Want Analog With Modern Options? Meet Kodak’s New Super 8 Limited Edition
News | By Stephan Jukic | November 24, 2023
The Kodak Limited Edition Super 8 camera may cost $5,495 but it offers something rich for fans of both retro movie filming and modern digital recording.
With the new camera, you can enjoy, as Kodak puts it, “The magic of analog filmmaking meets modern convenience.
It thus comes in a limited edition camera body with all sorts of modern trimmings. These include an SD card slot for audio recordings and firmware updates, a 4-inch LCD display for live views during shooting, and settings controls.
Inside the LCD screen menu options, users of the Kodak Super 8 can make their analog shooting easier than ever according to the manufacturer.
This is because of features like an expanded, interactive display for aspect ratio overlay changes, camera settings and other filming options that are “intuitive and straightforward” to navigate.
Audio recording with the new Super 8 is handled by an internal digital recording system and external microphone. The camera also supports other microphones through a 3.5mm port.
For filming, the camera can manage classic Super 8 gate visuals along with 16:9 widescreen extended gate shooting.
Kodak adds that this latter aspect ratio creates “increased visual resolution” by optimizing capture data from the internal film for an 11% larger image than what you’d get from an ordinary Super 8 camera.
The camera’s 14:9 full-frame ratio on the other hand lets the camera’s recordings easily be cut in with other modern media formats and displayed smoothly on modern screens.
The camera body certainly looks cool too, with a sharp-angled design with crisp edges that blend modern with something reminiscent of the 1980s.
Connectivity-wise, the new Super 8 includes an HDMI port for using it with an external monitor. On the other hand, instead of USB-C, it comes with a micro USB port for charging, which is a bit odd.
The lens on the Super 8 is an interchangeable C-mount version with a 6mm 1:1.2 optic. Kodak also mentions that you can and should “use any other C-mount prime lens or adapters to mount the lens of your choice”
The company further gets into the spirit of Super 8 recording by adding that videographers should experiment with vintage lenses for the sake of exploring retro further.
The new Super 8 is also the first Super 8 format camera to include crystal sync at 24-25fps. It can also be cranked down to 18 or up to 36fps.
Naturally enough, the new camera works with Kodak’s own Super 8 film cartridges, which contain 15 meters or 50 feet of movie film in three different Kodak Vision3 Color Negative stocks.
The camera can however use other types of stocks such as Tri-X Black or Ektachrome Color reversal film among others.
If you’re interested in getting your hands on this unique fusion of camera technology for future movie projects, Kodak has taken the odd step of making purchases by reservation only.
Thus, you need to sign up for a notification about when the new Super 8 Limited Edition is available.
Only a limited quantity of units are going to be produced according to Kodak and it’s going to cost $5,495 when it starts shipping, first in the U.S. market and then to other countries.
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Stephan Jukic is a technology and photography journalist and experimental photographer who spends his time living in both Canada and Mexico. He loves cross-cultural street photo exploration and creating fine art photo compositions.
