Hello OM-types,
The "Dipping our Toe into Digital" thread has been interesting. I'd
like to comment on one point in Joe Gwinn's recent post. Joe wrote:
"Does anybody remember 8mm home movies, and Super 8 format (because 8mm
picture quality was just too poor)? Not that Super 8 was that great.
Videocams pretty much killed all that off."
Not completely.
I have put together a 45 minute Super 8 movie on butterflies using a
Canon 1014XL-S that I show occasionally to garden clubs, nature groups,
etc. Particularly with macro shots of butterflies, Super 8 is really
pretty good. I can project this on a screen 12' or more wide, and I
have heard gasps of astonishment from viewers in the audience when they
see a butterfly's tongue going into a flower to sip nectar. Kodachrome
film in a good Super 8 camera can do a very credible job of capturing
both detail and colors. I once followed a person at a native plant
society meeting who showed a projected video of spring wildflowers.
Sorry, Joe, but my 30-year-old Super 8 technology blow this guy's
spankin' new video away. The edges of the clouds in the sky in his
video were jagged, and the colors of the pasque flowers were barely
recognizable. His presentation, technically, wasn't even in the same
league with the Super 8. With Kodachrome, blues are blue, reds are red
(and don't bleed), and greens are green. People routinely ask me after
a showing, "Gee, you mean you can still get film for that old camera?"
Yes, you can, and the results are pretty darn nice.
What killed Super 8 are cost and, more importantly, the editing that
is needed to put something together. Cutting, splicing, and working at
a hand cranked editor with a 4" screen is a thankless task. However, I
am very thankful that I shot movies of my kids, starting 32 years ago,
on Super 8 Kodachrome--they still look like they were shot yesterday.
Let me know if anyone can say the same about their videos.
One final note: I recently had a 5 x 7 print made from a Kodachrome
slide taken at my 6th birthday party in 1948. Fifty four years ago, and
the print looks like it was shot yesterday. Kodachrome is pretty
amazing stuff!
Best wishes for the holidays, guys,
Dean
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