removing super8 film

[dharmabum1949]

Hey there,
Im shooting a film set in the NYC and Philadelphia, Ive been shooting tri-x in the subways and pushing the film when i process it, right now i havea roll of plus-x that ive been shooting at the correct ASA in my camera with about 30 feet left. Because of the snow on the ground i cant finish the roll outside and I would really like to shoot some stuff in the subways in the mean time, if i were in complete darkness would i be able to take the plus-x cartridge i now have in out (then stick it in a light tight conatiner) and replace it with a cartridge of tri-x then reinsert the plus-x cartridge after ive shot the tri-x? Will this expose my film?

[sharonhardy]

Hi Jack,

The cartridge itself is actually a light tight container. So you can even remove it in light (although, I still wouldn't do it in a particularly bright area). Usually, I roll off about a foot before and after I remove it for safety, as one or two frames will be exposed. I've done this two or three times and it's always worked out.

[lightfeat]

You can freely remove Super8 cartridges out of the camera in broad daylight without losing more than about four or five frames. The biggest problem with this is that when the cartridge is reinserted, the frame count meter is set as though it is a new cartridge, so you must mark how much has been used on the cartridge when you take it out.

Believe me, it is not a problem to remove the cart. as I have done it many, many times over the years, with no problem at all. You don't need to do it in the dark, or put it in a box or anything like that. Super8 is cool like that. When processed, all you'll see is about 4 or 5 frames of clear film where you took it out. This is how many frames are visable on the plastic pressure plate. Obviously, shoot half a second of nothing at the end of a valuable shot before removing the film.

Lucas