Dave,
Are you certain there is no exposure control? Check and see if you at least tdon't have a "EE lock". Thats a very rough way of changing the exposure. The cheaper cameras have a "lock" button on the exposure, so you can aim the camera at an area that has the exposuer you want, press the button and "lock" it there. Handy if you are shooting under variable conditions, and can be used as a rough substitute for setting exposure.

Shawn, about that Russian cam.....
 

Hey Shawn, you were asking about the "Quartz " aka, the "Kinoflex".......... I have one of these. I got mine on ebay for around US$100 or so, the attraction of these cams is that they are new and they come with some filters and other lens adapters. This camera is built like a tank with a solid metal body. One other unusual thing for a super 8 camera (as opposed to regular 8) is that its a windup i.e. it doesn't use an electric motor. It also lets you set the aperture manually, but as in many other of S8 cameras with manual exposure, its a tiny little dial on the side of the body which doesn't offer very nice handling. The other thing I don't like so much is that the viewfinder isn't very bright and the focusing 'grid' is difficult to use.

I would recommend you just get a second hand camera. I like my Canon 514 and 814. Over on the 8mm.filmshooting site, we recently did a global timelapse project, where we all shot timelapse for one day. For my part, I cobbled together a simple circuit to plug into the 814 so I could just aim the camera and sit back as the camera triggered away happily. I love 8mm for that kinda stuff.

ed

Thanks, Edwin, I probably will go that route. Now to figure out which models are better than others...

Richard,
The only manual control of exposure is a
backlight switch, which increases exposure
by a stop or two.