Tag Archives: film

Super 8 at a cost

This is shocking and blog worthy. $2500 for a super 8 camera from Kodak in 2018! Yes, that is the correct amount of zeros. Kodak has been teasing this updated Super 8 camera for a couple of years now. I saw a demo unit last fall and it was pretty cool. Essentially it has a built in “video assist” as a monitor. It had microphone and audio inputs to record synchronized sound (onto an SD card). They also expanded the gate to get a little more out of the aspect ratio. Sounds really cool, something I might consider for $800. But for $2500 I could get a really nice Bolex 16, An Arri-S with pin registration or possibly and Arriflex SR! Granted film cost and processing escalates with 16mm, but at that point why not. I get the nostalgia factor and warm fuzzy feeling you get with Super 8 but I could not justify this cost. Good luck Kodak.

Black Magic Pocket

I’ve had a distaste for the Black Magic cameras since using the original cinema camera. I was tempted with the initial buzz of the pocket camera, but poor battery life and lens options deterred me to the mainstream.

Recently I had the chance to shoot a creative short film with one. The director of the project owned one and we decided to give it a go. Once caged up and accompanied by my SmallHD dp4 I could use it more effectively. The flat look that it displays was still difficult to focus with like using LOG on the Sony, but mostly everything was in focus. 😉

We shot in RAW or Cinema DNG format to give the most flexibility in post. We were using a Metabones speed booster converter to allow us to use Canon EF lenses. Primarily a Sigma 18-35 and an old NIKON 50mm. There was also a POLA filter and sometimes a vaseline filter on the lens.

I have to say the material looked pretty amazing once we got it into post and started applying different looks. Even simple BM to REC 709 looks gave it a very filmic-16mm-Ektachrome quality.

My initial bias aside I think it is a fine little camera. Maybe someday I’ll get to film with it again.

Here is a frame grab with the temp grade applied using Sigma lens at 35mm.
Screen Shot 2016-08-03 at 8.48.08 AM

This is a frame grab of the close up using the Nikon 50mm. Lit with F&V z96 light.
Screen Shot 2016-08-03 at 8.47.26 AM