8mm Forum: Canon Auto Zoom 318M Cine Camera

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Posted by Bradley Stearn (Member # 3439) on December 27, 2012, 05:13 PM:

I recieved my first ever Super 8mm camera for Christmas, I am really excited about learning how to shoot on this format, as I have only ever shot digital.
I wrote a short overview on my blog about the camera and my thoughts so far http://redspectrumpictures.blogspot.co.uk/2012/12/canon-auto-zoom-318m-super-8mm-camera.html

Any tips for a beginner shooter?

Posted by Claus Harding (Member # 702) on 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]

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]

I hope this helps; feel free to ask questions,

Best,
Claus.

Posted by Bradley Stearn (Member # 3439) on December 28, 2012, 08:52 AM:

Hey Claus thanks for the fast and great reply, I really appreciate the help.
For the past two years I have been into DSLR filmmaking, so pulling focus manually whilst filming is something I am used to and improving with.
I will definitely be purchasing a filter to protect the lens glass, I think it is a 40mm thread on my camera.
Videos like this inspired me to shoot Super 8, http://youtu.be/tqe4Ho6_YiY

Thanks for sharing the manual as well

Bradley

Posted by Bryan Chernick (Member # 1998) on December 28, 2012, 12:34 PM:

Bradley, welcome to the forum. A few other words of advice before you start shooting. I don't think you have the option of a manual iris control on that camera so make sure the automatic iris is working properly. You will see the f scale in the viewfinder and can compare that to an external meter or use the Sunny 16 rule .

You will also need batteries for the light meter but mercury batteries are no longer available. Your camera takes the Mallory 625 battery. You can get a Wein MRB625 as a replacement. They don't last as long as the mercury cells did but they are cheap and will give the proper voltage. I have found that they last at least a few months.

Good luck!

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