DDU-80/XL

• Prototype made in 197? by Dennis Duggan, (19??-1988), a San Francisco's leading Super 8 filmmaker.

• "Future Probe - Dennis Duggan - SUPER-8 FILMAKER. I was either in a dream or in a time-warp when I first saw the incredible DDU-80/XL -or, my ultra Super-8 camera of the '80s. Just looking at it made me feel like I was in a science fiction movie! I decide to probe it. The DDU-80/XL has an ultra fast lens that zooms from 6 to 60mm in 2 to 30 seconds. It has a built-in 2X extender to convert the lens from 12 to 120mm capability. Imagine a 3 to 120mm zoom! The variable shutter can be set and coupled to the built-in meter at 240-, 200- or 160- degrees --an exixting light and normal shutter all in one camera! Inside, a loop of film is drawn from the cartridge for sprocket drive and pressure plate. When the 200-foot cartridge is used, i is loaded from the rear and rests on a shloulder brace. Sound is recorded normlly with an 18 frames separation, but a special playback head transfers the sound to the balance stripe in line with the picture for editing ease. The loop system also allows 250 frames to be backwound for double exposures, lengthy dissolves and reverse filming. The viewfinder and grips are fluid isolated, or floating from the lens and film chamber, to greatly reduce camera shake in handheld shots. The view through the lens is circular with an accurate frame line around the picture-taking area to allow you to see mikes or lights before you pan into them. The two grips house all the function keys for shooting --zooms, dissolves, etc.-- so that the hands never need to be moved. In tripod shooting all functions can be worked remotely without touching the camera. A higher-priced deluxe model would replace the built-in 85 filter with a color temperature meter and a warm-to-cool filter disc that offer continuous color correction under any kind of light, plus a manual override for creative control. Will my dream camera ever see the light of a day through its shutter? Only time will tell."

• Data assembled by Igancio Benedeti, A Coruņa (Spain).