Take a Look at the First Footage From the Kodak Super 8 Camera

Hands-on with the Kodak Super 8 Camera

Pulling from our friends at B&H, it looks like their crew featuring Nick and Dave were able to take the new Kodak Super 8 camera through the paces as they ran around New York City (where B&H HQ is located). They cover everything from the LCD screen and menu system to the different film stocks and recording presets.

Here are the timestamps for the different sections they cover in the video below:

• 0:00 - Main Specs
• 0:48 - Lenses & LCD Screen
• 1:52 - Menu System
• 2:15 - Filmstock, Presets, & FPS
• 3:12 - Extended Gate & Resolution
• 3:35 - Sound & Connectivity
• 4:10 - Who Is This Camera For?

Kodak Super 8 Footage

As you can see in their video review, Super 8 is truly back with this new Kodak camera. After spending years developing the digital technology to bring analog filmmaking back to life, Kodak really has blended the best of both worlds with this quirky, yet fun, new redesign of one of the most iconic cameras in film history.

One of the more unique features which they video reviews, and we get to see footage of for the first time, is the Kodak Super 8’s new Extended Gate Super 8 format. This format captures an area approximately 11% larger than the traditional Super 8 film, which measures 4.2 x 6.3mm, and provides a slightly taller 1:1.5 aspect ratio that should be more flexible when intercutting with other formats.

The Super 8 camera also comes with a 6mm f/1.2 lens that will provide a 35mm equivalent field of view of roughly 35mm. However, you can easily swap it out with other standard C-mount lenses, which we can see in action for the first time as well as they make use of the 5.7x crop factor.

The Kodak Super 8 Digital Viewfinder

We also get to see the digital viewfinder at work for a first look as well, and it looks pretty sophisticated and usable for sure. With its 4” articulating LCD, you basically get a viewfinder that functions as a through-the-lens preview to use during shooting.

The digital viewfinder can also show an array of different settings alongside the preview of your image, including:

• Film Counter in feet
• Scene Counter
• Cartridge Number
• Film Type
• Frame Rate
• Battery Status
• Light Meter
• Volume Meter
• Audio Input Type
• SD Card

In addition to the camera’s digital viewfinder, there's also a micro-HDMI port that can send a video feed out to any compatible monitor or display.

Super 8 Film Types

We also get a first look at some of the different Super 8 film types being used by this new camera. This new Super 8 takes Kodak’s standard Super 8 film cartridges and can use some of the legendary stocks including VISION 3, EKTACHROME, and TRI-X. Each cartridge contains 50 feet of film and can be used for capturing about three minutes of footage (depending on the frame rate that you’ve selected).

Here are the Super 8 film types used in the B&H review video.

• Kodak Tri-X Black-and-White Reversal Film
• Kodak Ektachrome 100D Color Transparency Film
• Kodak VISION3 50D Color Negative Film #7203

Specs and Availability

As mentioned above, the Kodak Super 8 camera has been a long time coming, and while we’re getting close to its wide-spread release, we’re not quite there yet. Kodak has only released a wait list for the camera so far, but if you check it out on B&H itself you can elect to get notified once it’s available for order (or, more likely, pre-order) hopefully here soon.

Here are the full specs and purchase options:

• Accepts Standard Super 8 Film Cartridges
• Extended Gate Super 8 Format
• C-Lens Mount; 6mm f/1.2 lens Included
• Frame Rates: 18, 24, 25, and 36 fps
• 4 inch Articulating LCD Viewfinder; HDMI Out
• Crystal Sync at 24 and 25 fps
• Mic and Line Level Inputs; Headphone Out
• Built-In Light Meter and Manual Controls
• Top Handle and Removable Pistol Grip