The good news is the manufacturer of the original Pin Registered Super-8 Camera, The Cine-8, did not laugh at me when I asked if a new run of Super-8 Cine-8's was at all possible.

The manufacturer of the Cine-8 pin registered Super-8 camera doesn't believe it to be necessary that they be directly involved in the "discussion" of a new run of pin registered Super-8 cameras, however they do think it does makes sense to post the question of a new production run on various Super-8 forums to see how much interest there might be.

The number one question would involve the price of such a camera. What should the ceiling price of a proposed Pin Registered Super-8 camera be that would guarantee pre-orders of at least 50?

My personal feeling is that $3,000-3,500 would be the ceiling that would result in the sale of 100 Super-8 pin registered cameras.

The manufacturer's belief is that the selling price per camera may need to be around $5,000 per camera to justify the start-up and manufacturing costs.

Yikes.

There are several ways to look at this. If the camera is going to be similar in design to the existing Cine-8 camera, then maybe, just maybe, the start-up costs could be less because the design and drawings already exist.

If a new production run of Super-8 cameras meant that it would be redesigned from the ground up then even $5,000 could be real tempting because it would mean filmmakers actually get a say BEFORE the camera was actually manufactured.

Besides interchangeable lenses and pin registration, in my opinion one of the most important features is an orientable viewfinder and an actual crystal sync speed setting. Then there is the age old issue of how quiet should the camera be?

So, besides ceiling price issues, what features would you be willing to do WITHOUT provided the camera was pin registered, had an interchangeable lens mount, variable framing speeds from 10 FPS to 250 FPS, and an orientable viewfinder? For instance, would it have to have crystal sync speed also? (I believe nowadays if a camera runs at a constant speed it becomes less relevant what that speed is for syncing purposes because of advances in non-linear editing. As long as you transfer the film at the speed it was shot at, it doesn't have to be exactly 23.98 for NTSC or 24.98 for PAL etc...).

The other question in the back of my mind is could this new production run be the IDEAL film camera for shooting stock footage shots? A properly exposed K-40 shot using a pin registered Super-8 camera could be the ideal format for grabbing stock footage. Stock Footage companies pay as much as $25.00 a second, 10 second minimum, when they sell your footage for broadcast! And you still retain the rights! If Image stability is no longer an issue, then shooting on a pin registered Super-8 camera would provide the flexibility of not having to worry about whether it needs to be in NTSC or PAL, since by shooting in film it can be both!

Film costs would be less in super-8 versus 16mm or 35mm, and the Super-8 pin registered camera would be as portable as a DV camera. The end result is this could be a new market for those who like to shoot film and then actually derive an income from it. Income from Stock Shots shot on Super-8 could be the proverbial carrot in front of the horse that would make the camera a bargain even at $5,000.00

As more and more people submit stock footage shot on mini-dv, the Super-8 footage would be a breathe of fresh air to Stock Footage houses and even television shows looking for something different.

Now I'll look forward to your comments and feedback!