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Kodak resurrects Super 8

kodak.com

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Re: Kodak resurrects Super 8

#51

Post by dietrichepp »

madaxe_again wrote: post #41
dietrichepp wrote: post #9

I see USB and... SD card slot on the back? HDMI and... 3.5mm audio? One of the most characteristic features of Super 8, at least to me, is the complete lack of audio (at least, on most Super 8 works). So if you went to a theater to see something on Super 8 there might be a live band playing the soundtrack. I wonder if Kodak is doing something like putting audio on the SD card and then storing digital synchronization…

Never mind audio, this is, sadly, proprietary bullshit, and has been since the 60's. "Super 8 film cartridge" - what? I'd be far more interested if they were just doing reeled 8mm with development services - I have a perfectly serviceable 1930's 8mm that I haven't been able to find film for (well, at any sensible price) for twenty years. I'd love to be able to shoot with it again.

What kind of 8mm film does it take? I don't think I've seen anything but Super 8 for ages.

I know some 8mm cameras can take standard 16mm film that's been cut in half.

Re: Kodak resurrects Super 8

#52

Post by sparky_ »

Interesting to see history repeating itself a bit: "When you purchase film you will be buying the film, processing and digital transfer". Kodak was pursued by the DoJ in the 1950s and ultimately ruled against in an antitrust suit for doing the exact same thing with Kodachrome, the market leader in color (still) photography at the time. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kodachrome#Prepaid_processing

Re: Kodak resurrects Super 8

#53

Post by zzzeek »

dumb question. as someone who shot plenty of super 8 about 35 years ago, what I don't see here is the projector? That was the part that sort of sucked (not to mention editing). You still need a projector to consume this media, right? Or is it just teleported through some hipster USB device now...

Re: Kodak resurrects Super 8

#54

Post by hosh »

ghaff wrote: post #30
meric wrote: post #19

Earlier quoted context omitted.

We weren't in the company. It can be hard to tell. You could open a beauty therapy shop, and it's revenue increase every year, and suddenly after the introduction of cheap laser treatments and race-to-the-bottom competitors, in one year you could face a reduction of 70% of your revenue.[1] [1] Anecdote.

Kodak certainly did a lot of things wrong--especially with the benefit of 20-20 hindsight. Part of their problem with digital was that they were arguably ahead of curve (and not quite on the right curve) with things like PhotoCD and providing equipment to photo shops to print customer photos. However, the bottom line is that it would probably have been very difficult for even the most brilliant management to replace…

What I understand was that they had developed advanced technologies on holographic film technology, had a nascent business in forgery-resistant ids, and declined to pursue that business.

Re: Kodak resurrects Super 8

#55

Post by serge2k »

zzzeek wrote: post #53

dumb question. as someone who shot plenty of super 8 about 35 years ago, what I don't see here is the projector? That was the part that sort of sucked (not to mention editing). You still need a projector to consume this media, right? Or is it just teleported through some hipster USB device now...

They include processing and digital transfer.

it's teleported to some hipster cloud storage now.

Re: Kodak resurrects Super 8

#56

Post by ghaff »

zzzeek wrote: post #53

dumb question. as someone who shot plenty of super 8 about 35 years ago, what I don't see here is the projector? That was the part that sort of sucked (not to mention editing). You still need a projector to consume this media, right? Or is it just teleported through some hipster USB device now...

It's color negative film anyway. Probably gives better quality scans and is a bit cheaper.

[Edit: And actually I don't believe Kodak makes a reversal Super 8 film any longer, although others do.]

Re: Kodak resurrects Super 8

#58

Post by colechristensen »

mmahemoff wrote: post #47
k-mcgrady wrote: post #39

Interesting. Today I've come across quite a few stories on analogue tech. This + new Technic SL-1200 models + new vinyl pressing machines being produced due to vinyl demand continuing to grow + record players and instant film cameras being incredibly popular on Amazon this Christmas. I wonder if we'll see this occur to other analogue tech too?

There will always be a big market for items of nostalgia, whether it's taking photos, playing music, enjoying ancient video games, or banging out letters on a typewriter. All good fun as long as people don't spout pseudoscience about its inability to be emulated with modern equipment.

It isn't just nostalgia.

Digital music can't simulate having a physical album cover, an e-ink screen won't ever be similar to a printed page, no music encoding will physically prevent loudness-wars mastering the way a vinyl record will (the needle would just jump out of the track), no printer will ever be able to fool someone into thinking a document was written on a typewriter.

You can tell the difference if a piece of mail was signed by a human with a pen instead of a printer, and it means something.

The limitations of analog media are very often their strengths, especially in corner cases. The limitations of a medium are often a significant driver for the creative process and losing them or approximating them makes lots of things worse.

Normally people (morally) opposed to analog media spout just as much pseudoscience in defense of their position. (normally people arguing about such things on the Internet are idiots anyway)

Re: Kodak resurrects Super 8

#59

Post by blisterpeanuts »

ethbro wrote: post #6

Hearing the name "Kodak" just makes me sad these days. From the wikipedia entry, "From the $90 range in 1997, Kodak shares closed at 76 cents on January 3, 2012" .

I had to read that wikipedia article just to discover that Kodak was still in business, albeit a shrunken shadow of the former colossus that today is a niche player.

I grew up with Kodak products -- had a darkroom as a kid and every chemical, every paper, every film was made by Big Yellow. My camera was a Kodak Instamatic.

It is sad to see these organizations evaporate from disruption. Progress and all that, but still sad.

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