I recently decided to start shooting more film as I have a Super 16mm project coming up and wanted to experiment as much as possible ahead of time.
I plan to test a bunch of different cameras and films and run through the entire workflow – shooting, processing/scanning, color grading – to get an idea of what to expect. As part of this process, I thought it would be fun to buy a Super 8mm camera and test shoot with it as much as possible, since it’s so cheap compared to shooting 35mm or even 16mm.
This certainly won’t replace testing other cameras or film meters, but it’s a fun experiment in its own right to see how far I can push such a small format.
So far, I understand that Super 8mm has come a long way in recent years, both in film quality and in processing and scanning technology. It’s amazing how well-made Super 8mm film today looks more like the 16mm film of years past.
That said, there’s still a lot to consider and a lot of effort required to get the best possible results. In fact, it all starts with the camera –
Panlong 4008 ZMII
When I first started looking for a Super 8mm camera to buy, I almost didn’t care which camera I bought. I guess as long as it shoots 24fps (some Super 8 cameras only shoot 18fps), I’ll be happy.
After all, unlike digital cameras (which are based on sensor technology) which can greatly affect image quality, a film camera is really just a box that moves film through a door and lets light in. It’s the film, the lighting, and the lens that really make the difference…but even so, when I started doing my research, I found one camera that stood out above all the rest: Beaulieu 4008 ZMII.
Beaulieu was a clear choice for a number of reasons. Firstly, it is widely regarded as one of the best (if not the best) Super 8 cameras ever made based on its build quality and reliability alone. It’s built like a tank and is designed to be a professional choice for those who want the best Super 8mm experience.
It comes with countless pro-caliber features, such as the ability to shoot up to 70 fps (some versions even go as high as 80 fps), shutter angle adjustment, reflex viewfinder, built-in metering, interchangeable C-mount lenses, and more. This all adds up to a shooting experience that I think is closer to 16mm than 8mm.
This camera is also capable of beautiful upgrades and restores, something that can’t be said for many other Super 8mm cameras. Even though this particular model was manufactured in the early to mid-1970s, it remains more popular than many recent Super 8mm cameras. This again is mainly due to its amazing feature set and its ability to constantly resume when needed.
I bought a used 4008 ZMII for a few hundred dollars and decided to shoot some test rolls with the camera in pristine condition before repairing it. If the camera was in really bad condition I would send it in for repair first, but for a 40-45 year old it looks pretty good…the viewfinder is a bit foggy and the frosted glass/focusing screen needs cleaning but That’s not a problem because it doesn’t affect image quality.
This camera comes with a Schneider Optivaron 6-66 F1.8 zoom lens (which is absolutely incredible), although I had grabbed the focus ring on that version so I had to replace it with another identical Optivaron lens. This was easy thanks to the standard C mount, so I just unscrewed one and screwed on the other.
After changing lenses and making sure the camera still ran smoothly on battery power, I felt pretty confident giving it a try.
Shoot & Scan
I purchased 3 rolls of 50D (daylight) film from Pro8mm in Burbank and took them with me on a quick trip to Palm Springs last week. Each roll only gives you about 2 1/2 minutes, so I think I would easily burn through all 3 rolls on the go. To my surprise, I only cast 1 1/2 rolls.
When you shoot film, something happens that makes you always hyperaware of what you’re capturing. Even just shooting test shots, I found this to be true. I was too picky and ended up under-shooting, which was a nice change of pace. I can only imagine working on a feature film with this kind of efficiency and how it would affect the flow on set and in the editing room.
I took the roll back to Pro 8mm for processing and scanning in ProRes 422 (HQ) in Log format at 2K. Super 8mm can currently scan up to 5K resolution, but I don’t think there’s much (if any) difference in quality above 2K.
The files were ready in a few days and I was impressed with the dynamic range and color quality.
Even though I wasn’t using a proper light meter and was basically guessing at the exposure, every image came out extremely well exposed. It’s not a testament to my skill but to the film’s resilience. Its degree of freedom is very large, and underexposed or overexposed images can be easily adjusted in post-production. I really can’t understand how much information is in those ProRes files. Nothing I’ve ever graded digitally can compare to this.
The only real issue I found with the lenses was some black spots on some lenses (with deep F-stops), which I believe were caused by a dirty internal UV filter. I plan on removing this filter (as well as the built in 85 filter) as they are both old and nearly impossible to clean. Once they are removed, the issue should be resolved and the lens should look cleaner.
Here are some photos taken on Beaulieu last week. These are overscanned (that’s why you see the top and bottom of the previous/next frame).
Take a look:
[tg_vimeo width=”” height=”” video_id=”231456136″]
I’ll be sure to post some additional articles about this camera and any other film experiments in the near future, so stay tuned!
For more content like this, be sure to follow me Instagram, Facebook, and twitter!
