What's The Difference Between Super 8 and Regular 8mm Film? : Retro Tech Review

For many years, when people shot home movies, they shot them on 8mm motion picture film. Then, in the mid 60s, Kodak introduced a new movie film called Super 8, which was a major game changer. To this day, Super 8 film is still manufactured, and still used by many film students and music video directors for that raw, underground look.
Back in the 90s, when I was a frequent shooter of Super 8, I noticed that people would confuse Super 8 and regular 8mm all the time. People would use these terms interchangeably. I can't tell you how many times someone said to me "yeah, I have an 8mm projector". But in fact they owned a Super 8 projector. The two formats are very different. And what's interesting is that it seems people STILL confuse these two sizes of movie film.
To play super 8 films, you need a super 8 projector. Vice versa, 8mm films require an 8mm projector. It's like someone trying to play a Beta video tape on a VHS machine. It just doesn't work. Mind you, there were a number of projectors manufactured over the years that were dual (they could play both super 8 and 8mm). But many of them do not. It is a huge mistake to assume that all projectors can play either format. But interestingly, many people still assume this!
In this video I take a close look at both formats, and I do a side by side comparison of both movie film sizes. As you will see, there are major differences, from sprocket hole size, the number of sprocket holes, and even the frame size.
Do you shoot with super 8? Are you into motion picture movie cameras? Where do you get your super 8 film developed? What type of movie camera do you have? What model of projector do you have? Feel free to leave a comment!
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[@michaelturner4457]

Back in the day we always called them "standard 8" and "super 8".

[@techreviewguy7771]

I remember!

[@ralphreinhardt6020]

Cool video, I always knew there was a difference. Just wasn't sure of the details.

[@techreviewguy7771]

Thanks Ralph!

[@I.O.M.]

Still love S8 and still 35mm film.

[@techreviewguy7771]

Me too!