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

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Posted by Winbert Hutahaean (Member # 58) on 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

Posted by John Hourigan (Member # 111) on 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.)

Posted by Michael O'Regan (Member # 938) on October 15, 2011, 04:19 AM:

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

Posted by Paul Adsett (Member # 25) on 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.

Posted by William Mouroukas (Member # 2764) on 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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