SteveH wrote:There is PLENTY that Kodak could be doing to stimulate interest in Super 8
but we're talking about d8 and ds8, which they have already stopped selling except in bulk. you can quite easily reperf 16mm to d8, while ds8 pretty much requires kodak's coöperation. (or paul cotto?)
francis wrote:the die is there...as i said, do you want some d8 film? get the people together and ill arrange it for you.
The dies are there because Super 8 is still made. But 16mm is made in larger quantities. The dies are not indestructable. They have to be changed out every so often to maintain quality otherwise you will not have accurate perfing when the sprocket holes are cut due to wear. If you consider a scenario where 8mm formats die out, which one do you think will be easier, with greater demand and more cost effective to bring back to life? If Kodak manufactures more 16mm than Super 8, they purchase or machine those dies in greater quantity so there is a lesser cost per die. Couple that fact with the fact that the R8 cameras are more plentiful and therefore will generate greater demand if the Super 8 cartridges are no longer made. compatable specs( therefore lower production costs) and greater camera availablity=greater demand which in turn gives us a lower retail value. And the lower retail value will in turn drive many people to the cheaper format. The advantage is self sustaining.
mattias wrote:but we're talking about d8 and ds8, which they have already stopped selling except in bulk.
It's surely all part of the one debate? I think Kodak get off lightly when DS8 and Super8 are considered as somehow being two separate formats - the end result is all Super 8. If Kodak were remotely serious about pushing Super 8 they would recognise that the DS8 approach is by far the best way to package Super 8. Of the two means available for delivering Super 8 Kodak uses the inferior, what sort of a company knowingly does that to its own product? I can accept that it may ultimately not be possible for Kodak to do the intelligent thing but are they seriously exploring the possibilities or are they just flogging cartridges while they wait for the format to die?
If you use ebay as a pretty good indicator of availability of cameras, Kodak would be doing a disservice to super 8 by focusing on DS8. No, like it or not, we are essentially stuck with the Kodapak cartridge until the bitter end. And I hope that end is bitterly far away!! Bring on more films in the super 8 cartridge...that way I can thumb my nose at the 35mm crowd by waving my 100D film cart at them!!! moo-who-ahahahahahaha