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Author
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Topic: Canon Auto Zoom 318M Cine Camera
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Claus Harding
Phenomenal Film Handler
Posts: 1149
From: Washington DC
Registered: Oct 2006
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posted December 27, 2012 06:47 PM
Bradley,
Welcome aboard and congrats on getting into the "little shooting gauge."
Here's a manual for you, if you didn't get one:
http://www.apecity.com/manuals/pdf/canon_318_and_518.pdf
Basic advice:
Clean your gate. Get in the habit of either air-blowing or using a piece of chamois on the gate between each cartridge. It only takes one tiny hair to ruin your filming day.
Get a UV filter for the camera. It cuts the blue of the atmosphere and it protects your lens.
Before inserting a cartridge, slap it several times against the palm of your hand to loosen the film layers and minimize the chance of the film binding and the image jumping. Super-8 is finicky enough as a shooting gauge that we need to "help" it as much as possible ![[Smile]](smile.gif)
Roll off about 4-5secs at the beginning of each cartridge, holding your hand over the lens. I know, seems like a waste, but the very beginning and the end of each cartridge are the most unstable in terms of picture stability.
Video camcorders tend to have auto-focus. Not this film cam.
Zoom all the way in, focus, then pull back and compose your shot.
The eye piece should have a diopter on it, to adjust to your eyesight.
Think wideshot-medium-closeup as individual shots rather than zooming between them.
A zoom is a useful but dangerous tool. I'd pick two or three well-composed shots over a sloppy zoom any day.
Very wide shots don't generally work for S-8 unless you have very fine-grain film.
Use a tripod/monopod whenever possible.
If your camera has the option of manual iris setting, get the reading off the built-in meter, then set the iris manually in order to avoid "pulsing" in the exposure when the automation reacts to the surroundings.
Think before each shot. At 18 fps, you have 3mins 30secs of filmic goodness (including the runoff at each end of the cartridge) to make your statement. Make good use.
We live in uncertain times when it comes to Super-8 shooting. Glad to see a newcomer stepping into the "arena" ![[Big Grin]](biggrin.gif)
I hope this helps; feel free to ask questions,
Best,
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'.)
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