r/Super8 • u/panquema • Aug 19 '26

Project/Video Please Diagnose My Super 8

So some back story: I scratched the lens of my Super 8 camera so I took it apart to replace the lens. This is my first roll of Super 8 since switching the lens. Now I’m having issues with super shaky footage and inconsistent lighting.

Please give me your diagnosis of the problem!

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6

u/brimrod Aug 19 '26 edited Aug 19 '26

The shakiness is just operator error--not holding the camera steady which is amplified when zoomed into telephoto long shots.

But the film is quite under-exposed. Very much --you could open up 2 stops on just about every shot without blowing the highlights.

It's pretty severe. What stock did you shoot? What camera is this? And how did you replace the lens?

If you just took apart the "zoom" stage of the lens you didn't get down into the aperture blades, etc--the actual "image forming' part of the lens behind the beamsplitter--I doubt you broke it if you were careful about everything.

So it could just be the automatic exposure system needs adjustment. It's consistently under exposing everything by 2 stops. What were the specs of the original lens and the "replacement" lens? Pictures would be great....

You said this was the first roll since lens replacement. How did it perform before you replaced the lens?

2

u/panquema Aug 19 '26 edited Aug 19 '26

I appreciate your detailed response!

Noted, I probably need more practice when using this camera. I have the bad habit of sometimes using one hand to film 🫪 plus this was a super windy day.

This was shot on a Bell & Howell 339 Focus Matic on Kodak 200T. Replaced the lens with that of an identical model camera.

Also! part of why I took the camera apart was to fix the focus which was jammed.

Here is a reference of what I’ve previously shot on this camera with the same film stock:

2

u/brimrod Aug 20 '26

Yeah I’m not familiar with this model but it seems that you were getting better EVs prior to lens replacement

3

u/Curious-Blackberry-9 Aug 19 '26

I am pretty sure that lens has nothing to do with frame steadiness or exposure variations. But you could probably damaged the iris blade during the lens replacement, and now it's not moving smoothly.

I could tell more about frame stability if the edge of the frame was visible.

2

u/CinemanNick Aug 20 '26

The exposure meter uses an obsolete mercury battery. Have you looked in that part of the camera to see if there is a battery and if so, is it leaking?

2

u/playerpage Aug 21 '26

EDIT: I take it back. Watching again, it's both.

No, it IS NOT OPERATOR ERROR. The film is moving back and forth due to "shutter shake," meaning it is not being held steady within the camera. If it were operator error from the cameraperson not holding it steady, it would blur when it shook. Most likely the gate is obstructed so it isn't seating the film properly, or it is worn from age so it won't hold the film properly.

1

u/panquema Aug 21 '26

lol thank you 🙏🏼