I admit to being an incurable retro junkie. With that in mind, it’s worth making Super 8 part of your digital image arsenal. Even though few Super 8 cameras have been manufactured since the early 1980s, Kodak still offers a solid lineup of color and black & white film for as little as $14 per 50 foot cartridge (which lasts 2 minutes and 30 seconds). Once you start shooting motion picture film, there’s no turning back — there’s something addictive about the sight of genuine film grain and the way film responds to light.
Cameras are inexpensive and plentiful on eBay. You should expect to pay under $100 for a well-equipped device that can shoot at a “professional” speed of 24 frames per second and offers useful options such as slow-motion and timelapse. In fact, the ability to shoot film at a variety of speeds is one of its strongest benefits.
Once you’ve captured images on film, there’s no need to haul out a clunky old projector. Many companies offer pro-quality film to video transfers, starting at around $20 per reel. You can even purchase excellent video transfer equipment for under $1400. Once your film has been copied to miniDV tape you can manipulate it using all of your favorite video editing software.
Filmshooting.com: the most active online Super 8 film forum
Kodak’s Super 8 film lineup
OnSuper8.org: one of the most up-to-date Super 8 resources on the web