8
MILLIMETER
No new equipment for this diehard
format has been manufactured since
color TV was invented. Eastman
Kodak no longer sells 8mm film,
so forget it. Just as the name
implies, it was 8 millimeters
wide and the image area was one-quarter
that of standard 16mm. In fact,
8mm was simply 16mm cut down the
middle with a few extra perfs
thrown in for luck. If you feel
you must shoot 8mm, buy Super-8
equipment - NEVER old 8mm, it's
so obsolete you can't get film
or processing, so pass on your
neighbor's garage sale bargain
for his old 8mm equipment.
Cine
collector Robert Lacovara
writes:
I buy both reel and magazine
regular 8mm from Martin Baumgarten
in New York. His e-mail address
is Super8mm@aol.com. As you
might imagine, he's more into
Super 8mm, but 8mm is no problem.
He buys the double perf 16mm
film from Kodak, and spools
it, or loads it into magazines.
Processing is reasonably quick,
although Kodachrome has to
go to Lucerne, Switzerland.
All of the films and formats
for 50' of 16mm double perf
cost about $27 or so with
processing. I typically use
Kodachrome.
SUPER-8
In the mid-1960's Kodak introduced
this Instamatic format that was
instantly popular because it used
a film cartridge that required
no threading (unlike 8mm). Super-8
remained the favorite for home
movies until the introduction
of home video cameras. This film
is also 8 millimeters wide but
the sprocket holes are smaller
and they are spaced further apart,
one perf per frame, making the
image size slightly larger. Unless
transferred straight to video,
it's a difficult format to post
unless you're used to performing
neurosurgery with chop-sticks.
