What on EARTH are Kodak thinking - a botched Super 8 camera for $5.5k in 2024?!

Coldkennels

Coldkennels

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This just popped up in my YouTube feed over lunch:



I love me a bit of Super 8 on principle (having never shot it myself), but my god, that price point is ridiculous - and the terrible "warranty" combined with the amount of obvious mistakes/mis-steps in the design? Jesus wept.

Sometimes I think Kodak really don't have a single clue what they're doing.
 
This is old news... but I would imagine it is for special use cases by people who make movies and want something reliable and new. I mean, for a big budget movie, this price is like buying a hot dog.
 
Hugely reliable and high quality standard 8 (double 8 etc) cameras are available.

The problem with Super 8 cameras is that most rely on quite dodgy old electrics/electronics which can be difficult to fix but there are specialists.

Having said that, I saw this a while back and thought they were quite mad.

Did it ever go on sale?
 
It is expensive, but there is nothing else like it if you truly look at the specs:

www.kodak.com

KODAK Super 8 Camera

The magic of analog filmmaking meets modern convenience.
www.kodak.com www.kodak.com

Capture high-quality audio seamlessly with the on-board sound recorder and external microphone connectivity via 3.5mm input directly to the integrated SD card reader. Monitor audio levels with live meters on the built-in LCD.

The first modern Super 8mm camera with crystal sync at 24 and 25 fps, plus over and under crank at 18 and 36 FPS.

Enhance capture with any HDMI enabled monitor via the micro HDMI output.

16:9 (widescreen) shooting and increased visual resolution. The Super 8 Camera's extended gate optimizes more capture area of the film strip – allowing for an 11% larger image than traditional S8 cameras.

This 14:9 full frame gives your Super 8 film the flexibility to intercut with other modern media capture formats, seamlessly filling the frame of today's TV and video screens.

4" LCD Viewfinder​

It is clearly not made for the average Joe, but I am sure someone will buy it and find it useful.
 
JohnGellings said:
It is expensive, but there is nothing else like it if you truly look at the specs:

www.kodak.com

KODAK Super 8 Camera

The magic of analog filmmaking meets modern convenience.
www.kodak.com www.kodak.com

Capture high-quality audio seamlessly with the on-board sound recorder and external microphone connectivity via 3.5mm input directly to the integrated SD card reader. Monitor audio levels with live meters on the built-in LCD.

The first modern Super 8mm camera with crystal sync at 24 and 25 fps, plus over and under crank at 18 and 36 FPS.

Enhance capture with any HDMI enabled monitor via the micro HDMI output.

16:9 (widescreen) shooting and increased visual resolution. The Super 8 Camera's extended gate optimizes more capture area of the film strip – allowing for an 11% larger image than traditional S8 cameras.

This 14:9 full frame gives your Super 8 film the flexibility to intercut with other modern media capture formats, seamlessly filling the frame of today's TV and video screens.

4" LCD Viewfinder​

It is clearly not made for the average Joe, but I am sure someone will buy it and find it useful.
Click to expand...
I fully agree with you John.

It is a tool for professional video makers, movie and or advertising director who wants that specific look and not a camera for an amateur.

By the way the new Leica M11D cost much more!
 
Also, if you watch the review, there's a couple of other facepalm issues that will put pros off - an off-centre tripod mount and a total lack of accessory shoe of any kind, for instance. And they're very simple and cheap things to fix before it went to production!

As a result, it's falling halfway between pro and am in spec, but is distinctly "pro" in pricing. It's just a very weird proposition.
 
KoNickon said:
What's "crystal sync"? I know nothing about motion picture filming.
Click to expand...
Crystal sync ensures that the camera motor is running exactly at the speed selected, and not drifting. This is important when shooting scenes where the sound is being recorded, or else your sync will drift -- but it also matters when shooting under 60 Hz lighting with older magnetic ballasts, where you can get flicker if not shooting crystal-sync at a "safe" speed.
Click to expand...
From: Crystal sync - what's the big deal?

More here:
cinematography.com

How does crystal sync work?

Hi, I have been trying to find info on how crystal sync works but I can't find anything. I have a beaulieu 5008s multispeed and I want to sync it. I know a lot about electronics but I need to know how what kind of signal the camera needs to be synced, then, I would be able to make such a control ...
cinematography.com cinematography.com
 

LEARN ABOUT THIS TOPIC in these articles:​

motion-picture production​

  • Eadweard Muybridge

    In motion-picture technology: Double-system recording
    More convenient yet is crystal sync, whereby the speed of both cameras and recorders is controlled through the use of the oscillation of crystals installed in each piece of equipment. The most advanced system uses a time-code generator to emit numbers in “real-time” on both film and tape.
 
zane0777 said:
I think professionals will be put off by the absurd warranty - one year *or* 1000 feet of film (50 minutes), whichever comes first.
Click to expand...
I did not know it, but you are correct: it is absurd!
Anyway it would be interesting to know sales figures if any available.
 
Last edited:
KoNickon said:
Ah! I wondered if this went all the way back to crystal radio sets.
Click to expand...
No, not exactly. They both use crystals but for entirely different purposes.

Crystal radio sets use a crystal with a sharp wire/needle against it to form a diode. That diode is used to directly rectify an incoming AM radio signal, and in the simplest sets the rectified signal directly drives earphones.

Crystal as in crystal sync uses the piezoelectric characteristic of quartz to create a circuit that oscillates at a very precise, stable frequency. The frequency is determined by the size and shape of the crystal, since it is mechanically flexing back and forth during oscillation. Crystal oscillators are the quartz in a quartz clock, and are also used in a huge variety of digital and analog electronics, including but not limited to (modern!) radios.
 
zane0777 said:
I think professionals will be put off by the absurd warranty - one year *or* 1000 feet of film (50 minutes), whichever comes first.
Click to expand...
I'm sure they (those who actually buy it) can handle a repair fee if they have issues. 1000 feet does sound like a little though I will admit. Comically low.
 
I wonder how that'll work in the EU:

EU law also stipulates that you must give the consumer a minimum 2-year guarantee (legal guarantee) as a protection against faulty goods, or goods that don't look or work as advertised.

[...]

Your customers have the right to ask you to do any of the following without any charge (for postage, labour, material, etc.):
  • repair the product
  • replace the product
  • reduce the price
  • cancel the contract and reimburse them in full (in some countries, the sales contract cannot be cancelled if the fault is minor, e.g. scratch on a CD case)
Click to expand...
(from Consumer guarantees, warranties, claims and returns - Your Europe)
 
Seems to have been out since February. I had assumed it was vapourware after all, that is quite a gestation period. Good to see they finally made it.
 
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