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Author
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Topic: So Why 8mm ?
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Adrian Winchester
Film God
Posts: 2941
From: Croydon, London, UK
Registered: Aug 2004
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posted July 10, 2016 10:29 PM
I certainly have Super 8 prints that beat certain 16mm prints, but I suspect that collectors are sometimes comparing top quality modern Super 8 prints with older colour 16mm prints that don't showcase the gauge at its best. It tends to be the relatively scarce features, trailers, etc (printed from negatives) from around the mid 1980s onwards that really 'knock out' an audience. 16mm printing stock was also setting new standards at the same time as Super 8 stock was.
I think there's also a psychological factor in which your expectations influence the impression that a print makes. E.g. I once had a sharp Super 8 print and a somewhat soft 16mm print of the same film. I made a point of comparing the two before deciding which to keep, because it was the Super 8 copy that had impressed me more. But the comparison revealed that the 16mm print was sharper and had more detail, even though it had seemed less impressive simply because it was 16mm. You occasionally hear claims that a Super 8 print is "as good as 35mm", but even if it's exceptional, I'm convinced that a direct comparison would show that it can't compete with 35mm.
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Adrian Winchester
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Paul Adsett
Film God
Posts: 5003
From: USA
Registered: Jun 2003
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posted July 11, 2016 04:34 PM
I think we should consider the overall sensory impact of each format. To me, the availability of stereo sound prints (original and re-recorded) adds a huge plus to the super 8mm column. I remember when I first got my super 8 scope print of Grease from Derann, I was amazed at the print quality, but the mono sound seemed flat and dull, particularly for a musical film. So I re-recorded the film, using my Eumig 926GL, and simply could not believe how much a high quality stereo track added to the enjoyment and impact of the film. That is something that a 16mm print, for all its great definition, is simply incapable of supplying.
Some might say that sound quality is every bit, or perhaps more important, than picture quality, as long as the PQ is perfectly acceptable.
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The best of all worlds- 8mm, super 8mm, 9.5mm, and HD Digital Projection,
Elmo GS1200 f1.0 2-blade
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Garth Tiffen
Junior
Posts: 10
From: Edmonton, Alberta, Canada
Registered: Jul 2016
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posted July 11, 2016 11:59 PM
Brand new to both the forum, and collecting Super 8, so greetings from Northern Canada! For myself, as a child in the mid-late 60's I remember a mink farm salesman (of all things) coming to our house setting up a projector, and showing my parents his film reel /pitch (they didn't bite incidentally)...at some point his film broke, and he left me a piece of the film with a few frames that he left out during the splice. Anyway, I was hooked! This was magic to me....as I got older my grandma would occasionally show us old home moves (8mm I believe, and sure wish I still had those)...as an acting student at college around 80/81, I used my grandpas old Kodak 8mm camera to shoot some student projects, ...and then as the years passed I moved to videotape of course and eventually all the other physical media..(still collect laserdisc to this day)....however recently I remembered renting a library copy of the movie Logans run from the public library, on super 8 in the late 70's and decided to search for that on EBay, as I collect things from that movie...I found it, then of course had to find a projector, and have been bit by the bug now!! I have a few other films on the way and glad to have found this forum!! Tonight I ran a Disneyland souvenir film, that I think is from the 60's that I found on the weekend, and the magic and nostalgia was back!
Thanks for adding me to your group!
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Garth Tiffen
Junior
Posts: 10
From: Edmonton, Alberta, Canada
Registered: Jul 2016
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posted July 12, 2016 07:33 AM
Thanks for the welcome guys:) ....sadly my family movies are long gone...my dad had them transferred to video tape some years ago, then disposed of the films, sadly...I wish I still had them, as they were transferred to some pretty crappy VHS tape at the time, so I'm sure resolution was lost in the process. And thanks for the heads up re: the quality of mass produced 70's super 8....as those are the ones that I remembered lusting after as a kid and teenager in spinner racks at bigger retail stores like Hudsons Bay and Eatons, here in Canada, those are the ones I've chased....so great info! I've already learned a lot just pursuing the forums, so looking forward to now tracking down some quality prints!
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Phil Murat
Jedi Master Film Handler
Posts: 671
From: Villeneuve St Georges, France
Registered: Dec 2015
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posted July 12, 2016 12:40 PM
Hi,
From my side, 95% Super 8 , 5% 16mm.......
"Super 8" was a good "Balance" between Weight/Storage and Picture Quality, providing prints were done from "Top" Negatives, once more.
Now , the idea is to keep "rare titles" which are not produced on DVD, so what DVD come to complete the SUPER 8 library.
Concerning Disney's "Silly Symphonies" to be note the DVD offers more titles that you can find in Super 8 world , keeping an interesting quality.
Same thing for "Classical" Mickey, Donald, Pluto's shorts (before 80's) , DVD Colectors, easy to find for 20 Euros.
Concerning, shooting with super 8, the Film Stock rate price/mn is not reasonable anymore : this is like running a Ferrari with a rare Gasoline around 1000E / Ltr
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