{"id":11508,"date":"2025-10-30T14:50:17","date_gmt":"2025-10-30T14:50:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/super8today.net\/?page_id=11508"},"modified":"2025-10-30T17:16:21","modified_gmt":"2025-10-30T17:16:21","slug":"super-8-movie-film-choices-an-explanation","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/super8today.net\/index.php\/super-8-movie-film-choices-an-explanation\/","title":{"rendered":"Super-8 movie film choices &#8211; an explanation"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t<div data-elementor-type=\"wp-page\" data-elementor-id=\"11508\" class=\"elementor elementor-11508\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<section class=\"elementor-section elementor-top-section elementor-element elementor-element-e7d5526 elementor-section-boxed elementor-section-height-default elementor-section-height-default\" data-id=\"e7d5526\" data-element_type=\"section\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-container elementor-column-gap-default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-column elementor-col-100 elementor-top-column elementor-element elementor-element-4dae984\" data-id=\"4dae984\" data-element_type=\"column\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-wrap elementor-element-populated\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-c5652fd elementor-widget elementor-widget-image\" data-id=\"c5652fd\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"image.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t<style>\/*! elementor - v3.7.3 - 29-08-2022 *\/\n.elementor-widget-image{text-align:center}.elementor-widget-image a{display:inline-block}.elementor-widget-image a img[src$=\".svg\"]{width:48px}.elementor-widget-image img{vertical-align:middle;display:inline-block}<\/style>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"768\" height=\"512\" src=\"https:\/\/super8today.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/Super-8-Collection-768x512.webp\" class=\"attachment-medium_large size-medium_large not-transparent\" alt=\"\" srcset=\"https:\/\/super8today.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/Super-8-Collection-768x512.webp 768w, https:\/\/super8today.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/Super-8-Collection-300x200.webp 300w, https:\/\/super8today.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/Super-8-Collection-1024x683.webp 1024w, https:\/\/super8today.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/Super-8-Collection-1536x1024.webp 1536w, https:\/\/super8today.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/Super-8-Collection-2048x1365.webp 2048w, https:\/\/super8today.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/Super-8-Collection-600x400.webp 600w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 768px) 100vw, 768px\" data-has-transparency=\"false\" data-dominant-color=\"bea27c\" style=\"--dominant-color: #bea27c\" \/>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t<section class=\"elementor-section elementor-top-section elementor-element elementor-element-3695de27 elementor-section-boxed elementor-section-height-default elementor-section-height-default\" data-id=\"3695de27\" data-element_type=\"section\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-container elementor-column-gap-default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-column elementor-col-100 elementor-top-column elementor-element elementor-element-5ddc68a7\" data-id=\"5ddc68a7\" data-element_type=\"column\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-wrap elementor-element-populated\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-44ae0111 elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"44ae0111\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t<style>\/*! elementor - v3.7.3 - 29-08-2022 *\/\n.elementor-widget-text-editor.elementor-drop-cap-view-stacked .elementor-drop-cap{background-color:#818a91;color:#fff}.elementor-widget-text-editor.elementor-drop-cap-view-framed .elementor-drop-cap{color:#818a91;border:3px solid;background-color:transparent}.elementor-widget-text-editor:not(.elementor-drop-cap-view-default) .elementor-drop-cap{margin-top:8px}.elementor-widget-text-editor:not(.elementor-drop-cap-view-default) .elementor-drop-cap-letter{width:1em;height:1em}.elementor-widget-text-editor .elementor-drop-cap{float:left;text-align:center;line-height:1;font-size:50px}.elementor-widget-text-editor .elementor-drop-cap-letter{display:inline-block}<\/style>\t\t\t\t<p style=\"text-align: left;\">\u00a0 Today there are many different Super-8 movie film stocks to choose from.\u00a0 And like other analog formats that are having a re-discovery (35mm film and vinyl records for example) there may be even more to choose in the coming years. So, how do you choose from among the stocks we have? Many articles will tell you that Super-8 film is full of nostalgia, mainly from those grainy images of yesterday.\u00a0 This is not true.\u00a0 Super-8 film from the 1960s through the 1990s was mostly shot on now-discontinued Kodachrome, which was not grainy in the least bit, and which gave a beautiful sharp image depending on the quality of the camera.\u00a0 The quality of Super-8 film from those decades was excellent, however, there were typically few film stocks to work with, and only two that could produce color.\u00a0 So, the advantage of using Super-8 today comes from the fact that we have many more film stock choices, and that we can digitally scan those images, thereby giving you even more choices as far as color grading, or adding grain if that is what you want.<\/p><p>\u00a0<\/p><p>\u00a0 Choosing the right film today can boil down to a few simple steps.\u00a0 First, you have the choice of reversal film or negative film (something that wasn&#8217;t offered in those earlier decades).\u00a0 Think of still pictures:\u00a0 reversal films are like slides, and can be projected on a screen.\u00a0 They can also be digitized, of course, as any film can be digitized.\u00a0 There are not many reversal film choices out there and Kodak Ektachrome 100D is the only color option.\u00a0 Ektachrome 100D will give you the closest look to that nostalgic Kodachrome look.\u00a0 The other choices are all negative films.\u00a0 Unlike reversal films, which have a pretty narrow range when it comes to exposing properly), negative film gives you plenty of latitude when it comes to exposure.\u00a0 Is your lighting just a little too bright or just a little too dark?\u00a0 This is not a problem for negative film.\u00a0 Negative film is the choice for Hollywood when they choose 35mm film, and Kodak&#8217;s Super-8 film choices are the exact same films used by the popular directors today.\u00a0 So, if you are after the Hollywood &#8220;film look,&#8221; negative film is what you want.\u00a0 Negative film is by far the most popular choice of all Super-8 films sold today.<\/p><p>\u00a0<\/p><p>\u00a0 Another choice you have to make is that of color, or black and white.\u00a0 This should be a pretty simple choice to make without needing any explanation.\u00a0 Then there is the choice of film sensitivity, which is measured in terms of ISO speeds.\u00a0 The higher the ISO, the more sensitive to light the film is, meaning it can be used in lower lighting conditions.\u00a0 There is a trade-off, of course.\u00a0 The more sensitive a film is to light, the more grain you will see.\u00a0 Kodak has done a pretty good job of keeping the grain to a minimum in all their films, but needless to say, there is more grain with every increase in the ISO number.\u00a0 The most common ISOs you see nowadays are 100, 200, and 500, which are higher than the old Super-8 films of the past.\u00a0 Often, these films can be pushed (under exposed and overdeveloped in the lab) to double these numbers &#8211; giving an incredible range of possibilities from shooting in bright sun to night-time shooting using only available lighting.\u00a0 Often a movie may use a combination of stocks with different ISO speeds, depending on the lighting conditions.\u00a0 If the available light you are working with is quite a bit less in some scenes than others in your movie, you probably will need to either change the film stock to one with a higher ISO, or else bring in artificial lighting to compensate.<\/p><p>\u00a0<\/p><p>\u00a0 Finally, there are two different color balances to film today: ones that are balanced for daylight color temperatures, and ones that are balanced for tungsten lighting.\u00a0 Both can be used in any lighting condition, but be aware that in order for a tungsten balanced film to have correct colors in daylight, a filter will need to be used on the lens of your camera.\u00a0 The same is true if using a daylight balanced film under tungsten lighting (think incandescent bulbs).\u00a0 Either change your lighting bulbs to a more white-ish daylight temperature, or put a filter on the camera to adjust the color balance.\u00a0 Anytime you use a filter on your camera, you will reduce the light, thereby reducing your effective ISO speed, which is why it might be preferable to have a film stock match your lighting temperature.\u00a0 Most Super-8 cameras have a built-in 85A filter which is used for using tungsten balanced film in daylight conditions.<\/p><p>\u00a0<\/p><p>\u00a0 Even though Super-8 film can be expensive when adding the cost of the film, plus processing and scanning, if you are new to all of this, I highly recommend testing out one cartridge of film before embarking on a critical film shoot.\u00a0 Testing out one cartridge can be essential for no other reason than testing out a camera, but it can also be an excellent judge of what to expect from a film stock.<\/p><p>\u00a0<\/p><p><b>Super 8 Today sells a variety of film stocks in both Super-8 and 16mm formats, including all the Kodak Vision 3 series of negative films, Ektachrome 100D reversal film, and a few black &amp; white reversal films.<\/b><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>\u00a0 Today there are many different Super-8 movie film stocks to choose from.\u00a0 And like other analog formats that are having a re-discovery (35mm film and vinyl records for example) there may be even more to choose in the coming years. So, how do you choose from among the stocks we have? Many articles will &hellip;<\/p>\n<p class=\"read-more\"> <a class=\"\" href=\"https:\/\/super8today.net\/index.php\/super-8-movie-film-choices-an-explanation\/\"> <span class=\"screen-reader-text\">Super-8 movie film choices &#8211; an explanation<\/span> Read More &raquo;<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"default","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-11508","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/super8today.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/11508","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/super8today.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/super8today.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/super8today.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/super8today.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=11508"}],"version-history":[{"count":12,"href":"https:\/\/super8today.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/11508\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":11528,"href":"https:\/\/super8today.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/11508\/revisions\/11528"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/super8today.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=11508"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}