Shooting on Super 8mm In 2021 using a 65 year old camera!

A full 50ft reel of Kodak Vision 50d Super 8mm film shot on my old Leicina Super RT1 super 8mm camera built in the 1950's.

I love Super 8mm, I use it in weddings and documentary film making to convey nostalgia. Like 35mm photography, my choose format, it just looks nice. The skins toes are perfects, the dynamic range is not comparable to digital, it is on another level. You are after all capturing light on a sensitive plain. Unlike digital imaging which essentially is trying to mimic the chemical process.

How Much Does It Cost?
Well, It's not cheap. The camera was $85, which is a bargain for a vintage Leica product. However you can pick up a working S8 camera on eBay for under $20. The real cost factor is the film, process and scan of your images. A 50ft roll of film in the UK costs about $30, and it's about the same for the developing and again for the scanning of your reel. However, most places that specialise in film will offer a package. I pay £50 in the UK (about $60) for an all-in-one package. This guarantees I have no additional costs one the reel is in my possession.

Why not just use filters?
Vintage is hipster these days and has been for quite sometime now. Yes, you can produce convincing fakes using digital photography but it will never quite be the same. The whole process of shooting on film is an artform in itself, and this fact affects what images you get. You can't get nillly-willy with film unless you love burning up cash.

I hope you like the reel. Let me know what you thought of the images, and remember they aren't meant to sharp, they are meant to be artist and experimental, that's what Super 8 is all about.

Cotton.