Meet the first new Super 8 camera for 30 years

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Mention the words ‘Super 8’ to a youngster these days, and all that’ll spring to their mind is a number with superpowers.

Well-travelled gadgeteers will however have flashbacks of old home movie footage, grain-flecked screens and the comforting whir of honest-to-goodness film.

If those memories result in a watery eye or two, then we’ve got some good news for you. The first new Super 8 camera to hit the market in 30 years has been announced, and it’s called the Logmar S-8.

Unlike its ancestors, the new Super 8 shooter features picture stabilisation for super-smooth recording, thanks to a fixed pressure plate.

There’s also a side-mounted swivel LCD display, a C-mount thread for hassle-free lens swaps and programmable frame rates from 16fps up to 54fps. You can also adjust the exposure time, and keep the firmware up to date via a USB connection.

It’s even got Wi-Fi remote control compatibility thrown in for good measure, so you can control the action from an iOS, Android or Windows Phone device.

And then, of course, we have the wonderful 8mm film that’s at the heart of it all. Its cartridge format revolutionised the film industry decades ago, allowing wider, clearer footage, and supporting precision-controlled mechanical spooling.

The Logmar S-8 uses a NASA-approved motor to spool the film, and even better, you can slot in an SD card to capture 16-bit/48 kHz audio, which you can sync up with the footage post-shoot.

It’s beautiful, it’s clever, and we really, really want one. If you do too then US distributor Pro 8mm has opened up for pre-orders, which start from US$3,500, without a lens. Prices will shoot up to US$5,000 after the first run sells out, so get into impulse purchase mode as quickly as you can.

[via Wired]

About

Esat has been a gadget fan ever since his tiny four-year-old brain was captivated by a sound-activated dancing sunflower. From there it was a natural progression to a Sega Mega Drive, a brief obsession with hedgehogs, and a love for all things tech. After 7 years as a writer and deputy editor for Stuff, Esat ventured out into the corporate world, spending three years as Editor of Microsoft's European News Centre. Now a freelance writer, his appetite for shiny gadgets has no bounds. Oh, and like all good human beings, he's very fond of cats.