You think Super 8 is hard to find? I still shoot standard 8 (on a Bolex H8.) There are like two guys in the whole country who sell and process it.

Long term it may actually prove easier to source than super 8, as you can make it by splitting 16mm film (which will be around for a while). Super 8 has special perforations, and requires those cartridges. Both of those are hard for a guy to do in his basement.

superbad

So, when the hell are regular projectors going to start using white LEDs? Less power consumption, less heat, less need for a fan, isn't this a no-brainer?

The only limitation I can think of is price, but given that an incandescent projector bulb costs hundreds of dollars, can an LED spotlight really cost any more than that?

Midwest_Product

Hey all you super-8 aficionados out there - I've got a wonderful Beaulieu camera that had been living in its metal case for like 30 years. I took it out a couple of years ago only to discover that the cut-out foam inside had corroded and gunked up all the gears. I'd love to get the camera taken apart and cleaned. Anyone know of a reliable place that'll do this? Or a good place that'll transfer super-8 to a digital medium?

G-Lumps

I would have loved to have had LED based projectors back in the day. They would have saved me hours of film splicing. Though it was always a blast to watch film melt out into a white hole whenever it got stuck next to projector bulb. I'm going to watch Matlock and yell at the kids on my lawn now.

BorBor

Film? People still use film? For anything?

Scuba Steve

@nutbastard: Super 8 is what everyone used before VHS camcorders for everything from birthday parties to home made porn.

AndyMac

@Thud: Its easy to find projectors but its hard to find replacement bulbs.

Knucklehead Babylon

Super 8 is actually in a bit of a small renaissance with the Flicker Movie projects around the US. It's terribly hip and fun. I'd love to grab one of these new projectors. And if you're looking for a camera and film hit up ye olde ebay.

[www.flickernyc.com]

rrrrob

@McLucky: Hey, there ya go! High fives all around. Thanks!

MisterSleep

@Step666 & @nutbastard: cool, thanks. Most of the film I have is over a decade old and probably not even usable anymore -- when I used the Super 8 to animate there was a local service that developed and converted it to VHS (yay). I think that place is long gone. The problem with the film is that the roll is contained in a cartridge, which makes it a pain in the ass and potentially dangerous (to the film) to bust open. I wouldn't trust any old developer with my brilliant marbles + legos + Transformers visual ballet. Still though, it's worth asking around, if only for nostalgia's sake.

MisterSleep

Super 8 film for sale and also processing: [www.dwaynesphoto.com]

McLucky

Will it blend?

GoatMonkey

Given the popularity of the Super 8 format in the day, I have to imagine there are loads of Super 8 projectors (with motors) on e*B and in yard sales for a lot less than $80... I mean, LEDs are cool and all, and I even sometimes shoot real real 35mm film in my SLR, but I'm not going back to Super 8...

Thud

@MisterSleep: I know that, at least a few years back anyway, Jessops in the UK still developed it.
It was expensive though - it had to be sent off to a specialist lab.

Just enquire around local photographic stores and maybe even any local 1 hour photo places too. Even though none of them will do it on site, they may well be able to send it off for you.

Step666

I used to work in a filmmaking summer camp for kids where we shot everything in Super 8. It was a total blast to work with. I miss the format. It's more fun than shooting 16 or 35mm film stock. Neat that LED's are being used to make new projectors. I would love a cheap compact new Super 8 camera.

Marcelo

I would buy this in a second if it had a damn motor.

Knucklehead Babylon

@MisterSleep:
I think most film can be developed using the same methods used for 35mm film and whatnot, just isn't going to be automated like the machine at Longs. But anyone with a darkroom and chemicals should be able to develop it.

nutbastard

@nutbastard: And here I go showing my age: Essentially just a super cheap film type that was used all over the damned place for everything from propaganda to educational films (arguably the same thing). I recall having to set some of these up in my school.

No I'm not over 40 our school was just that behind the times.

TheCyberBob

@nutbastard: ooooooooold skool 8mm film format. I have an ancient camera; I used to use it for stop-motion animation, but the problem is, I have no idea where to get the film developed. I think there's like one place in Texas that does, and if they're still in business I'll be amazed.

MisterSleep

Ok, here I go making everone painfully aware of my age.

What the fuck is super 8?

nutbastard

super8 means 70s porn to me...

Crescent

@MisterSleep: You wanna develop some 8mm film? I developed some almost two years ago but I know this company is still in business. They are called Pro8mm and are located in Burbank, CA. So now I can finally buy this projector and see what I shot at Coachella 2006! Hope this info works for you.

dambo29

@Scuba Steve: Your confusion is funny yet understandable. Almost everything you see on television and at the movies is still shot on 35mm film. News and studio-only stuff being the main exceptions.
Your hit TV shows like Lost, Prison Break, Heroes, Buffy, Star Trek and most movies (unless shot on 70mm) are all shot on 35mm film negative film, the same stuff you used to stick in your camera. Some movies are being shot using digital cameras, but it's far from widely accepted. Film has a distinctive "look" and responds to light very differently than digital cameras. If you watch the credits of any show and see Panaflex or Arri at the end, it was shot on 35mm.

Pilot episodes, and sometimes entire first seasons of some shows are shot on 16mm to reduce costs, Buffy is one example of this. The look of film is there, but it seems grainier than normal, 35mm appears "clearer" or less grainy due to the larger size of the negative and hence "more resolution".

Super8 was a great format for home movies. I think we even have some with sound. The problem we always found when playing the film was it got scratched every time it was played, not to mention film jams and the subsequent burn-through.

These LED projectors should eliminate all of these problems and if they re-release some Super8 cameras, then the camera nerds can start the Super8 renaissance!

Maxwells_Nylon_Hammer

@Midwest_Product: I dunno what the brightest practical LEDs are (200-300 lumens?) but they're an order of magnitude dimmer than the 3000+ lumen projectors...

ppiddy

Its only 30 dollars not 80.

siamgx