Episode 382: Modding a Super 8 Camera into a Digital

Shopping for cameras here in the US, most are from either American or Japanese companies and it does seem like those countries favored side loading. I think over here earlier cameras here are more likely to be side load, later ones are more likely to be rear load.

thank you very much, that is indeed a major concern

I bought a few super 8s from various vendors but it I only have ones with back laoding here (seems to be more common among European manufacturers)

my goal is to make it compatible with all modells without modifications.

Many super 8 cameras also use a side-load cartridge, I think many of the common ones from the 1960s and early 70s were designed that way. It would be great if the design could be shrunk to fit those if possible. Here are some photos of my ~1966 Kopil Kobena 221 and 421. They are largely identical, but the 421 has a battery tester and better lens. I'm excited to see how the next version will turn out! If you want more photos I'd be happy to take some.

Hello Community Members,
I started work on a new version of the Digital Super 8 camera !

This time we shall make it fit the communities wishes!
I need your input an ideas on how to achieve that goal.

Core aspects:

No modifications to the camera at all.

must fit like an original Super 8 cartridge!

readily available components from Farnell /newark/element14 prefered!

with the release of the Raspberry Pi HQ camera and the Compute Module 4 we now have options that did not exist when I  did the first version.

Please post your Ideas in this thread.

And if you happen to own a Super 8 camera I would apreciate detailed photos of them so we can identify possible troubles in compability as the standard was sometimes loosely followed.

Hi Clem,

You might find this alternative mod/hack useful.

https://youtu.be/saYVXCY22REhttp://

Parts used

Bolex 155 super, super 8 cine camera

Raspberry Pi 4B 2 Gb

Raspberry Pi HQ Camera

Lipo battery HAT-QC-LIPO-WB (I wouldn’t recommend this one)

Hi Devin,

thanks fo the interest in the project and the feedback.

While there is always a solution to triggering the mechanism internally, that needs a lot of testing with masses of cameras to ensure it works on most of them not just one particular camera, judging from the behaviour of manufacturers of that era, it appears that specifications were more taken as suggestions not as binding.
For example the position requirements differ greatly even between the few models I own, the cartridge accounts for that by exposing a bigger area of film, so it will cover the film no matter if the shutter is higher up or lower. That is something that just can't be easily done with a digital sensor as it would either require a bigger diameter sensor(not fitting into  the formfactor) or a custom developed sensor (not commercially viable for such an extreme niche market). there may be a solution that allow to alter the  position by the user (adjustment screws?).

I do prototype development for industry and startups, but only for Proof of concept, and intiial prototype stages (no certification stage or market ready product- thats a regulated field for experienced engineers)
and I restrict it for now to clients in my area ( Austria, European neighbor states) so I can handle it as a one man company.

So I have to decline, but I put the project on my list for follow up projects in 2021, which means you might find a version on element14presents that fits your needs better.

Some custom electronics will be needed for sure, but you may have noticed that i've done that for quite some projects over 2020.
I'd love to provide Kits for all of my better builds but its a long steep trail from a crude frist prototype to a viable kit that filmmakers can productively use.

Hope you can still benefit from the outcome or a second version coming up.
To justify the further development it would help if you can asses the market potential among filmmakers.

thanks

Clem

Hi Clem,

My name is Devin L. Hardy, I am a filmmaker/writer living in Los Angeles, CA. My resume consists of stints at 21st Century Fox, Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, and Netflix, just to name a few.

I stumbled onto your Super 8 modding video and I wanted to take you up on my own personal quest to establish a unique visual style using my own Sears 204S Hand Held (see images below).

I saw the following comment on said video, and thought this seemed like a viable idea, what do you think?: "I don't think you'd have to alter the camera. You could take a piece of film from your development debacle and turn it into a belt. You could then use an optical sensor of some kind (akin to how old ball mice worked) to detect when the camera has started moving the film belt."

If you believe using different parts would be better, please let me know with an updated parts list. And please send over how much you charge for labor.

Best,

----

Devin L. Hardy

Morehouse College '13

412.689.2763

www.linkedin.com/in/devinlhardy

Best,

Ok, thank you for the advice! I think I want to stick with the pi as it's easier to implement like you said and seems to have better support.

I didn ot use the pi zero because of its performance and non standard camera connector.

Especially with the HQ camera I would not use a pi-zero, but a 3 A+ or p4 /Compute module 4

on power use the pi zero is only  low in current draw because of its low usage not efficiancy. if you are concerned with power and size but are willing to put in the time in code you might want to check out the pocket beagle.

in general the beaglbone family uses less power and delivers capable processing but its not as easy to use/implement.

Do you think the Pi zero would be viable for this application? I like the idea of the small size to leave more room for a battery, and the lower power use, but is it not powerful enough for this project? Hopefully I'll be able to start working on it soon!