Converting Super 8 cine film to digital
Discussion
Film is fiddly. I'm in this business (though commercially and we use very expensive film scanners to transfer film where usually 8mm would be done at 2K resolution).
I'm sure you'll get perfectly watchable results from something on eBay but I really came in to say don't throw the film away when you've transferred it as anything you're paying such (relatively) small prices for won't get anywhere near the results from the film that are possible. If prices for proper scanning drop in the future you/your children/grandchildren may want to have it done again and they'd want to go back to the original film for that.
I'm sure you'll get perfectly watchable results from something on eBay but I really came in to say don't throw the film away when you've transferred it as anything you're paying such (relatively) small prices for won't get anywhere near the results from the film that are possible. If prices for proper scanning drop in the future you/your children/grandchildren may want to have it done again and they'd want to go back to the original film for that.
The cheaper conversion units (Wolverine etc.) are tediously slow.
They literally take a frame by frame snapshot which is saved to an SD card.
I believe they also pull the film through using the sprocket holes, which means if your film is particularly brittle, it can tear or even snap.
The 'pro' units ($8k) don't use the sprocket holes and will not damage the film.
Most of these units will attempt to clean the film before it passes through the capture process.
I believe that for the money - unless you have a really large collection of movies - you are better off sending them to a pro outfit - but ask what equipment they use first.
If you go down the DIY route, ensure you have a splicer to hand - as you will likely need it.
They literally take a frame by frame snapshot which is saved to an SD card.
I believe they also pull the film through using the sprocket holes, which means if your film is particularly brittle, it can tear or even snap.
The 'pro' units ($8k) don't use the sprocket holes and will not damage the film.
Most of these units will attempt to clean the film before it passes through the capture process.
I believe that for the money - unless you have a really large collection of movies - you are better off sending them to a pro outfit - but ask what equipment they use first.
If you go down the DIY route, ensure you have a splicer to hand - as you will likely need it.
It would, definitely - the link above is a very old way of doing it and has introduced a lot of artifacts the film wouldn't have natively, such as the narrow horizontal (interlacing) lines you can see if you look closely.
Nowadays, you'd ultrasonically clean the film first to remove as much of the dirt as possible, then scan each frame individually and even 8mm gets some lovely results: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MIz7-JjXop4
Then depending on how far the client wants to go you get in to digital restoration cleaning the last of the dirt/scratches etc.
It's lovely old footage you have and the film source will be hugely better quality than something shot, say 30 years later on video - so hang on to the reels!
Nowadays, you'd ultrasonically clean the film first to remove as much of the dirt as possible, then scan each frame individually and even 8mm gets some lovely results: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MIz7-JjXop4
Then depending on how far the client wants to go you get in to digital restoration cleaning the last of the dirt/scratches etc.
It's lovely old footage you have and the film source will be hugely better quality than something shot, say 30 years later on video - so hang on to the reels!
Tyndall said:
Nowadays, you'd ultrasonically clean the film first to remove as much of the dirt as possible, then scan each frame individually and even 8mm gets some lovely results: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MIz7-JjXop4
Lovely quality transfer; it would look even better with some image stabilisation.Edited by Mr Pointy on Wednesday 24th March 11:47
I've been through the process of having a number of cine films transferred to a digital format professionally, and then I painstakingly edited and titled them, uploading the library of clips to YouTube so the family could see them.
My only real struggle has been finding anyone remotely interested in watching them.
Therefore my advice before you spend loads of money (and time), is to make sure there is a demand for the output!
My only real struggle has been finding anyone remotely interested in watching them.
Therefore my advice before you spend loads of money (and time), is to make sure there is a demand for the output!
jeremyc said:
My only real struggle has been finding anyone remotely interested in watching them.
!
I think that it's the same for any history/archive project but you also do it for the future generations.!
I have scanned about 22k photos/slides/docs from my f-i-l's collection going back to 1900 in Austria/Germany and including WW1 and WW2 battlefield shots, digitised about 40 hours of film, vhs, betamax, and recorded about 40 hours of audio of old, now dead people.
I am pretty much the only one that looks at/listens to them unless I pick out a few and send them to family.
It doesn't matter. It's my hobby or at least one of them and I thoroughly enjoy it. I have found some wonderful photos, some sad ones, and a few that make you think.
The ones that I do send out occasionally are warmly welcomed by the surprised recipient.
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