8mm Movie film Velvia 50

Im aware of a couple outfits re-perfing Velvia 50 in Super 8mm movie film. But not long ago I read Fuji may have considered producing 8mm themselves for sale of Velvia 50. But whether it was double 8mm, Super 8mm, or what I don't know. Anyone heard anything on this or if this is even true? I would use it in Super 8mm if I got it. There are many labs that do E-6 cine, so this would be readily usable in many markets. I'd rather buy it direct from Fuji since those other outfits only sell their version with processing included, and being Im out of the US- means all the hassles of shipping cross border when I could easily get it done here for less.

I've tested one roll of reperfed Velvia 50 so far. I think I may have posted a still over on filmshooting.com. The grain and color are fantastic for Super-8, particularly projected, but some people have been reporting film steadiness issues. I haven't shot enough to be sure about that. I did get some chatter on my test roll, but I wasn't sure if it was a film issue, camera issue, or projector issue. I have a couple more rolls from Spectra to try.

When Kodak moved their Super-8 manufacturing division back to the U.S. from France, they also took the unloaded super-8 cartridges back as well. Rumor has it that they were not properly lubricated (and perhaps those in France had no desire to mention this since they were losing jobs, just a theory actually) so it is possible that there were some dodgy Velvia cartridges loaded at first.

Spectra Film and Video has since added an additional step in the loading process that seems to have made the cartridges run a lot smoother.

There is a rumor that Kodak may consider making Ektachrome 100D available in Super-8 but it would take a pre-order of 50 grand to make it happen. Ektachrome 100D is very close in quality to the Velvia, plus it is a full stop more sensitive.

One site that sells Velvia Super 8 also sell 100D as well. So they could be doing the order with Kodak on that. The thing is Velvia 50 is the only film that can be used with the in camera metering. Turn the filter off which makes it 40. Velvia has always been more of an ASA 40 film anyway, so it works well with most cameras. Problem with any Super 8 film Kodak now sells, you have to over-ride the meter to a new setting. Which means you need to have an external light meter and know what your cameras shutter speed is. To date I still dont know what my cameras shutter speed is, so I would have no clue what to set the camera to.

I might be able to help you with how to meter for the film. Generally you can figure that your shutter speed is going to be around 180 degrees. The most you can be off is going to be 30 degrees in either direction which isn't that much really.

So use 180 degrees as a default, and also add 1/2 of an f-stop to make up for the light that gets split off to the viewfinder. Now based on that info, if you want to experiment with one cartridge of film, zoom in to the area you want proper exposure on and see what your reading is. Either cross compare that with an external light meter, or simply use the zoom in technique, lock the exposure, then zoom out to shot you want, and see how far off you are. If you discover that you are consisently under or overexposed on every shot, then you make an f-stop "offset" adjustment and from now on you know that whatever the light meter tells you when you zoom in to add or subtract lets say one f-stop.

Once you master that concept, you can begin to increase your exposure accuracy by factoring in whether the object you are zooming into is either darker or brighter than 18% gray.

braxus said:

... To date I still dont know what my cameras shutter speed is, so I would have no clue what to set the camera to.

Click to expand...

What camera are you using Scott? Maybe one of us can tell you what the shutter angle is, and how much to allow for the beamsplitter, if your camera has one.

Best,
Helen

I've tested E100D as Wittnerchrome 100D reperfed by Wittner in Germany, and it is good stuff without the framing issues associated with Velvia. The grain isn't quite as good, and the color isn't as saturated, but it's better for skin tones.

Hey,

Great to hear from other 8mm/Super8 users out there. Yes, Velvia is being put into Super8 cartridges - I haven't tried it, but I will be in the next month. There are some really excellent films available in these small formats, and film yields *so* much more information and quality than tape/digital.

Cameras? I primarily use a Bauer Royal 10e Makro for Super8, and Bolex H8 for standard 8mm. They're all a lot of fun to use.

R.J.