Posts: 1461
From: West Sussex, UK.
Registered: Jun 2003
posted December 15, 2008 12:58 PM
So would this have been a super 8 camera with all the benefits of standard 8 but with the bonus of the larger image area?
No matter how good it is I reckon that price is just a little steep...
Mike
-------------------- Auntie Em must have stopped wondering where I am by now...
Posts: 117
From: North Carolina, USA
Registered: Nov 2006
posted December 15, 2008 02:40 PM
I'm unaware of any regular 8mm cameras (or other Super 8 cameras) that can run at 250 frames a second and have pin registration, so that's really this camera's claim to fame. For an amateur user of Super 8 this camera seems really expensive, but the target market was science & industry from the outset, not amateur filmmakers.
Posts: 1149
From: Washington DC
Registered: Oct 2006
posted December 15, 2008 03:12 PM
The scary part for me would be exactly the screaming high-speed runs using the good but humble Kodak Cassette. As the seller notes, "melting down" the running pin on the cassette is real possibility above 250 f.p.s. This gives you, what? 24 seconds of a 50-ft load, or is my math really shot (I am guesstimating at 24fps for comparison.) But the drum and transport look like something out of a Mitchell, so for regular use, I'm sure it would look incredible.
Now, of course, watching a super-super-slow mo. scene like that on your home machine would be gorgeous, as long as you really think about what it is you want at that speed before hitting the trigger. And as long as the cassette hangs in there.
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'.)
Posts: 1149
From: Washington DC
Registered: Oct 2006
posted December 16, 2008 02:29 PM
Winbert,
I stand corrected, so 14 glorious seconds of slo-mo....
I wonder what the ramp-up speed on this beast is; I can't imagine going from zero to 250 in a hurry without destroying the perfs, much like the 35mm versions 'take their time' to get up to speed. Granted, a cassette is much more lightweight than 1000 feet of 35, but nonetheless.... We do have to keep an eye on who might buy it
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'.)