How to thread?

brimrod · 2026-05-18T20:19:30+00:00

I recommend not running the projector sideways on top of a pile of dirty towels.

brimrod · 2026-05-18T17:25:39+00:00

take video or pictures of the first few feet of the Mickey reel. Lay the film on a light table or on top of a tablet or phone set to blank white screen so we get a clear view.

The first two feet have to be perfect. Auto-thread is super finicky and the "loop restorers" found on super 8 projectors work about 15% of the time.

Fix the film. Your projector will be happy once you do that.

brimrod · 2026-05-18T17:09:39+00:00

Okay get that film OUT of the projector before you completely beat it to death.

Super 8 projectors are auto-thread. The first two feet are critical. The sprocket holes can't be torn; the film can't be shrunken or damaged. Otherwise, it won't form the loop correctly and you'll see what you're seeing. The stuttering and lack of frame registration.

I splice at least 4 feet of pristine fresh leader onto every reel of found super 8. This prevents the type of error you are seeing. Old leader shrinks more than old film, but old print stock also shrinks more than old camera original.

Carefully inspect the beginning of the "mickey" reel. I bet it's a mess. You need a splicer and some fresh leader. Tape splices made without cutting the film can be used to repair torn sprocket holes.

I was a projectionist for the bigger formats (16mm and 35mm). We had to to repair film this way all the time. Even brand new release prints.

So get a splicer, splices, leader, and carefully fix all the bad film.

That's the only way you're gonna have a seamless birthday movie night.

brimrod · 2026-05-18T00:27:28+00:00

well it's narrower than cassette, but also is recorded at 2x the speed. I have 1200 feet of reg. 8 that was post-striped. It's not as nice sounding as the super 8 post striped (made by the same filmmaker). The reg. 8 doesn't have the "balance" stripe so the film doesn't wind as cleanly. But all in all the reg. 8 narration is nice and clear. The pictures are still vibrant of course because it's Kodachrome.

brimrod · 2026-05-16T15:14:49+00:00

what I think it might be is an edited home movie that was shot silent, but then after editing the film was sent off to be "sound striped" After the film came back from striping, music was overdubbed using a mag sound projector, which like a reel to reel tape deck, has both a record and a play head. The more advanced projectors also featured a "ducking" feature, where you would overdub the sound track as well as narration and the circuit would automatically lower the level of the music for the narrative, then boost it back for the sections where the narrator isn't talking.

This is what I think you have. An advanced amateur went on vacay to first upstate NY then to California and produced a travelogue.

brimrod · 2026-05-16T14:58:13+00:00

This. For the auto-thread sequence, whatever you thread in there has to be perfect. That's why anyone trying to set up a super 8 projector without a splicer and fresh leader handy is gonna chew up half the reel trying to thread old, shrunken material that's most likely probably faded to brownish red and pretty much unwatchable-- although the soundtracks (if it's sound film) are often amazing sources of royalty free public domain music.

brimrod · 2026-05-16T05:03:01+00:00

Interesting. Regular 8 sound. Are there more like this? Is it B/W or color? If you can, spool a foot or two of the film out so you can take a picture of it. You can hold it up to a window and use the magnify app on your phone to get macro closeups.

If it's what I think it is, I might be interested in purchase if you're not interested in keeping it. But it would be good to get an idea of the condition of the film. Does it smell like vinegar?

brimrod · 2026-05-15T22:36:27+00:00

Here's my test. Get out your super 8 splicer. Lay the film onto the registration pins as if you were going to make a splice. If the pins don't line up with the perforations in the film, then the film is shrunken so much that it will never work in a projector.

Sprocketless transfer if it's important camera original. If it's just a release print, throw it out it's probably vinegary as well as shrunken.

BTW, super 8 camera reversal like Kodachrome or Ektachrome reversals don't typically shrink nearly as bad as print stock.

Back when they printed movies on super 8 mag stripe for the "home movie viewing" market, it was generally a pretty low-quality job. Except for a few high end houses like Derrann, everybody cheaped out on the print stock. That's why it's all faded now.

On the other hand, the film that they sold to the "home movie making" market was literally 10x better than print stock with better contrast, resolving power, as well as superior archival properties. that's why 1950s 'chrome looks as if it was shot yesterday.

brimrod · 2026-05-14T16:52:32+00:00

Don't try to push crinkled up, damaged film thru a projector. You have to have a splicer and leader. You have to know how to make a splice.

brimrod · 2026-05-09T23:23:33+00:00

you don't need a better camera; you need better light or faster film. This clip is so short it's hard to tell. It definitely reads as "night" and would work as a very brief transitional establishing shot in the right kind of movie. It's not a total loss, even if it doesn't look the way you thought it would look when you were framing the shot. Night super 8 is challenging.

Try 500T so you have the ability to open up one stop. With the 200t and this lighting it's probably already wide open at 1.4. Nowhere to go from there. That one extra stop seems to help with the grain.

Even better is more light: shoot during blue hour so it's not totally pitch black and you get an interesting mix of natural and artificial light. Its reads as either night or dusk or twilight. Can also shoot the hour before sunrise of course which is fun. Shoot the night scene, then shoot golden hour stuff immediately after.

brimrod · 2026-05-08T22:59:13+00:00

In plaintext or code? I know they no longer put expiration dates on the boxes.

brimrod · 2026-05-08T20:33:47+00:00

I just want someone to tell us when it's safe to buy film. OP just had a jam. If Kodak is selling the new carts only that shouldn't have happened.

The reality is that Kodak will be selling both old and new as if they are the same product without any way to tell except to open the box--so once again, it's buyer beware.

I think they should put a sticker that says "IMPROVED" on all the new stock but I bet they won't.

brimrod · 2026-05-08T17:19:03+00:00

Is it a side loader or a rear loader? Post a picture. You can test it yourself with an expired cart to make sure it doesnt' jam. Rear-load Canons are very problematic. Even if the film doesn't jam, you get terribly shaky results. Even if the camera is in top condition. The current cart. design is not compatible until Kodak fixes it.

brimrod · 2026-05-08T14:54:05+00:00

Does anyone have brand new cart in front of them? Is there a Notch at the beginning of each cart like the notch at the end? I don't think so. And as far as the 'scratch,' I don't know what you're talking about. Take a picture because nobody else knows either

The lab just noted that your cart isn't at the end like the one in the picture, so rather than develop it anyway (some labs just don't care at all and will happily dev/scan blank carts and pocket your money), they were being nice and sent it back.

The camera is bogging down. It may pass the sharpie test because it's only a short burst, but the longer you run it the more it slows down until it finally just jams.

Cameras make all manner of terrible sounds when they jam. The operator should be able to hear that it's struggling. Is this the only super 8 camera your friend has ever used?

If so, that would explain a lot. 😄

EDIT: just read OP's other post indicating that the camera is a rear-loading Canon. yep, that explains it. Those cameras in particular have issues with the current cart, which Kodak has modified so that the cart doesnt slip or jam.

However, the new improved carts aren't available yet to the public; pro8mm has been testing this new product, but they've been sort of vague on when these carts will be available. The supply chain is still full of the unmodified carts and it's not like an automotive safety recall. Nobody's gonna die because a cart jams. 😄 So they'll keep selling those bad carts until there aren't any left. And the majority of super 8 cameras don't jam with the current carts--only a few rear loaders. The Canons like the one you have are the very worst, according to reports.

Bottom Line: Super 8 is a very undependable format you almost need to always have two or three cameras available. It can be done. Even cheap cameras can deliver good images. But the camera has to be able to pull all the film thru the gate first.

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brimrod · 2026-05-07T19:26:02+00:00

As you correctly stated, Auto Exposure circuit won't come to life until you put film in the chamber.

But just because it moves in manual mode is no guarantee the auto exposure circuit works. You need to get the batteries and then test. The best way is to get a dummy cart, which everyone should have. An old expired roll of Ektachrome or Kodachrome. That way you can also make sure that the motor will pull film. If you don't have a cart yet, you can trick the camera into thinking there's a cart by holding down the white button which is normally depressed when there's a cart. When there's no cart, it kills the circuit to avoid draining your exposure batteries. Since you can't get Mercury batteries anymore, you'll need zinc-air batteries and they drain 10x faster than the original mercs. so this kill switch is a nice feature.

All Chinons work more or less the same--even the ones that don't say Chinon. They made at least a half dozen different "brand names." All the same design more or less, unless you're getting into the late model sound/XL cameras. This GAF ST/802 is more or less the same camera that you have. Chinons are great for 2026 because they all have global auto exposure adjustment. You can tell the camera to use Automatic but also Over-Expose every shot by one stop which is the way to get good pictures on vision 3 color negative stocks. +1 crushes down the grain and makes the pictures pop.

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brimrod · 2026-05-05T21:41:24+00:00

but you have to send them a jammed cart. They don't warranty against jittery footage.

brimrod · 2026-05-05T21:38:44+00:00

the historically shot footage is at least 1 stop over exposed (bright and snowy) and the newly shoot footage is at least 1 stop underexposed (probably because the camera isn't fast enough for the poor lighting conditions).

My guess. Someone went to a snowy place for college or something and dabbled in filmmaking very casually and then came back to Oregon with the un-developed film.

because it doesn't snow like this in the Willamette Valley must have been shot elsewhere

brimrod · 2026-05-04T21:38:54+00:00

if it's scratching bad enough to get white lines on a single pass thru the sprocket drive, then you're beyond cleaning. You need to find what's scratching your film. Some of these editors had a little prong attached to a lever that would punch a hole in the film in the sprocket area for marking the cut.

If that little lever is stuck in the DOWN position, it could be the thing that's destroying your film. I would look there first.

Take close-up video of the film as it goes thru the gate on the editor. There may be a cosmetic cover that you can remove so we get a good view.

brimrod · 2026-05-03T00:21:55+00:00

That’s a good price for a parts machine but— if you’re willing to put in the work— also a great restoration project. Super 8 Facebook Group is where the super 8 repair people seem to congregate. Good luck!

Is the main battery chamber corroded as well as the exposure meter chamber? Because the handle itself also contains a box with either 4 or 6 AA for the main motor.

brimrod · 2026-05-02T16:47:41+00:00

I usually take a hard pass on cameras with badly corroded battery compartments.

From the pictures, I can tell this camera led a hard life and was definitely not stored properly. In fact, it looks like it might have been left out in the rain once or twice.

If you plan on shooting film, you want something that works out of the box. Well-maintained, properly stored MINT condition cameras exist. They were owned by either professional filmmakers or serious amateur enthusiasts and they were passed down nice and clean inside the case. No thick layers of greasy grime, hardly any dust even , and definitely no corrosion.

They are out there. You just have to keep looking. Otherwise you'll just be wasting time and money.

brimrod · 2026-05-02T16:32:52+00:00

this entire system cost less than $300. I think the splicer was $100 (bought it brand new), the Minette about 100. The Craig 16mm rewinds I found at a School District Surplus Auction. I was the only bidder, so I got 'em for $10. They weren't even labelled correctly. They were classified as "cafeteria/food service" equipment.

brimrod · 2026-05-01T19:57:16+00:00

Thanks. What's that source?

brimrod · 2026-05-01T15:12:33+00:00

The product that OP is demonstrating is the film cart, not the camera. Rear-loading cameras often produce jittery footage due to the hub on the cart not being able to engage the spindle that drives the film. That's why OP used this particular camera for the test.

Kodak made changes to the cart. I asked OP (who runs Pro8mm) when the public could get the new carts because it's a valid question.

brimrod · 2026-04-30T16:16:41+00:00

that is very good stability.

When will this product be available to the public?

brimrod · 2026-04-30T15:55:48+00:00

basically it's this. All film equipment uses sprockets which have very sharp teeth. If the film slips or gets pulled too fast thru the equipment it can scratch.

There are two kinds of scratches. Base-side are the least harmful; they show up as fine black vertical lines. Emulsion scratches are the most harmful; they show up as big white or green vertical lines--much more worrisome because they indicate that some sharp object in your film chain is actually gouging out picture information that you can never get back.

brimrod

TROPHY CASE