A few years ago I never thought I would be writing a regular column about Super-8 filmmaking in 1997, let alone reviewing two new products. New products… in Super-8? This may sound more like 1977 than 1997, but the products are an affordable silent camera, and a new film available in sound cartridges.
    First, the camera. The Russian built Quarz 1X8S-2 (sold by Cresta Electronics) is a remarkable camera in many ways. Equipped with a 9-38mm zoom lens, it can film at 1,9,12,18,24, or 32 fps, has a through-the-lens metering system for either automatic or manual exposure, a +/- one and two f/stop control for back lighting correction, and a built-in Type A filter for color balancing with Kodachrome film. The camera comes with a camera bag, a variety of filters and close-up lenses, and even a fresh cartridge of Kodachrome film, all for the price of 134.74 British pounds ($229 in U.S.) plus shipping.
    The Quarz 1X8S-2 is a little strange. It does not run on batteries, but uses a hand crank spring motor, much like cameras of the 1940s and 1950s. The spring will run the camera approximately 30 seconds, which I find adequate for home movies. The camera does come with two batteries for the built-in light meter. The ones supplied were of Russian origin (1.3 volt mercury) which are impossible to duplicate in the states. I found that 1.5 volt alkalines (PX625A) work equally well.
    This camera tends to be both loveable for its small size and uniqueness, yet also frustrating. The eyepiece is small, so I immediately replaced the tiny plastic eyecup with a larger rubber one that came off an old Bell & Howell. I prefer manual exposure controls over automatic, and this one takes some practice because it takes very small turns of a small dial to avoid moving the needle past your desired f/stop.
    Focusing is rather quirky as well. The camera is practically a fixed-focus model, but the lens has a center grid of micro-pyramids that the manufacturer recommends for fine focusing. I found this clumsy at best, and after three test rolls of film was still never sure if I had a 100% exact focus. In spite of this, everything except a couple of extreme close-ups came out in focus.
    The 4:1 zoom lens is a little shallow, but worked well for everything I shot. I added nothing to the lens but a separately purchased skylight filter. The lens itself is quite small, only 46mm. The colors came out natural for Kodachrome film, and overall were pleasing to the eye. The picture lacked the sharpness of the Elmos and Beaulieus I am used to, and reminded me of the fully automatic cameras of the late 60s or early 70s.
    The fact that I had to hand crank the camera before each shot was no bother at all. There is a great pleasure in not having to worry about batteries, or microchip and motor problems. Because it weighs only four pounds, the camera is ideal for hand held shots, and the grip is comfortable, making for steady filming.
    One amazing fact is that the lens is removable, using a "C mount." I wanted to replace the lens but quickly learned that while the camera will take any "C-mount" lens, the focusing element is in the body itself, and not in the lens. This makes utilizing any other lens impossible without first removing the focusing element from the camera body, something I was not willing to try. If this could be done, there is no doubt the little camera could make a wonderful combination with a more powerful, sharper lens.
    In all, I rate the Quarz 1X8C-2 only average, due to the limitations of the lens, however, one has to keep in mind that for the money this camera offers a lot. The only other new Super-8 camera alternative is the $10,000 Beaulieu 9008.
    The second new product introduction comes from the laboratories of Martin Baumgarten's Plattsburgh Photographic Services. In order to fill a void created by the discontinuance of Kodak sound striped films, Plattsburgh is offering Fuji's sound striped Single-8 film in the Kodak Super-8 sound cartridge. This is accomplished by buying the Fuji film in the Single-8 cartridge, and reloading by hand the film into the Super-8 sound cartridge.
    The packaging supplied by Plattsburgh is excellent. The Fuji "Super-8" comes in a nice green box with detailed instructions inside. The film comes in two ASA (or ISO) speeds, 25 and 200. I experimented only with the 25 speed film. One has to remember that the film has been reloaded into Kodak cartridges, so the cartridges are notched at speeds of 40 and 160 and will automatically set the camera for these speeds. In my case, using the Fuji 25 ASA speed film, the camera would automatically set itself for 2/3 higher f/stop than desired. This requires a manual adjustment to open the aperture of the lens by 2/3 of an f/stop. Either set the manual override on the camera's light meter 2/3 stop lower than the automatic setting for every shot, or use the +/- one f/stop knob that many cameras have and leave it decreased one f/stop (such as is used for back lighting) for the entire roll. In either case the camera's aperture will open slightly, allowing more light to properly expose the slower speed film. Using these guidelines, I had no exposure problems at all. The 200 speed film is closer to the 160 notched cartridge, being a difference of only 1/4 f/stop, so no adjustment is needed with the Fuji 200. Finally, the Fuji film is not a "Type A" film, like Kodachrome, so the outdoor filter is not to be used. Using the filter will give the film an orange tint.
    The Fuji film is stunningly beautiful. The 25 speed stock is very fine grained, similar in that regard to Kodachrome, but the colors are quite different. The flesh tones are warm, the reds vibrant yet natural, and the greens are very, very lush. The colors appear a bit softer than Kodachrome, having more of a pastel quality. The film should transfer to video splendidly.
    Unfortunately, the cost of this film is quite high. With processing included, the price us $44.95 per sound cartridge. Because Fuji film is made on a thinner, though more scratch resistant base, it would not be possible to inter-cut this film with Kodak's stocks without requiring constant focus adjustments on the projector. Mixing the two stocks with such different color hues would probably look rather odd anyway. I would like to find a project that would be shot entirely with the Fuji film. Despite the high price, I hope others experiment with it as well.
    I always get very nervous when I read that Kodak is once again making major cutbacks; This time a full 10% of their work force is to be eliminated. I worry about the future of Super-8, which is still finding new niches for use everyday. When large corporations streamline, it doesn't matter to them if they shut down or sell off profitable operations, for they desire to keep only those departments with the highest sales, and which have the potential for highest profits. Short sighted, yes, and frequently miscalculating, this is the nature of most business today. In the midst of all this "downsizing," Kodak has just released an all-new Super-8 film stock. This is the most earth-shattering and singularly upbeat news I've heard about Super-8 in nearly ten years. The new film is called Eastman Ektachrome 7240, and is the exact same formulation as the 16mm 7240, with an outdoor ASA (ISO) speed of 125.
    I am more excited about this film than anything. Having just purchased one cartridge from Filmlab, and having already shot the roll the first day, I am now anxiously awaiting the results back from the lab. The cost is $15 for the film, and another $15 for processing, though the price of processing may drop as any lab equipped to process 16mm film can process this as well. I would not be surprised to see this film have a totally different look than the older Ektachrome 160, and to be of a finer grain too. Expect a full review in the next issue of THE REEL IMAGE.

Merchants where products were purchased:

Cresta Electronics 52 Watling St., Radlett, Herts WD7 7NN U.K.
Plattsburgh Photographics 18 Elm St., Plattsburgh, NY 12901 U.S.A.
Filmlab 445-447 N. 7^th Street, Allentown, PA 18102 U.S.A.

---  Chris Cottrill
        E-mail:  chris_cottrill@yahoo.com
 

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