I see over on biotechnorati that Nick is showcasing the beauty of Super 8 film. I'm very excited to announce that I'm about to move into vintage film-making myself, but not Super 8; I'm going to film in 9.5mm format!
"How is that possible?" I hear you cry. Well, it's not easy but it can be done, and what's more, I'm doing it this weekend.
9.5mm was doomed as a popular film format by the late 50s and Pathescope went into liquidation in 1960 but enthusiasts have been keeping it alive ever since and they use a variety of methods including re-perforating 16 mm film.
(Wiki for more: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/9.5mm_film)
As far as I know, there are only 4 places in the world where you can get fresh 9.5mm stock today. One is in America, one in Switzerland and two in Britain.
(See here for info: http://www.9-5usa.org/95USAMiscellaneous.htm)
There's a guy in Craig-y-don, Llandudno, but he doesn't supply online, so I've gone with Grahame Newnham:
http://www.pathefilm.freeserve.co.uk/
He's been very helpful, explaining how to go about it, and he spent half an hour on the phone the other day talking me through it all.
And.... here's the result, a loaded cassette of fresh 9.5mm film:
(photo taken in dim light for obvious reasons)

The one downside is the price. A cassette runs for just 1 minute 15 seconds and costs £15...
Anyway it's very exciting and I'm good to go.
But sharp 4AoSers will have noticed that there's something missing: a camera.
By a fantastic stroke of luck (fate?!) when I went up to Mum and Dad's back in June to search their attic, Dad found an original 9.5mm camera. It's from the very early 30's and looks to be in excellent condition:
And filters too:
I'm going somewhere special on Saturday to make my masterpiece so watch this space.
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