Editing 8 mm film (section)

==Super 8==
{{main|Super 8 film}}
[[File:8mm and super8 and double8.png|thumb|[[Super 8 film|Super 8&nbsp;mm]], 8&nbsp;mm and Standard (double) 8&nbsp;mm formats]]
[[File:8 mm film types.jpg|thumb|Standard and Super 8&nbsp;mm film comparison]]
In 1965, [[Super 8 film|Super-8 film]] was released and was quickly adopted by many amateur film-makers. It featured a better quality image and was easier to use mainly due to a cartridge-loading system that did not require reloading and rethreading halfway through.

To easily differentiate Super 8 film from Standard 8, projector spools for the former had larger spindle holes. Therefore, it was not possible to mount a Super 8 spool on a Standard 8 projector, and vice versa.

===Sound===

The Super 8 format was designed from the start to accommodate a sound track (one of the few film formats to do so). This track would occupy the area between the edge of the film and the image area. As in the double 8 system, a second stripe was sometimes added between the edge and the perforations. The image to sound distance was much shorter for the Super 8 system at just 18 frames.

At first, the magnetic stripe had to be applied after the film was processed and recorded on a suitable projector. In the 1970s, cameras appeared which were able to record live sound directly onto pre-striped film. This film was loaded into oversize cartridges that provided access for the camera's sound recording head. The camera would also accept non sound cartridges, but silent cameras could not accept sound cartridges. One major advantage of the Super 8 system was that as the camera pressure plate was a part of the cartridge, it could be moulded to the profile of the stripe(s) on the film.

Projectors also appeared on the market which took advantage of the balance stripe next to the perforations by recording and replaying stereo sound.

Projectors appeared in the late 1970s that featured the ability to play films with an optical soundtrack. The image-sound separation for the optical format was 22 frames. These were never popular in the English speaking world and are consequently very rare in those countries, but they did enjoy some popularity in the Far East and Europe mainly because optical prints were cheaper.

Sound prints in Super 8 were plentiful and considering that they were very expensive by modern-day standards, sold in appreciable quantities. A two-reel print (running approximately 17 minutes) cost around $50 with feature films costing at least $150-plus. A few prints were also released with stereo sound. In Europe, optical prints were also popular and were appreciated for their often superior sound quality. In theory, magnetic prints should have been superior, but Super 8 magnetic prints were often poorly recorded after the picture was processed, due to high-speed, mass production techniques. An optical track, on the other hand, could be printed at the same time as the image and in equivalent quality.