Standard 8 Film Making

The Leicina 8SV

8sv image

Specifications:

Lenses: Angenieux K2 Zoom (as shown above) or Schneider Zoom (black barrel).
Focal Length: 7.5mm - 35mm
Aperture: f1.8 - 22
Focusing: 80cm - infinity
Exposure: Built in Automatic only
Film Speeds: 3 - 800 ASA
Frame Rate: 16 & 24
Motor Batteries: 4 x AA
Light Meter Batteries: 1 x Wein Cell MRB625
Filter Size: Series VI
Film Capacity: 25ft
Manual: Leicina 8SV Manual (PDF)

Filming Experiences:

The Leicina is a perfect example of simplicity however it's a strange looking camera but very compact and light. Light meter batteries can be a bit of a problem for some cameras as the originals would have been mercury cells which are no longer available. But Wein Air cells are readily available and are an exact match.

The motor batteries load into a small plastic holder which fits in one side of the camera, the film goes in the other side. I found "Ever Ready" batteries a perfect fit other makes were slightly too large. You set the dial on the light meter, press the trigger and off it goes.

inside the leicina

Loading the film was very easy and fool proof. Even someone unfamiliar with spool loading cameras would have had little trouble.

A very quiet camera and I loved the viewfinder. The light meter needle moves along the bottom of the view finder and another needle moves up one side, indicating how much film has been used and how much is left. Such a simple and clever idea. It makes life so much easier because you can see while filming how much film is left. The reverse filming is limited because the light meter shuts off when the camera is in reverse being really designed for lap dissolves.

I did miss a manual exposure control however especially as I was unsure how reliable the meter was going to be. It has two filming speeds 16 and 24fps.

Sssssshhh - don't tell anybody, but this is an absolute gem of a camera and probably the most under-rated. Probably because it doesn't look sexy and won't get you noticed! If you have never used Standard 8 and want to give it a whirl you could do a lot worse than buying one of these! Recently one sold on Ebay for £0.99!

Note: This camera was also sold with inter-changeable prime lenses as the 8S.

Results:

Extremely sharp and steady images.