8mm Forum: Super 8 resolution compared with today's HD

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Topic: Super 8 resolution compared with today's HD

Winbert Hutahaean
Film God

Posts: 5468
From: Nouméa, New Caledonia
Registered: Jun 2003

posted October 14, 2011 11:07 AM

Hi all,

15 years ago when video home format was only VHS or LD, I was still proud having super8mm collection at home because many people still declared that the resolution of super8 was superior compared to any available formats.

What about today? can we still say that or HD quality is better than super 8?

cheers

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Winbert

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John Hourigan
Master Film Handler

Posts: 301
From: Colorado U.S.A.
Registered: Sep 2003

posted October 14, 2011 11:43 PM

While the film medium itself has the properties for higher resolution, so few Super 8 prints actually live up to that resolution that I have to say my answer is that Super 8 overall does not live up to HD quality. (And I'm a dedicated film collector.)

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Michael O'Regan
Film God

Posts: 3085
From: Essex, UK
Registered: Oct 2007

posted October 15, 2011 04:19 AM

I have to agree with John. 16mm and, even moreso, 35mm are closer to HD quality than S8.

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Paul Adsett
Film God

Posts: 5003
From: USA
Registered: Jun 2003

posted October 15, 2011 12:00 PM

I agree with John. I have yet to see a super 8 print that can beat projected Blu Ray, although Derann's Disney prints are in the same league. Most of the very best super 8 prints compare with DVD, but the average super 8 print is somewhere between VHS and DVD, with the poor prints being worse than VHS.
Most Blu ray's IMO leave S8 prints in the dust resolution wise.
But an excellent S8 print often has a better look than its DVD equivalent, due to the less harsh imagery and often better contrast and color. I have many S8 prints which I prefer watching instead of the DVD.

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William Mouroukas
Film Handler

Posts: 49
From: Sydney - Australia
Registered: Oct 2011

posted October 15, 2011 04:03 PM

Where projected video falls down from my experiance is in the sustainability of it's image quality over time. With the 3 machines I've owned I observed the characteristics of the LCD changed. Contrast is the most noticeable weak point, dust getting on the LCD and diminishing lamp performance.
I haven't yet seen a video display of any type in the general market place that I would think is capeable of the contrast ratio of film. At this point I would concede the resolution point, however I expect a high quality S8 print comes close.
For me there is no question that S8 is still a more satisfying viewing experiance as long as the print is decent.

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