8mm Forum: Super Duper 8 (project)

»	8mm Forum » 8mm Forum » Super Duper 8 (project)

UBBFriend: Email this page to someone!

Author

Topic: Super Duper 8 (project)

Ian Mackie
Junior
Posts: 18
From: Brighton, England
Registered: Sep 2008

posted September 16, 2008 08:16 AM

Quite interested in finding out if anyone has had any luck converting their camera to this format?

Is it as simple [Smile]

as widening the camera gate to expose a larger part of the film?

Wondering if this is something I might look into doing myself or whether this needs to be tackled by a professional camera guy??

Thoughts and experiences most appreciated!

Ian

| IP: Logged

Claus Harding
Phenomenal Film Handler

Posts: 1149
From: Washington DC
Registered: Oct 2006

posted September 16, 2008 03:39 PM

Ian,

As someone who is thinking about getting back into shooting Super-8, the S-D-8 format certainly is intriguing, in terms of giving you a bit more 'surface' to squeeze resolution out of, in addition to getting a more widescreen-friendly frame.

Are you trying to do it just for the camera, for the purpose of running the footage through a modded telecine afterwards, or are you thinking of filing out the gate in your projector as well so it will screen correctly?

I have no experience with metalworking, but I can imagine that the tolerances for doing the gate(s) must be pretty tight, if it is to be a clean, even frame, given the level of blow-up that takes place with the footage.

Do tell more about what ideas you have for using this.

Claus.

--------------------
"Why are there shots of deserts in a scene that's supposed to take place in Belgium during the winter?" (Review of 'Battle of the Bulge'.)

| IP: Logged

Joerg Polzfusz
Jedi Master Film Handler

Posts: 815
From: Berlin, Germany, Europe, Earth, Solar System
Registered: Apr 2006

posted September 17, 2008 05:10 AM

Hi,

problems to solve when converting to super-duper8 (alias Max8) besides widening the gate:
a) There's a high chance that you encounter vignetting caused by the lens and hence can't use the whole zoom-range.
b) You wouldn't see the wider picture in the view-finder.
c) The picture's centre isn't the lens' centre any more. Hence zooming will cause strange effects. To eliminate this you would have to move the lens.

Jörg

| IP: Logged

Mark Todd
Film God

Posts: 3846
From: UK
Registered: Aug 2003

posted September 17, 2008 06:14 AM

Sounds like its ahrdly worth it, just go to 16mm.
Best Mark.

| IP: Logged

Paul Adsett
Film God

Posts: 5003
From: USA
Registered: Jun 2003

posted September 17, 2008 09:14 AM

....or 9.5mm. [Big Grin]

--------------------
The best of all worlds- 8mm, super 8mm, 9.5mm, and HD Digital Projection,
Elmo GS1200 f1.0 2-blade
Eumig S938 Stereo f1.0 Ektar
Panasonic PT-AE4000U digital pj

| IP: Logged

Steve Klare
Film Guy

Posts: 7016
From: Long Island, NY, USA
Registered: Jun 2003

posted September 17, 2008 09:21 AM

...or shoot with anamorphic lens.

--------------------
All I ask is a wide screen and a projector to light her by...

| IP: Logged

Joerg Niggemann
Expert Film Handler

Posts: 127
From: Germany
Registered: May 2006

posted September 17, 2008 01:10 PM

Hi,

S-D-8 shouldn't be used for projection. The projector's film guide parts and sound head unit will instantly scratch the additional image area. It's a format for telecine in order to get close to the 16:9 TV screen.

Joerg

| IP: Logged

Ian Mackie
Junior
Posts: 18
From: Brighton, England
Registered: Sep 2008

posted September 17, 2008 04:42 PM

Mmmmmm!

Sounds like it could be a lot of work for not much gain!

I think I'll just stick with what I've got already! [Smile]

Thanks for all the helpful replies... I think this is definitely something for telecine rather than projection - but if I ever try it I'll let you all know!

Best regards,

Ian

| IP: Logged

Joerg Polzfusz
Jedi Master Film Handler

Posts: 815
From: Berlin, Germany, Europe, Earth, Solar System
Registered: Apr 2006

posted September 18, 2008 04:36 AM

If you want to spend a few US-dollars, you could get a "Canon 1014-XLS" turned into a "Max 8 1014" at http://www.pro8mm.com/ :
"Upgrade price for current Canon 1014-XLS owners is $995.00.
Canon Max 8 1014 packages start at $2995.00."
[Big Grin]

| IP: Logged

All times are Central

Printer-friendly view of this topic

UBB.classic^TM 6.3.1.2