The camera modified for this project is a Bell & Howell Magazine-loading 8mm camera model 172, which was produced in the 1950s and uses the double-8 film standard. The film feed and shutter are powered by a spring, and once the spring is wound up, the camera can shoot for approximately 35 seconds at 16 fps. In addition, a single roll of film can shoot back and forth, recording about 100 seconds per side.
There is not a single item that can be controlled automatically; aperture and focus are controlled by the lens, and exposure time is fixed in conjunction with the frame rate.
The preview is not visible and the viewfinder is very small, so it takes a lot of technique to get the video you want.
Of course, I have never shot with 8mm film, but the goal of this project is to recreate the fun of the surprise box, where you don't know the result until the film is developed.