Kodak Celebrates the 40th Anniversary of Super 8 mm Film.

In April of 1965, Kodak unveiled Super 8 mm film. This revolutionary new format had some advantages when compared to its older brother (Double 8 mm). The film was packed inside an opaque black plastic cartridge, making it easy to load the film into the camera, while removing the danger of getting light on your precious pictures. The cartridges were light-tight and very robust. Cartridge loading eliminated the threading of the film. No flipping of the film load was required; the entire 50-foot cartridge could be shot without interruption. The perforations (sprocket holes) were reduced in size, allowing for a wider image area that was about 50% larger than standard 8 mm film, a significant improvement that allowed Super 8 mm to compete with 16 mm. The perforations were also moved to a point adjacent to the center of the film frame, making steady registration simpler. Rather than manufacture both a "Daylight" and a "Type-A" (Tungsten) form of the new film, each Super 8 Camera would have a built-in filter, making it possible to make only the "Type A"" product, which could be used in either kind of light.

Super 8 mm was a huge success in both the home movie and professional filmmaker markets. While the marketplace has changed in the past forty years, new generations of filmmakers have come to embrace the small film. In fact, many great cinematographers and directors began their careers years ago, by using a cartridge of Super 8 mm film - Peter Jackson, Michael Goi, ASC, Daryn Okada, ASC, Don Burgess, ASC, Wally Pfister, ASC, Ellen Kuras, ASC and Brian Reynolds, to name a few.

Today, Super 8 mm is enjoying a resurgence of popularity and growth. "Super 8 mm film has found new life with each new generation of filmmakers that continue to embrace the format," said Bob Mayson, general manager and vice president for Image Capture products, Entertainment Imaging division at Eastman Kodak Company. "Forty years after its introduction, this small-gauge film still provides an easy, inexpensive way for students and enthusiasts to work at film resolutions and color depths as yet unmatched by the latest digital technologies."

Happy Birthday Super 8 mm film - and here's to many more!