Handy for more than just accidentally recording an alien event on the train tracks in Suburbia, USA, Super 8 cameras have also served as fundamental learning tools for many of our greatest filmmakers—from Steven Spielberg to Steve McQueen. Occasionally, Super 8 is still sought after by professional and amateur filmmakers alike, but it’s no walk in the park to acquire a working camera—let alone the film—to see the whole process through.
To meet the demands of our retrofuturist-obsessed culture, Kodak announced this week that they’re reviving the medium with a brand-new hybrid-function camera, as well as an initiative to keep Super 8 alive and well. Designed by Yves Béhar and fuseproject, the camera records onto traditional Super 8 film but has been updated with modern characteristics—like a flip-out LCD screen for monitoring what’s being filmed and a rechargeable battery to allow wire-free movement. The camera is said to be set for a September release and will run somewhere between $400 and $700.
Speaking of the Super 8 Revival Initiative itself, some of the biggest names in film—including J. J. Abrams, Quentin Tarantino, and Christopher Nolan—have voiced their unadulterated support. You can read all of those testimonies, and check out more about the initiative’s goals, over at Kodak’s site.
(via WIRED)
