Shooting Super 8 with Ektachrome 64T or Kodak Vision

[Ektagraphic]

How often if at all do you shoot super 8. I have just really just unearthed the beauty of shooting movies with film. Goodbye "Sony Handicam"! This stuff is great! I really reccomend picking up a camera at your local Salvation Army! I love to project so I always shoot with Ektachrome. As you may know, Kodak Vision is a color negative film so that can't be projected, only telecined...usually. There is also Tri-X reversal I haven't tried yet..

 

[nickandre]

There's a printing service which will take the vision stock and print it so you can project it.

 

[bdilgard]

I dropped my latest roll of Tri-x in loose coils in a developing tank and and developed as a negative in D-76. It was a mess to untangle and dry. I haven't tried to telecine it yet.

 

[perkeleellinen]

I think I'm going to shoot a roll or two of this new Ektachrome 64T when I go on holiday this summer. I used to use Kodachrome 40 a lot in the '90s and tried an Ektachrome stock which was about 120ASA, I think. I was quite grainy and looked good.

 

[Fredrik Sandstrom]

I don't shoot Super8, but a bit of regular 8mm and 16mm. Kodachrome 40 is what I still use; when I'm out of that it'll be Ektachrome 100D, which is also an excellent film with very nice color rendition. Tried it once in regular 8mm and liked the results very much.

 

[Ektagraphic]

For all of you that said you would love to try super 8....please do! You can buy your film and have your film developed by Dwayne's Photo (dwaynesphoto.com). They do really nice work.

 

[EASmithV]

I will, once I can figure out how to do reversal processing...

 

[railwayman3]

I've done standard- and super-8 in the 1970's and 1980's and was very happy with the results using Kodachrome and Ektachrome. I think that I really gave it up after I got married...never had time then for the editing, etc., which I always enjoyed doing to produce a finished film!

I doubt I'll restart Super-8 again now, from that time factor, and also for the cost...would probably go for video if I ever needed movies, but I've never been interested in video as such.

 

[gatewaycityca]

I haven't tried Super-8 yet, but I do have a collection of vintage Regular 8mm cameras (double-run, the "spool" kind of film) and I do shoot with them once in a while. I was using Cinechrome 40 for a while (Kodachrome?), but it looks like it's not available anymore. There's a new film, Ektachrome 100D, and it looks really nice. The last time I used it was about 3 months ago. I will be ordering a few rolls pretty soon though. I order my film from Dwayne's Photo and send it back there to get developed. They do a pretty good job with movie film.

 

[Ektagraphic]

Please try super 8!

 

[gatewaycityca]

Ektagraphic, I will...but I'll have to look on eBay for a Super-8 projector first! (I guess I could just have Dwayne's transfer it to a cd for my first roll). But so far all I've shot is with Regular 8mm. I just have a really old Kodak Brownie projector that only works with Regular 8mm film. (I got it on eBay too).

I do actually have a Saynko Super-8 movie camera. I saw it in an antique shop for cheap and I decided to buy it. What I really liked about it is that it has manual exposure control. (Well, an adjustable aperture at least). I just haven't tried filming with it yet. What's really funny is the way some people look at you when they see you filming with an 8mm camera. LOL...most people have never seen one before.

 

[Fredrik Sandstrom]

I think regular 8mm "feels" more like real filmmaking than Super8, because the film is on spools and you actually have to handle the film instead of just popping a cartridge in the camera. Doing both regular 8mm and 16mm myself, I really have no interest in Super8.

Unfortunately, there are no color negative stocks available in regular 8mm (that I'm aware of), but I'm mostly interested in color reversal anyway.

 

[nickandre]

I think regular 8mm "feels" more like real filmmaking than Super8, because the film is on spools and you actually have to handle the film instead of just popping a cartridge in the camera. Doing both regular 8mm and 16mm myself, I really have no interest in Super8.

Unfortunately, there are no color negative stocks available in regular 8mm (that I'm aware of), but I'm mostly interested in color reversal anyway.

You should upgrade to double super 8. It's like regular 8 but with super 8 sized sprockets.

 

[Fredrik Sandstrom]

You should upgrade to double super 8. It's like regular 8 but with super 8 sized sprockets.

Why should I do that? When I want larger image area I just use 16mm.

 

[gatewaycityca]

Fredrik, I agree with you. I would like to try Super-8, but I like working with spool type film a lot better, and I prefer regular 8mm. I like working with antique cameras, and regular 8mm cameras just seem to be more solidly built. Most of them are all metal and just have a very nice, heavy, solid feel. All the Super-8 cameras I've seen just look too "plasticky."

By the way, I have a couple of videos on YouTube showing how to load a Regular 8mm camera if anyone wanted to see these. I posted a video about my of my cameras, and I was surprised, I actually got a lot of messages from people who wanted me to make a video showing how to load the cameras. It seems like all of a sudden, a lot of people are getting interested in 8mm!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AKNaDU_R1hE

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SjMtkNaQ5kw

 

[Ektagraphic]

I like working with antique cameras, and regular 8mm cameras just seem to be more solidly built. Most of them are all metal and just have a very nice, heavy, solid feel. All the Super-8 cameras I've seen just look too "plasticky."

I love regular 8mm too! I do agree that most of the super 8 cameras look "plasticky" but I have two bell and howells that are metal and are like bricks. Great cameras!

 

[gatewaycityca]

Ektagraphic, what kind of Bell and Howell Super-8 cameras do you have? If I did try Super-8, I'd want ones where you can use full manual exposure, because sometimes the light meter isn't very accurate on those old cameras anymore. Especially if it uses a selenium sensor. My Sankyo super-8 camera can use either auto exposure, or you can adjust the aperture manually.

My favorite regular 8mm camera is the Bolex K2

 

[Ektagraphic]

Unfortunatly, the Bell and Howells I have don't have manual exposure ( I wish they did) but they work like a charm...

 

[filmamigo]

I love shooting Super 8, but it can get a bit expensive. Now that I'm processing my own black and white, I should figure out how to reversal-process some Plus-x and Tri-x.

I actually invested in a nice camera in the last couple of years -- an AGFA Movexoom 10. Nothing plastic about it, it's solid metal and built with an amazing precision. The modern electronic controls mean that it also offers things like an intervalometer and a nice range of computer-controlled speeds. Best movie camera I've ever handled (that wasn't an AATON or an ARRI.)

 

[gatewaycityca]

Unfortunatly, the Bell and Howells I have don't have manual exposure ( I wish they did) but they work like a charm...

Do you know what model your cameras are? I'll look it up on Google. The only Super-8 camera I have is a Sankyo Sound XL-40S. It's mostly plastic, but seems like a great camera and has a really nice heavy, solid feel to it. I really liked it because it does have a manual aperture. It uses TTL auto exposure, but your can turn a dial to change the f-stop manually. It also has a powered zoom lens...that actually works! I haven't filmed with it yet, but I did put batteries in, and everything seems to work. The shutter works and the film advance turns, and even the power zoom works. I just might have to get a Super-8 cartridge and finally try it out.

And I bought it at an antique shop for $20

If anyone wants to try Regular 8mm film, the camera I would definitely recommend is a Bolex K2. It's awesome. Very solidly built, super sharp lens, and you can use either auto exposure or completely manual exposure. It has an adjustable shutter too, so you can also change the shutter speed. I've shot several rolls with that camera and it's great. I do see them show up on eBay once in a while.

Oh, and Filmamigo...I looked up your camera on Google. Very nice! If I do get more interested in Super-8 (and can afford that camera, because I'm sure it still sells for a lot), then that looks like something I would like eventually.

 

[Tom Kershaw]

I love shooting Super 8, but it can get a bit expensive. Now that I'm processing my own black and white, I should figure out how to reversal-process some Plus-x and Tri-x.

I actually invested in a nice camera in the last couple of years -- an AGFA Movexoom 10. Nothing plastic about it, it's solid metal and built with an amazing precision. The modern electronic controls mean that it also offers things like an intervalometer and a nice range of computer-controlled speeds. Best movie camera I've ever handled (that wasn't an AATON or an ARRI.)

How are you processing your film, and are you getting good results? Assuming you're aiming for clean film.

Tom.

 

[Ektagraphic]

I am using two Bell and Howell 430 movie cameras. They I bought both of mine for $3. They really are great. Here is one on Ebay for $9.99 http://cgi.ebay.com/BELL-HOWELL-sup...hash=item190294405070&_trksid=p3286.m20.l1116

 

[Ektagraphic]

I have a great Keystone that I use for double 8 that has fully manual exp. and it has an interesting ( funny how it was worded back then ) guide to help you set exposure.

 

[gatewaycityca]

hey, Ektagraphic, here is my collection of antique movie cameras. I took this picture a couple of years ago, and I have even more cameras now!

http://i45.photobucket.com/albums/f86/gatewaycityca/100_5728bsmall.jpg

They ALL work, and most of them are Regular 8mm cameras. But there are a couple of magazine cameras, which I can't get film for anymore. The Bell and Howell camera, the 2nd one from the left, is the 16mm magazine camera that I got from a thrift shop when I was a kid, in the early 90's. That is the ONLY camera that actually survived my childhood. I can't believe I still have it. LOL...Like I said, I pretty much took everything apart when I was a kid. :rolleyes:

I've actually shot film with most of those cameras.

The little black camera on the very end is a Bell and Howel "Filmo" Regular 8mm camera. It's ancient, I think from the 1930's. It's funny how small it is! I really like that one.

http://i45.photobucket.com/albums/f86/gatewaycityca/100_5732small.jpg

It runs, but unfortunately the pressure plate wore out and it won't stay closed anymore. So the film doesn't advance right. (I think maybe if I used a piece of tape or a magnet or something to keep the pressure plate closed, it might work? The film just has to be engaged by the gate)

 

[Ektagraphic]

Great little collection! Actually, I visited the John F. Kennedey Predsidential Library and Museum today and I saw a few of those cameras! I was really taking a close look at the A/V things around the library and a curator (who just so happened to be the head of A/V) started to talk with me and I have ended up with two short 35mm movies of John and his days in his PT boat and Johnson being sworn in! I could not believe she just gave them to me! Then, she gave me a couple actual black and white prints of Kennedy and of Martin L. King, Jr.!!! I am still speechless over it. She said the library was not needing them anymore.