Kodak’s new Super 8 film camera is actually coming out

Kodak is gearing up to actually sell the Super 8 film camera it announced way back at CES 2016. It’s updated the camera’s product page with a new “sign up to buy” button to allow potential customers to register their interest. Kodak’s global managing director for motion picture, Vanessa Bendetti, tells The Verge that the company expects the camera to go on sale in limited quantities in the US on December 4th, before releasing in Canada, the UK, and other European markets. 

When it goes on sale, the camera will cost a whopping $5,495. That’s not just expensive when you consider that, as 404 Media notes, vintage Super 8 cameras can generally be had for a few hundred bucks — it’s also expensive compared to Kodak’s previously announced pricing. When the Super 8 camera was first announced in 2016, Kodak said it hoped to charge between $400 and $750 for it, and by 2018 it had already increased the potential price to between $2,500 and $3,000. 

That price makes Kodak’s new Super 8 camera a pretty niche proposition, even before you get into the challenges of shooting on film over digital. But that doesn’t mean it isn’t an interesting piece of kit. Although at its core it’s a film camera, it has some modern conveniences like a four-inch LCD viewfinder, a microSD card for recording audio, and even a Micro HDMI output for connecting an external monitor.

Unfortunately, these modern conveniences don’t extend to the camera’s charging port, which uses… Micro USB. 

If the idea of shooting on film appeals, and you can stomach the price tag, Kodak is inviting interested customers to sign up to receive more details via this reservation form (which it says you need to fill out even if you’re already on the previous reservation list). One final word of warning for anyone who hasn’t shot on real film before: 404 Media notes that one $35 Super 8 film cartridge can only shoot roughly two and a half minutes of 24fps footage. Pick your shots carefully.