Super 8mm has smaller sprocket holes than traditional 8mm film, allowing the size of each Super 8mm frame to be 50 percent larger. On 8mm film stock, the sprocket holes are aligned on the edge of each frame so that they are positioned each between one frame and another. Super 8mm, on the other hand, has sprocket holes that are positioned in the center of each frame, again contributing to the increase in size of each frame.
Because of its larger frame size, Super 8mm is able to provide both a wider picture and a sharper image than 8mm film. The wider picture allows Super 8mm film to be transferred to the 16:9 wide-screen format. This cannot be done with standard 8mm. In addition, the quality of Super 8mm is known to be slightly higher because the image is sharper. Since Super 8mm is larger, it has a higher resolution, which contributes to its increased picture quality.
Both 8mm and Super 8mm film use cartridges that are loaded onto a film camera. Traditional 8mm film must be threaded into a cartridge before it can be used, and then removed and reloaded each time. When Super 8mm was introduced, it was designed to be sold with pre-loaded cartridges. These instant-loading film cartridges increase the accessibility of film production, as Super 8mm can be loaded and be ready to use more quickly.
One problem with 8mm film is that it did not always expose properly. This occurred for two reasons. The first reason was human error, or problems having to do with proper threading of the film in its cartridge. The second reason was that not enough pressure was put on the film as it ran through the gate, which is the portion of the camera that exposes the film. Super 8mm solved these problems by introducing cartridges that were pre-loaded. Super 8mm film also installed pressure gates into their cartridges that would ensure that the threaded film was properly exposed.