Old Film Still Good?

[Mike Buckles]

Hi Everyone, great board, just recently discovered people are still using Super 8, so I want to dust off my Bell and Howell ms45 camera, and make some movies...found 6 rolls of super 8 in the garage, unopened, still sealed, 3 kodachrome 40's and 3 ektachrome 160 type g, with various expiration dates from 1992-1993...is it worth using these, or should I just chuck them and buy some fresh film? Mikey b.

[cameraguy]

Kodachrome is pretty resiliant so I would definitely try one of those and see how it comes out. Not sure bout the ektachrome.

[Alex]

Congratulations MikeyB. you own one of the coolest and "ahead of it's time" Super-8 camera ever made.

Your camera has modules that attach to the side of the camera and give you extra features to use.

The only downside to your camera is the light meter is very sensitive....it's a very active meter and will cause your exposures to "bounce" between bright and dark.

I believe you can "lock" the meter and avoid this problem.

Do you own one or both of the modules?

By the way, I would try the film out and see what happens.
The cool thing about film is you learn from each roll that you shoot.

You might just shoot one roll of each film stock and save the rest in the refrigerator just in case you need a "special effect" that can be enhanced by using outdated film.

[Scott Spears]

I would guess that after nearly 9 years in a garage and being subjected to summer's heat that the film will be suffering from some age fog. The blacks will go milky and there could be a shift in the color toward green. The Kodachrome 40 will be less affected than the 160G.

Like Alex said, shoot a roll of each and see what happens.

Scott

[Mike Buckles]

Thanks everyone, I will try a roll of each, I'll let you know how it turns out. Alex, I believe there were 2 modules available for the ms45 camera, and luckily, I bought the more advanced one, which gives me instant slo-mo, complete aperature control, frame rate control, single frame, and audio features, although a moot point since sound film went bye-bye! As I remember, I bought it in 1981, just as video was making it's inroads...it was very expensive at the time, but the camera had been discounted, since the new toy was video, so I got a really good discount on it. You are right about the light meter...very sensitive! I do have to lock it down when I film. Does anyone have any suggestions on where to send the film for processing? There are no stores around Omaha NE that handle it. Also, the camera has an external power socket, but I forgot what voltage it runs on...i'm afraid to set it too high, and I've missplaced the directions. It takes 6 AA batteries...think it would be 9 volt for plug in?

[Alex]

The amount of batteries that go into the camera determine the voltage. I checked my MS camera, and it takes six 1.5 volt batteries, so nine volts would power it from the external power supply.

If I were you, I would not risk using external batteries if you are not sure about the polarity. You can destroy the electronics of the camera if you make a mistake.

Places like Home Depot or Loews (or a similar large home building supply store in your area) have really good pricing for double-A batteries. They usually sell them in packs of 16 or 24, and the average pricing per battery per is around 40-50 cents.

[Alex]

The Ektachrome G will look Grainy.

Kodak makes a newer Ekatchrome that is just beautiful in comparison to the G.

So whatever your results are from the old film, don't use that to discourage you from buying new film.

[Mike Buckles]

You're right, I don't want to risk ruining the camera just to save a few $$ on batteries! I looked at Dwayne's site, the processing/handling fees aren't bad, but you can take them to any Walmart, and get them processed via Dwayne's for alot cheaper? I haven't looked to see if super 8 film is even listed on walmart's price list, but i will next time i go there.

[cameraguy]

That sounds like such a cool camera. Can you post a few pictures?

AA batteries are 1.5v each so the external socket would take 9v. Just make sure you have the correct polarity on the plug before trying it.

Cheapest way to process the Kodachrome film is to try a local Walmart if you have one. Write in the special intruction box on the developing envelope "Movie Film, Process K-14" the film is shipped to Dwaynes lab in Kansas if they do it right. They charge $4.88 or you can go direct to Dwaynes here

dwyanes website

[Mike Buckles]

I had my wife check Walmart's photo price list, and she couldn't find super 8 listed, so I sent my exposed Kodachrome to Dwayne's in KS..12.00 with the shipping, not bad....but then I was in Walmart today, had a look myself, and found super 8 processing for 4.88! Oops! Oh well, next roll goes to Walmart!