Digital Super 8 Cart

Description

Im trying to make a digi ( digital) Super 8 cart ( yes, I may have gone insane) . so iv had the idea of trying to make a digital Super 8mm cart for a while and I met up with some great Geeks at EMF 2024 one of whom had tried the same idea but a different take. This project maps the madness that follows.

Details

The Project :

This project has come to be due to the fact I can't afford the £100 price tag to use Super 8, Dev the film and scan it. So I want a way to test shots and use the camera without the expense. With the Goal of one day hopefully using the film once iv got used to the camera and can use this cart to plan my shots out, saving money.

Project outcomes:

The main outcome of this project is to have a Digi Cart that I can trigger using the camera's original Trigger and does not need me to alter the camera in any way. It's as simple as that.

Influences :

In my journey iv found a few people who have had the same idea. I first found out this might be possible from the Elements 14 YouTube channel video linked here, but as you can see in the screenshot below, it ended up being rather bulky and with focusing issues

The big changing point in this project, which has been on the shelf for ages, was in 2024 at EMF where I went to a talk by Jenny List who, as many of you will know is an author and YouTuber, this was the big turning point this is when I found out you could in fact fit a raspberry pi zero into a super 8 Cart, something I thought was impossible when I measured up a old school cart, but as you can see below it very much just fits I have including a link to Jenny List video here

I have spent the last few months trying out different designs and cases, and I think I'm finally on the right track to have a test Cart built in time for EMF 2026. Although everything has to be millimetre-perfect. More updates to follow as I start the long Journey to become 3d Tetris Champion. ( Also, I apologise about my spelling :) )

Project Logs

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UPDATE 27/04/2025
bozzer91 • 04/27/2025 at 17:52 • 0 comments

Today i have a small update.
I have been working on the camera mounting. After far to many editions ( more then you can see below ) I finally have a mount that works for my camera.
This mount locks the camera from moving away from the focus plane while leaving enough space for me to experiment with different cameras/measurements from the focus plane.
I have two Super 8 cameras, one side-loading and one rear-loading. I have been trying this out with both cameras using the side loader so I can adjust the parts inside the DIgi Cart easily, and in the side loader, and I can confirm compatibility by trying the rear loader.
After a lot of adjusting the position of the camera and the focus, we have success, I finally have an image, its not perfect but its a start.
Next steps :
I have a few problems to work through, step one being the camera's aperture controls seem to reduce the image field of view so I need to check is it my Digi Cart camera position that is doing this or if it's normal operations. Step two, I'm using a 120° lens on my Pi camera, which is nowhere near ideal, so I intend to change this out for a 75° lens in the hope I can fill more of the screen with the image and possibly cut off the sides, avoiding the issues with the aperture.
Update : 20/04/2025
bozzer91 • 04/20/2025 at 20:06 • 0 comments

Iv spent the past few days refining the Case idea, and Case V1 is almost there, all must have parts that have a home now, and it's getting very cramped in the Cart. I am now working on the camera mounting solution, which you can see at the front of the cart. Next, I need to figure out if I can fit a screen and controls onto the lid before i can start working on the software.