Super 8mm film cameras were first manufactured in 1965 by Kodak for their newly introduced amateur film format, which replaced the Standard 8 mm film format. Manufacture continued until the rise in popularity of video cameras in the mid-1970s.

Standard 8 mm film, also known as Regular 8 mm, Double 8 mm, Double Regular 8 mm film, or simply as Standard 8 or Regular 8, is an 8 mm film format originally developed by the Eastman Kodak company and released onto the market in 1932.

The frame size (picture-taking area) of 16mm film is about 10.26mm x 7.49mm. While both standard 8 and super 8 films are 8mm in width, Super 8 film stock has a slightly larger frame size. Standard 8mm film has a frame size of roughly 4.5mm x 3.3mm, while Super 8 film has a frame size of around 5.8mm x 4.01mm.