uh-hh...another one of those film vs video debates!
the resolution of super8 and 16mm fall far short of that of HD
define resolution
films are made for the audiences and not for laboratory study.
however, as an artist, you should look at the tools available to you and see which one is best used to tell your story.
personally, I always prefer film. why?
- better exposure latitude (the ability to capture a wider range of brightnesses)
- better colour latitute : captures colour tones and gradations much better than video
- choice of frame speeds : practically ANY speed you want is available
- higher sensitivity to light (dv/hd is at best ASA 320. Kodak Vision 2 5218 is rated at ISO 500 and can be easily pushed 1 stop to get ISO 1000, and heck, I have even pushed it 2 stops to great effect! pushing causes grain, which, to me at least, look better than electronic noise through Gain)
- shoot in reverse : runa film camera in reverse to get some great effects (true, you can do this in POST, but certainly not in any DV/HD camera)
- multiple exposure : no digital camera, video or still, that I know of allows this. We have used this technique to create some startling effects at low cost.
unless you are shooting MiniDV/HDV, HD costs work out not too far cheaper than film. HD post is pretty expensive and where I live, HD Camera rental is almost twice that of an Arri 435.
I hate to see small designs/patterns in my Image jump from pixel-to-pixel on a digital image as you pan/dolly. Digital images are made of a grid of square pixels and if you look hard enough it can be pretty annoying to see thin diagonal or vertical lines travel across the screen.
all said, the newer generation of people are USED to seeing/hearing Digital. For most of the time the image quality is inferior, but thats what the generation is used to seeing as they grow up and soon such images are fast becoming the standard. use whatver medium makes you feel artistically satisfied, and of course, financially viable. but make sure you know what each medium stands for.