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The first new Super 8 camera in 30 years is a collision of modern and vintage

The first new Super 8 camera in 30 years is a collision of modern and vintage

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When a 4-ounce smartphone can shoot hours of 1080p video, it's easy to think that analog film is dead. But plenty of filmmakers big and small still have intense interest in keeping classic film formats alive, including the treasured "Super 8" format. Super 8 had its heyday in the 1970s, though plenty of filmmakers continued to use it for years — even as new camera equipment was increasingly hard to come by. A father-son duo in Denmark has changed that with the first Super 8 camera made in 30 years, the Logmar S-8.

Announced late last year, the Logmar S-8 includes a bunch of features that would have been unthinkable in 1975. Perhaps most noteworthy, the camera records real-time digital audio — pop an SD card in and you can record high-quality sound through a host of different audio inputs. The camera is also controllable over Wi-Fi via your smartphone with a simple app that Logmar plans to release for iOS and Android; the company says developers will also be able to write their own apps to interface with the S-8.

Despite the technical innovations, you'll still be recording on classic Kodak 8mm film, but the guts of the camera have been upgraded to be more reliable. According to Wired, the S-8 uses a NASA-approved Maxon DC motor, the same motors found in a number of Mars rovers. Of course, the advance of digital film technology inevitably means that the S-8 is aimed at a niche market, and its price reflects that — you can preorder the camera from US distributor Pro 8mm for $3,500 (lens not included). After the first 20 cameras are sold, the price jumps to $5,000.