8mm Forum: Standard 8 questions

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Posted by Jeffrey Ouellette (Member # 1532) on March 31, 2009, 03:34 PM:

For my project I am shooting cine-x on a brownie f/1.9 turret. It seems like a nice little camera, I just shot my first reel (ever!) and expect to get it back from Yale soon. I'm going to want to splice this film but I have read that some stocks simply do not take cement. Is cine-x one of them?

I'm also wondering about cleaning the projector and editor. I have a microfibre cloth that I got from an optician for my glasses, can I use this? And just with isopropyl alcohol?

I've also seen undeveloped stocks in some places stored in a cooler. Should I keep my reels in the refrigerator?

Posted by Bill Brandenstein (Member # 892) on March 31, 2009, 06:20 PM:

Good for you, Jeffrey, for jumping in! May your results be very gratifying to you.

Almost all reversal film is made on an acetate base, which is necessary for cement splicing. The notable exception is Single 8, which is obviously not what you're using. So you're in good shape there.

If you search this forum there is a wealth of wisdom to be gleaned on the topic of cleaning your equipment. Isoprop is fine on metal parts, though may be questioned for plastic and especially rubber, but not everyone here agrees on that. Using a cloth may prove cumbersome. Worse is if it snags on anything. But I often just use Q-tips, and those can be notoriously bad for leaving little fibrous gifts behind. They are cheap though!

Storing unexposed film in the fridge is a great idea. If it needs to sit for more than a year, freeze it. Processed film is good for decades if you don't let it bake in the attic.

Posted by Jeffrey Ouellette (Member # 1532) on March 31, 2009, 11:33 PM:

Thanks for the helpful reply. I already had my stock in the fridge "just in case" so it's good to know I was doing the right thing.

Having never used film before I shot my first reel as a test. Lots of different lighting, inside and outside, and different aperture settings with the different lenses. I wrote down shot for shot what each setting was.

Not having a focus or a zoom is an interesting challenge to work around but having three lenses is neat.

I'm wondering the difference between cine-x and super cine. like plus-x and tri-x right? the former has higher detail but requires more light.

Posted by John Whittle (Member # 22) on April 01, 2009, 01:39 PM:

Kodak make Plux-X and Tri-X in both negative and reversal film stocks. The main difference was film speed (ASA) with Tri-X being faster. There was also a Four-X negative film. The 16mm versions in negative with pre-stripe were used for news film by tv stations before color. The negative film was "reversed" on the film chain.

I suspect that your cine-x is a respooled stock by someone and is actually a film stock by Kodak or Ilford or Orwo.

As for film cement, the acetate stocks can be cement spliced, the Estar/Mylar material (which is thinner) must be either tape spliced or ultrasonically spliced.

Many 8mm cameras used fixed focus lenses because the focal length was so short they had a good depth of field. The standard lens on regular 8 was 12.5mm (the equlivalent of a 25mm/1 inch 16mm lens). Bolex and others did make focusing lenses for their cameras. The Kodak Brownie was a "point and shoot" home movie type of camera and thus was made as simple as possible to operate.

John

Posted by Jeffrey Ouellette (Member # 1532) on April 03, 2009, 09:40 PM:

I got my film back. More of the interior shots came out than I suspected, where conversely the shots I took outside that I thought would come out for sure were overexposed. I did take some outside stuff with a smaller aperture setting and those did come out. I couldn't get any shots in focus with the telephoto lens though, of course I mostly used it outside.

I just wish I was less lazy about my note taking when I was shooting out in the world. I know just the right settings to get a clear picture inside though. Less light was required than I thought!

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