Pathescope Super8 projector

Pathescope Super8 cine projector.

Launched in May 1965 by Eastman Kodak at that year's International Photo Exposition, Super 8 film comes in plastic light-proof cartridges containing coaxial supply and take-up spools loaded with 50 feet (15 m) of film. This is enough film for 2.5 minutes at the professional motion picture standard of 24 frames per second, and for 3.33 minutes of continuous filming at 18 frames per second for amateur use.

The Super 8mm format was cheaper and more convenient than previous formats as the cartridge was easier to load than threading the film as before. Super8 film is 8mm wide, the same as older formatted 8mm film, but the dimensions of the perforations along one edge are smaller, which allows for a greater image area.