There’s a sort of sentimentality that comes with the thought of using an old-school Super 8 video camera. Those 1960’s era cameras on a stick filmed many of our (or our parents’) first moments. Watch the video above and you can almost see Don Draper filming the first moments of Bobbie’s life — whiskey in hand.
But of course, sentimentality only goes so far. These days you’d never actually consider using a Super 8. They’re heavy, the batteries were horrible and they use film, which of course is not compatible with iMovie.
Lumenati, a Denver-based company, is aiming to bring a new product to market that would be a major update to the Kodak Super 8. iPhone videographers behold: the Lumenati CS1, the world’s first cinematic smartcase.
The idea itself is pretty simple. The CS1 would give you the look, feel and capabilities of an old-school camera and it would use your smartphone as the brains. Your smartphone slides into the case where film would have gone in the Super 8 and you're ready to roll.
The case offers many of the pros of an old-school camera that are missing from our convenient, if limited smartphones. You'll get a handle with a shooting trigger, and a cold shoe where you can attach lights or a microphone. You'll also get things like a real lens and a viewfinder (no more squinting at your LCD screen).
Smartphones have been used to shoot home videos pretty much since the technology was born. And while the CS1 is aimed at hobbyists, shooting serious video on smartphones is becoming a big thing. Earlier this year the comedy Tangerine, which was shot entirely on an iPhone, debuted at the Sundance Film Festival.
Gavin Anstey, a co-founder at Lumenati, said the company is planning on launching a Kickstarter on July 13th to get the project off the ground. So far, there's no word on the eventual price of the device when it comes to market, but early supporters are being offered a 20 percent discount.
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