I sent the query regarding film formaqts to a friend of mine who's an
amateur film-maker, film buff and historian.  Here's wha he gave me; all
editorial comments are unedited, and his:


>Gene,
>
>Regarding your film question:  I'm going to go from memory here so hopefully
>it'll be close enough to the facts...   Kodak introduced 16mm film in 1923.  It
>was B & W only at that time.   8mm was introduced in 1932 because 16mm
>was too costly for amateurs.  16mm was the dominant home movie format of
>the 20's-30's.  8mm became much more prominent in the 50's.  The Super 8
>format was introduced in 1965 and was much easier to load and had a 50%
>larger picture area.  The format flourished as sound was added by Kodak around
>1975.  1980 was the biggest year Super 8 ever had!  It was also the year video
>gear began to become affordable.  In 1981, everyone rushed out to buy a video
>camera because you could put 2 hours worth of stuff on a single $20 (!)
>tape.  Thanks to the nasty Hunt brothers, who tried to corner the world's
silver
>market, Super 8 film cartridges went from $3-4 to $8-9 almost overnight.
Since a
>roll of film holds a little under 4 minutes of film, you can see why
everyone was
>rushing out to get a video camera that could hold so much time in a single
tape,
>with no processing, and cheaply per minute of image.   By 1985, few were still
>using Super 8 for home movies.
>
>Kodak continues to make film for the 16mm and Super 8 formats.  Someone is
making
>film for Regular 8mm after Kodak stopped in the late 80's but I don't know who.
>Both 16mm and Super 8 are used by film students and pros for certain
applications.  Super 8
>is also still used by a small number of amateurs in the US and a much larger
>number in Europe. It's lucky for US residents that enough film is still being
>bought in Europe that it is produced by Kodak of France and imported here.
>Hope this info answers your questions.  If you need any more, just ask!
>
>                                  Derek
>
>
>
 ===============================================================================

Eugene Dillenburg
Geology Department
The Field Museum                                FAX: 312-922-9566
Roosevelt Road at Lake Shore Dr.                phone: 312-922-9410 ext. 293
Chicago, Illinois  60605

"It's not really food if it doesn't hurt."

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