SUPER 8 | Everything You Need To Know Before Filming

[@laceyv1993]

Really informative and helpful! Thanks so much for making this. I found my first Super 8 film camera for $2 at a rummage sale and all the indicators seem to point that it should work. Bought some film and hopefully it's all good!

[@knoptop]

Great overview! Looking forward to see the results of that Elmo Super Wide

[@raizahflores6830]

SO informative, thank you for the deep dive

[@TheWholePicture]

Thank you for the kind words of support!!

[@nicholassheffo5723]

Know that the motor can run, but even when the spindle its moving, it still might not pull the film or be totally decayed inside like most older Kodak Super 8 cameras as (save the M2 and M4) as they were all plastic in their gears. Also, most built-in filters are cheaply made, age badly and can ruin your film. If you must use a filter, buying a cheap external one is a much better bet, as these can be 50 years old.Excellent video! Look forward to more.

[@TheWholePicture]

Thank you for the comment! One thing that I forgot to mention was the old trick of marking film with marker and making sure it advances properly. Even that will not guarantee perfect images but its a good start. The filter is another good piece of advice, so if I do a follow up for more advanced checks I'll make a mention of it!

[@ScottFilmCompany]

I have a canon 310xl. Everything works correctly. shutter opens when filming, film moves forward. used Kodak 50D film. But when I got my processed film back from pro8mm. It was blank. The gave a few reasons why, such as those listed but none were the issue. Any idea what may have caused the blank film?

[@ToddDeSilva]

Good info. Got you one closer to 1000 😉 I inherited a Minolta XL 440 sound. Still need to test it, but it’s still in the original packaging so I’m sure it’ll be okay

[@TheWholePicture]

Thank you for the comment! I appreciate the support! Good luck with the XL440 it looks like such a cool camera!

[@Crwncalla]

Super dope video

[@TheWholePicture]

Thank you very much! I appreciate the support and I'll have more like this soon!

[@manada2259]

I have brought a Chinon super 8 507s XL camera, after I done filming, how do I rewind the film?

[@TheWholePicture]

Thank you for the comment! Super 8 cannot be rewound, once you finish the film you will see a lead that has some letters on it and a different shape, this is the end of the roll and it has to be sent for processing. Super 8 is like any other film format, it is light sensitive so if you rewound it and used it again it would lead to double exposures. I hope that helps!

[@shiven513]

Very helpful video, will you do more higher end super 8 cameras? My uncle has one and I want to make sure it produces motion picture.

[@TheWholePicture]

Thank you for the comment! At some point I would like to talk about more super 8 and 16mm cameras! One other way to test the camera is to mark a spot on the super 8 film with permanent marker, put it in the camera and press the shutter for about 2 seconds and take the film out. If the mark is no longer visible that's a good sign!

[@shiven513]

@@TheWholePicture Thank you for the advice.

[@Chrismith]

What if my sprocket isn't moving? The take up reel spins, but sprocket notch doesn't move. Does it have to?

[@TheWholePicture]

If the sprocket notch isnt moving then you might get some frame slips, overlapping frames etc It depends on the camera and its condition too. It might be best to use an old roll of film that you dont intend to develop, use a marker to write an X on the film, and then run the film for a few seconds in the camera. If the X is still visible when you take the film out of the camera, then it is a more major issue. If the X is no longer visible, then at least the camera is advancing the film (though there may be issues with frame slipping etc). I should have included this in the video but totally forgot. Some time in the future when I make a follow up I will include it! Thank you for the question!