8mm vs Super 8 Film, What’s the Difference?

8mm film and Super 8 film look surprisingly similar at first glance, which can make it difficult to figure out which is which, especially if you have both types of film. Fortunately, when you get it up close and look at 8mm vs Super 8 film, it’s easy to spot a couple key differences which will make telling them apart much easier in the future.

As you can see from the above image, Super8 film has much smaller sprocket holes, and they are aligned to the middle of the frame, versus in between the frames on the standard 8mm. You’ll also notice that the size of the frame is 50% larger on the Super 8 film. Super 8 was an upgrade to the standard 8mm film which offered a sharper picture. This sharper picture can be attributed to the much larger frame size. Lots of times, people will have the first of their films shot in regular 8mm, and then over time switching over to the superior Super 8 format.

If your film is stored in film cans with leader tape, you can easily spot which film you have by examining the leader tape. Like in the actual film itself, the sprocket holes are much smaller. The leader tape does not contain actual frames, so the sprocket holes would be the only clue as to what type of film it is.

We can convert both 8mm and Super8 movie film to a digital format. Some Super8 film had sound, unfortunately we can’t transfer the audio.

Larry Dickinson
Fredericton, New Brunswick
(506) 455-2856


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