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ANOTHER MILESTONE TO CELEBRATE

While everyone has been busy celebrating the centenaries of the 9.5mm and 16mm
centenaries., Another milestone has crept up on everyone.
In 1964, the Japanese manufacturer FUJI took a concept camera to the World Fair,
showing off its new Single-8 Film format.

Although the film is thinner, the frame dimensions of Single-8 such as the sprocket
holes and sound track are the same as Super 8. Which meant Single-8 could be
projected on Super 8 projectors and vice versa. The film base was polyester, which
could not be spliced using the conventional film cement process. Fuji produced a tape
splicer for joining their film.

Single-8 had a number of advantages over Kodak’s Super 8. Having the supply and
take-up reels in line one above the other, made full rewinding of the film in the camera
was possible. This meant that double exposures, lap dissolves, and other special
effects that the more advanced used wanted was possible. The design also utilised the
camera’s own gate and pressure plate, rather that the plastic pressure plate built into
the Kodak Super 8 cartridge.

Although thought by many to be superior to Super 8, Single-8 was no where as popular
as Kodak’s Super 8, mainly due to the prominence of the Kodak brand around the world.
Below: The Fujica P1. Its slim design is possible due to the narrowness of the film cartridge. Note the
camera’s interior showing the supply and take-up spindles and the automatic placement of the film into
the film gate when the film is loaded. (Cinepix Collection)

22 REEL DEALS March 2024