Camera record

Canon310XL

A compact Super 8 film camera with an f/1.0 lens, 3× optical zoom, manual scale focusing and single-frame shooting. Its XL design captures available-light scenes with a wide 220° shutter.

Camera details

Recording media & formats: Super 8 film
Era: 70sThe early years
Market introduction: 1975[1][2]
Market introduction recorded by the Canon Camera Museum.
Rental availability: Available to rent

Verified features

LCD screen: No
No LCD screen; framing uses an optical reflex viewfinder.[1][3]
Flip-out screen: No
No screen. The folding part is the hand grip.[3]
Night vision: No
No infrared recording mode. XL low-light shooting uses the f/1.0 lens and 220° shutter with available light.[4][3]
NightShot: No
No NightShot mode.[3][4]
Manual focus: Yes
Manual distance-scale focusing from 1.2 m to infinity; macro setting at 21.5 cm from the film plane.[1][3]
Manual exposure: No
Automatic aperture control with a fixed two-stop exposure compensation plate; no manual aperture or shutter setting.[3][4][5]
External mic input: No
No microphone input; this camera records silent film.[3][5]
Headphone output: No
No headphone output or audio monitoring.[3][5]
Optical zoom: Yes
3× optical zoom, 8.5–25.5 mm; power or manual zoom operation.[1][4]
Image stabilization: No
No built-in image stabilization.[3][6]

Technical specifications

Recording medium: Super 8 cartridge film (8 mm); silent movie recording[1][5]
Frame size: 5.8 × 4.2 mm film frame; 5.4 × 4.0 mm projection frame[3]
Filming speeds: 18 frames per second and single-frame exposure[1]
Lens: Canon 8.5–25.5 mm f/1.0; 3× optical zoom; 13 elements in 11 groups; Spectra coating[1]
Zoom operation: Power zoom coupled to filming, approximately 6 seconds at 18 fps; manual zoom lever[1]
Focus: Manual distance-scale focusing from 1.2 m to infinity; no rangefinder[1]
Macro: 21.5 cm from the film plane with focus set to infinity; field approximately 84.4 × 118 mm[1]
Viewfinder: Optical single-lens reflex aerial-image finder; −4 to +2 diopter adjustment[1]
Viewfinder indicators: Underexposure warning, film transport, battery check and macro setting[1]
Exposure system: Automatic EE aperture control; external CdS metering window above the lens[3][4][5]
Exposure compensation: Sliding plate gives approximately +2 stops for backlit subjects or ND-4 filter use[3][4][5]
Film-speed recognition: Automatic cartridge sensing: tungsten ASA/ISO 40, 160 or 250; daylight ASA/ISO 25, 100 or 160[1]
Shutter: 220° opening angle; approximately 1/30 s at 18 fps[1][4]
Colour conversion: Built-in CCA filter with manual cancellation; automatically cancelled by a daylight-film cartridge[1]
Filter thread: 43 mm[1]
Film drive: Electric micro-motor[1]
Power: Two 1.5 V AA batteries (3 V total) power film transport, metering and power zoom[1]
Battery capacity: Approximately five cartridges at normal temperature; approximately one cartridge in single-frame use[1]
Film counter: Counts exposed footage; resets automatically when the cartridge is removed[1]
Release and support: Mechanical cable-release socket, tripod socket and folding hand grip[3]
Dimensions (W × H × D): 39 × 112 × 176 mm[1]
Weight: 545 g body only; 580 g including batteries[1]

Sources & documentation

Follow the numbered references for the original documentation and page notes.

Canon Camera Museum — 310XL
Official model history, technical specifications and product photograph. Model-specific original Canon documents below support the exposure system and operating controls.
Canon Camera Museum — 310XL (Japanese)
Official Japanese model history and specifications. Market introduction is recorded at year precision.
Canon 310XL Instructions
Original Canon instructions preserved by Super8Camera. Pages 2–3: controls and connections. Page 5: technical data and external CdS metering. Page 14: manual scale focusing. Pages 15–16: automatic exposure and approximately two-stop compensation. Pages 18–19: macro and single-frame operation.
Canon 310XL original advertising brochure
Original Canon brochure PUB. CE1044L, archived by Georgetown Super 8. PDF pages 2–3: XL available-light design. Pages 4–5: controls. Page 6: exposure compensation. Page 10: 220° shutter and approximately 1/30-second exposure. Page 11: specifications. Page 12 identifies Canon Inc. as publisher.
Canon Quick Reference Guide — 8mm Movie Cameras
Original Canon comparison catalogue, archived by Pacific Rim Camera. PDF page 7 (SG0-A6) separates the 310XL and 514XL from the sound-recording 514XL-S, and confirms the 310XL’s external CdS automatic exposure with two-stop compensation.
Canon — History of image stabilization
Canon dates development of its image-stabilization technology to the 1980s. Read alongside the complete controls and optical specifications of the 1975 310XL.