A brand new Super 8 camera from Kodak?

[brofkand]

Kodak could delete kodak.com entirely and keep Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram and a majority of the people they're targeting this camera to would never even notice the difference.

 

[NortheastPhotographic]

Too funny. Kodak can keep their limited thinking if that if is what works for them. Using that strategy I wont see Kodak's name and so will think of them less and less, which is probably why I ordered 20 rolls of Fuji 400H last week instead of Portra.

Are you really so reliant on advertising? I don't remember the last time I saw an Hp5 ad but I still buy it. Kodak has opened up a pop up in London, they have increased their social media presence on Facebook and Instagram, and they have a podcast now. They go to the trade shows, and they've re-vamped their website. But I'll make sure to tell the next Kodak rep I see that they need to go to your house and start yelling ''EKTAR!!!!" right in your ear so you think of them more. Fujifilm 400H is a great film, in many ways better than Portra 400 for skin tones (IMO), but Fuji has indicated that they don't want to be making film long term. Kodak has indicated the opposite, as long as it's profitable. Good luck finding 400H in 5 years time.

 

[fdonadio]

Kodak could delete kodak.com entirely and keep Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram and a majority of the people they're targeting this camera to would never even notice the difference.

Twitter is pretty much open. You don't need an account to read anyone's "tweets".

Facebook, on the other hand, requires that you give them every bit of info about you and the blood of your first child in their sacrificial altar.

No way I'm getting into that (again).


Cheers,
Flavio

 

[cmacd123]

Facebook, on the other hand, requires that you give them every bit of info about you and the blood of your first child in their sacrificial altar.

other than a working email address there is not any enforced compulsion to give them ACCURATE information. you can say you are a 35 year old male Go-GO dancer from Ubeckastan and how are they going to know otherwise.

 

[fdonadio]

other than a working email address there is not any enforced compulsion to give them ACCURATE information. you can say you are a 35 year old male Go-GO dancer from Ubeckastan and how are they going to know otherwise.

How do YOU know I am a go-go dancer in Uzbekistan?

Now, getting back to seriousness... I've seen friends who had their accounts blocked or reported as fake having to show ID to prove they were who they claimed and get their accounts reactivated.

So, you can get away with EULA violation, as long as don't get caught.


Cheers,
Flavio

 

[NortheastPhotographic]

I'm not a Facebook user either, but somehow the Kodak newsletter with the link to the Super 8 sample footage still showed up in my inbox. Madness...

 

[flavio81]

How do YOU know I am a go-go dancer in Uzbekistan?

Wrong Flavio... i'm the gigolo dancer in Uzbekistan.

As for Kodak, marketing by Facebook is just fine, i don't see a problem with this.

 

[AgX]

There is a difference between marketing on Facebook and only marketing on Facebook.

Of the people I spoke to about them spreading substantial information only on Facebook, all were ignorant and desinterested in that issue, with exception of Mirko from Fotoimpex, who told me that he was aware of that and has and will put all information at least on his own site too.

 

[fdonadio]

There is a difference between marketing on Facebook and only marketing on Facebook.

I can't agree more.


Cheers,
Flavio

 

[fdonadio]

Wrong Flavio... i'm the gigolo dancer in Uzbekistan.

Now I know why some clubs are not hiring me anymore!


Cheers,
Flavio

 

[AgX]

Kodak statement Jan. 2016:
"The first new Super 8, expected to arrive in a limited-edition version in the fall of 2016, was conceived with help from the industrial designer Yves Behar. It is likely to cost between $400 to $750, Mr. Clarke estimated."

Kodak statement Nov. 2017:
"While an exact pricing has not been established, the unit cost will be around $2,500 to $3,000."

 

[RattyMouse]

Kodak statement Jan. 2016:
"The first new Super 8, expected to arrive in a limited-edition version in the fall of 2016, was conceived with help from the industrial designer Yves Behar. It is likely to cost between $400 to $750, Mr. Clarke estimated."

Kodak statement Nov. 2017:
"While an exact pricing has not been established, the unit cost will be around $2,500 to $3,000."

Pretty amazing price increase.

 

[AgX]

One of the major features of this new Super-8 camera would be the feature of "video-out", thus the chance to feed out the viewer image to a monitor or an electronic storage device. The former gives the cinematographer more freedom in camera handling as he can operate it away from his head.

BUT this in most cases involves further equipment and thus is contrary to the most important feature of Super-8 cameras cinematography: simplicity and compactness.

And with the new price range one is in the range of 16mm cameras, that already incorporate the video-out feature.

 

[Hubigpielover]

Prosumer? Ain't no such thing. When it was current S8 was never pitched at the professional market. Strictly amateur even though a few films that made it to general release contained a little blown up S8 footage. There were, though, cheapies and expensive ones with high ratio zoom lenses and more features than the cheapies.

Buy a copy of Lenny Lipton's The Super 8 Book. It isn't about technique, its about gear. He tried out many new cameras. The bad news is that one in three was dead on arrival.

People tout Beaulieus. They're beautiful artifacts but fragile. In my limited experience (4008 ZM, 4008 ZM2, 5008S-MS) used ones always need expensive overhauls. People tout Nikon R-8 and R-10. They have the nicest "the camera does it all" in camera fades and lap dissolves, but given the way films are shot these gimmicks, especially dissolves, are rarely useful. My R-10's f/1.4 (so engraved) zoom t-stopped around T/4. Really a camera for high noon. People tout Fuji's anti-Beaulieu the ZC-1000. Mine was beautiful and had the best finder of any S8 camera I've tried, but I hardly used it. When I got it Single 8 film and processing were too hard to get. I got it with the idea of putting its lens on a 4008 ZM2 or ZM4. In those days used 4008s were often sold without lenses. And then I lucked into what seemed to be a decent ZM2 with 6-66/1.8 Schneider so I sold the Fuji. People tout high end Canons, with 8x and 10x zooms. In all but the original 814 there's a rubber ball in the manual aperture mechanism. With age they all perish.

If I had to do it now and didn't have my Beaulieus (if they still work) I'd look for a high end Bauer. Back when, I bought a number of used Bauers, always as backups to my main camera, and all of them passed acceptance testing. High end Nizos had a good reputation but I never had one.

No matter what I bought, or from whom, I'd budget for an overhaul.

You seem to be pretty knowledgeable about film. Why not just go 16mm? You can buy a reworked Bolex pretty cheap and the company and resellers are still around to fix them. I keep kicking around (after I finish my darkroom) on getting a movie camera and the only reason I can see to get a Kodak is that they digitally scan it making it easier to share.

On a side note the Bauer's look cheap enough to jump into it without to much risk. Bolex are pretty pricey. Any particular model of the Bauer? What should I want and avoid in these cameras? Do I need a special attachment to record sound?

 

[btaylor]

If you want great picture quality then you would be wise to shoot 16mm and forego S8 entirely. Personally I would NOT go the Bolex route these days. Real professional 16mm cameras go for dirt these days-- like Arri, Eclair or Aaton. If you shoot any amount of film, the investment in camera gear will pale in comparison to the film and post costs. And Dan's comment about figuring for in the cost of an overhaul? Yes. It's simply part of the program.

 

[Europan]

I repair and service all kinds of motion-picture film machinery. Experience lets me judge on the announced product. In case it won’t have a viewfinder that works without electricity it will die a fast death. Who offers a photographic or cinematographic CAMERA OBSCURA without means for framing and focusing? You either have a matte surface in place of the recording medium or at least some sight. A visor.

Bell & Howell combined Filmo 70’s finder with the lid. Sturdy, reliable, precise. Other makes have a tube through the housing, protected. 8mm cameras were made with a true mirror reflex viewing system. Most Super-8 cameras had a prism reflex finder that is usable for unlimited time. No energy wasted, no accumulator needed, no switches.

The designer has cut off valuable bottom surface from the body. The Eastman-Kodak Company was known for a century to make cameras that take a good stand on the tripod, from the earliest boxes to Ciné-Kodak, Ciné-Kodak Special, to the Kodak Electric 8, M2, M4, and M6. If the announced product follows the prototype shown in this respect, pity. Who advertises a movie camera by pointing out its use off the tripod? Why a technically steadied picture when the user shakes and jitters the camera?

Plastic. Lightweight product. Is is necessary? Does that comply with Kodak’s retro thing? No, it doesn’t. Retro means exactly a Ciné-Kodak on a heavy enough tripod. Time for the setup. One own’s standpoint, not everyone’s. Else the entire retro fad is a lie.

 

[Dan Fromm]

You seem to be pretty knowledgeable about film. Why not just go 16mm? You can buy a reworked Bolex pretty cheap and the company and resellers are still around to fix them. I keep kicking around (after I finish my darkroom) on getting a movie camera and the only reason I can see to get a Kodak is that they digitally scan it making it easier to share.

On a side note the Bauer's look cheap enough to jump into it without to much risk. Bolex are pretty pricey. Any particular model of the Bauer? What should I want and avoid in these cameras? Do I need a special attachment to record sound?

Back when, I couldn't afford 16mm. Cameras (Bolexes, mainly) weren't that expensive. Editors and projectors were affordable. The cost of film and processing was a killer. So was weight. For what I was doing, working by myself was just possible. With 16 I'd have needed a crew. I did think long and hard about a Richter ...

I took up S8 to be able to share the experience of my field trips, not to film, um, drama. I stopped shooting when doing it right go to be too much of a burden. The field trips were collecting trips and setting up for shots was time-consuming. Think about it. Setting up in the field to run 10 sec of film takes considerably longer than 10 sec.

AFAIK -- I'm out of it now, haven't been paying attention to what's available so could be mistaken -- striped S8 film is no longer made. So if you want to do S8 with sound you'll have to use camera and recorder with crystal sync. This can be retrofitted to cameras and I think Tobin is still around.

I never used a "modern" Bauer. I bought early egg-shaped ones as backups to my main camera (initially one of several Canon 814s, several models, later a Beaulieu). For many purposes, but not filming, say, birds from a distance Canon 310XLs are nearly ideal. I got wonderful footage from mine.

 

[Hubigpielover]

Back when, I couldn't afford 16mm. Cameras (Bolexes, mainly) weren't that expensive. Editors and projectors were affordable. The cost of film and processing was a killer. So was weight. For what I was doing, working by myself was just possible. With 16 I'd have needed a crew. I did think long and hard about a Richter ...

I took up S8 to be able to share the experience of my field trips, not to film, um, drama. I stopped shooting when doing it right go to be too much of a burden. The field trips were collecting trips and setting up for shots was time-consuming. Think about it. Setting up in the field to run 10 sec of film takes considerably longer than 10 sec.

AFAIK -- I'm out of it now, haven't been paying attention to what's available so could be mistaken -- striped S8 film is no longer made. So if you want to do S8 with sound you'll have to use camera and recorder with crystal sync. This can be retrofitted to cameras and I think Tobin is still around.

I never used a "modern" Bauer. I bought early egg-shaped ones as backups to my main camera (initially one of several Canon 814s, several models, later a Beaulieu). For many purposes, but not filming, say, birds from a distance Canon 310XLs are nearly ideal. I got wonderful footage from mine.

Thanks for all the good advice. I think I've come to the conclusion that I have to many expensive hobbies to get into film. I have still photography, old cars/motorcycles, scuba diving. I guess this is why I don't gamble because every time I start my Fiat 2000 it is a gamble.

 

[Dan Fromm]

These days possible largish expenses that aren't absolutely necessary have to pass a test. About absolutely necessary, for example our dishwasher is making horrible noises. We paid for a service call to find out whether it could be saved, and if so how much saving it would cost. Short answer, no longer economic to repair. So I'm reconciled to buying another one. Similarly, my desktop PC recently died. Likely diagnosis, video card. So I gambled, bought one and lucked out. If it wasn't the card I'd have replaced the device and put the old drives in the new one.

The test? Would the action or purchase improve my life? Its surprising how many of the things I thought I wanted to have or do won't really improve my life.

 

[Hubigpielover]

These days possible largish expenses that aren't absolutely necessary have to pass a test. About absolutely necessary, for example our dishwasher is making horrible noises. We paid for a service call to find out whether it could be saved, and if so how much saving it would cost. Short answer, no longer economic to repair. So I'm reconciled to buying another one. Similarly, my desktop PC recently died. Likely diagnosis, video card. So I gambled, bought one and lucked it. If it wasn't the card I'd have replaced the device and put the old drives in the new one.

The test? Would the action or purchase improve my life? Its surprising how many of the things I thought I wanted to have or do won't really improve my life.

I do the same thing. It has made life better spending money on travel instead of things.