Late last summer I bought a working super 8 camera, and a projector from relatives who no longer wanted it. I've always been interested in gadgets and photography, so what an exciting event this was for me! Both are in great shape; the projector came in the original box, complete with styrofoam packing and instruction booklet! The original bulb still works too.
The camera
This is a fun wildlife film I bought called "birds of the prairies" to test the projector.
I tried researching the camera to find more about it, but I didn't find much. I do not have the instructions for it, nor was I familiar with the camera, but I was just dying to use it. I finally bought my first cartridge of film from Niagara Custom Lab, all the way in Toronto. I got a roll of Kodak 7203 colour negative film. Unsure about how to use the mysterious light meter (beyond what I know for still photography, anyway) and unsure if the camera even worked properly, I tested the film from my apartment balcony as well as indoors, at varying apertures. I got it developed and waited anxiously for the film to return.
The day I got it in my mailbox, I sprinted upstairs, set up the projector, and was greeted by eerie reversed images on my wall! I was utterly confused at first, but then realised I had used negative film! D'oh! My roommate was pretty amused by it, but I felt pretty dumb. Luckily I had ordered a scan as well, which showed me that the film was generally quite underexposed indoors but decent, if low-contrast, outside.
So I checked out what else I could buy that might work on a projector, and ordered some Agfa 200D reversal film. Again, I tested the camera with it, but also got somewhat underexposed footage of my parents and my roommate over the Christmas season. This film is generally grainier than the 7203. This film was magical to watch on my projector, despite it being pretty mundane in terms of content:
I'll keep experimenting (more film is on the way). Hopefully I figure out how to get proper exposure indoors without the use of floodlights. In any event, I've found two good films for outdoor photography.
Thanks to everyone on this board for providing me with information as I learn.