (Professional and 6080)
Elmo (1012XLS)
Nikon (R8 and R10)
Bauer (S715XL Microcomputer)

And, to a lesser degree, any Beaulieu... LOL. I have 3 of them and in my opinion, they simply are not the great cameras they're made out to be... Good but any of the above cameras are equally as good. Also, Sankyo made a couple of pretty good cameras as did Chinon... The models escape me right now... But the higher end models were really nice.

Definitely check out yard sales and thrift stores... I have a Beaulieu 6008 that bought at a yard sale for $15... LOL. Yeah, a pretty good deal. LOL. I bought a Canon 1014 XLS from a classified ad from a guy that bought it new for like $1500 back in the early 80's and never even opened the box... Came with the larger boom mike too... Bought that whole kit for $250.

You just gotta keep your eyes open... Check eBay out for sure... Although the prices aren't outstanding, some fair deals can be had there.

How do you edit?

Like a lot of old timers, I used to actually cut the film... No more. Now I shoot Super8 and telecine to MiniDV and edit on Vegas Video 5.0. I prefer doing it that way over cutting film...

Where do I buy the film? Is it expensive?

Buy it straight from Kodak.

Will the cam be simple enough to operate?

Very simple... Simpler than a camcorder but definitely try to get the manual... If you can't get the manual for the camera you buy, then try to find a copy online... Lots of sites have online copies of manuals...

Is this something that is going to be around for awhile and I won't have to scrounge to find film?

Most likely you'll have to buy it online/through the mail but it certainly seems like Super8 film will be around for quite a while...

What about external mics?

It's up to you what kind of mike to get... Since you're not recording through the camera, get a good mike and DAT recorder... Again, lots of good fair deals on eBay for both... You just gotta commit to shop every day to find the best deals... I'd recommend a good shotgun mike... Sennheiser, Audio Technica, and Azden will do the job fairly cheap. Additionally, you could use a camcorder with a decent mike to record sound.

Although I personally have never used Double Super8 cameras (DS8) I know people that have and these are also really decent cameras... They shoot 16mm film with Super8 perfs (I think) and after you shoot one side you open the camera, flip the roll over and shoot the other side... Then you send the roll out and it gets developed and split down the center... From what I've seen of the Bolex and Canon (like the Scoopic) DS8s, they have a rock steady image...

Once you get familiar with your camera, you might even consider having the gate taken out and machined wider for SuperDuper8 widescreen... LOL.

filmy

FilmJumper,

Where do you telecine to Mini DV?

FilmJumper,

Where do you telecine to Mini DV?

Scooter,

The last Super8 telecine job I (about a year ago) was done by:

Integrated Imaging (http://www.integratedphoto.com) out of Casper, Wyoming. A couple of friends in Los Angeles turned me on to them... They use a multiplexer instead of a rank but WHOA, the results easily rivaled anything I've ever seen come out of Pro8mm and for a hell of a lot cheaper too... I also sent them the MiniDV tape I wanted the Super8 transferred to since I think they use Maxell tapes and I hate that brand...

As far as a professional rank telecine... Lots of places in Los Angeles can do it from what I understand...

filmy

I had a Super 8 camera and used to film with it a lot. However, the model I had they stopped making film for it. It was a Fuji and I could only get the silent film (I always wanted sound but could never get my hands on it). Anyway, that's been my experience with Super 8.

Kenn
:cool:

Kenn,

Yeah, you're talking about a Fujica Single8 camera... I actually had a ZC 1000 (I think that was the model) for a couple of years but always had a hard time finding Single8 film so I got rid of it... Outstanding camera though... Rock steady!

Having said that... I think you can still get silent Single8 film overseas... I've see it for sale here: The Widescreen Centre (http://www.widescreen-centre.co.uk/cine.html) as well as a couple of Japanese sites...

I almost bought one on eBay for a couple of hundred a few months back but was still worried about getting film for the damn thing... Great camera though.

filmy

Just curious but why shoot super8? Doesn't it have approx. the "resolution" of DV with about the same level of dynamic range? I can understand wanting to go with Film but from what I think I know I would much rather go with the DVX or XL2...

Just curious but why shoot super8? Doesn't it have approx. the "resolution" of DV with about the same level of dynamic range? I can understand wanting to go with Film but from what I think I know I would much rather go with the DVX or XL2...

Shaw,

I think Super8 does technically have a higher resolution than MiniDV but the problem is getting that resolution when telecined to MiniDV.

About a year or so I saw a Super8 short that had been (if I remember correctly) transferred to MiniDV via a Rank telecine where it was edited and finished and then the completed short was output to DigiBeta which was then transferred to 35mm film.

At the time I saw the film, I was blown away... It was very good. A little jumpy here and there (probably the camera) but almost (not quite) as good as some 16mm films I've seen optically blown up to 35mm and projected in a theater...

Now I did not see "28 Days Later" (at the theater) but I did see "Open Water" at the theater (although I know nothing of their video to film transfer) and I was able to sit all over the theater to see how well the film looked... I thought for the most part, it looked better than the Super8 short... In fact, it held up well against 16mm films blown up to 35mm that I have seen... All except some of the long shots... Not very sharp and some aliasing...

So unless you can actually capture the extra resolution that Super8 affords, I would almost agree with you hence, the reason I bought a DVX100A... But I still have all my Super8 cameras... Because despite the slight differences in resolution, I find that there's something more organic (for lack of a better word) about watching a film originating on Super8...

I find the DVX100's picture totally acceptable though...

filmy

Canon (especially the 1014XLS and 814XLS --also the older 1014 Auto Zoom and 814 non sound cameras)
Nizo (Professional and 6080)
Elmo (1012XLS)
Nikon (R8 and R10)
Bauer (S715XL Microcomputer)
filmy
Nice choices! I've been thinking about getting an R-10 myself ;)

Excellent, informative post, FilmJumper. I hope ben returns to see it.

I bought the Nikon R10 in 1976 and the Beaulieu 5008 in 1979. I love and still use both cameras.

The Canon 1014XLS is also an excellent camera. I got one used in 1990 and still use it every once in a while.

Thanks for the reply FilmJumper :)

I completely understand what you mean by super8 having an organic quality to it. Just wanted to make sure I wasn't missing something key!

Hey everyone.

I was considering purchasing a Mini DV camera and then I stumbled upon sonnyboo's Super 8 article. I have a few questions since this looks like very affordable FILM.

What kind of camera should I get? From where?

How do you edit?

Where do I buy the film? Is it expensive?

Will the cam be simple enough to operate?

Is this something that is going to be around for awhile and I won't have to scrounge to find film?

What about external mics?

Thanks. And if you're confused by my last question ( I am too ) just throw everything you know about them at me. :)


I shoot both Mini DV and film (Super 8, 16mm, and 35mm).

I transfer my Super 8 to Mini DV to edit. (www.thetransferstation.com) I even use a mini DV camcorder to record sound when I shoot Super 8, using an external shotgun mic.

The film is a lot more expensive than DV. Read my other article called "STEPS". Shoot DV first & learn how to tell a story & frame shots before stepping up to film. You'll be happier with the results when you master some basisc of storytelling with a camcorder.

FilmJumper & sonnyboo,

Thanks for the transfer link. I must have pro8mm prices locked in my brain. On the site FIlmJumper recommended it was about $150 to transfer an hour of footage if I did the estimator right. It looked cheaper at sonnyboos link but there pricing wasn't as clear. That seems like a good price. Correct me if my math is wrong. If it is I am going to order some Super 8 and try this camera out. Wooo Hooooo!

I love this forum!!!!
<wipes tear from eye>

just to bring peoples minds to it, double super8 is still here and is the better and cheaper format. please check out my thread.

as for whats the right camera...how good do you want the image to be? do you want to finish only on video? do you want to record images or do you want to create the image? (yes there is a difference)

feel free to email me

bloopoid@yahoo.com