8mm Forum: Digital Transfer

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Topic: Digital Transfer

Phil Betts
Junior
Posts: 10
From: Plymouth, MN, USA
Registered: Feb 2016

posted February 01, 2016 02:36 PM

Here's to the nitty gritty of it all, and the initial reason I learned of, and was drawn to, this site. Transferring a collection of family 8mm films to digital (how many times have you heard that?).

To begin with I am not looking for the easy way out by just asking questions. I have researched for a long time and am beginning to attempt this project. My dilemma starts when I shut off the lights and hit the red lever, I've got less than 3 minutes to test about 100 variables. Then it's time to manually rewind and start again. Seems everything can and will affect everything else.

Basically I am looking for a starting point with a Nikon D3300. ISO, Aperture, shutter speed, FPS... Nearly impossible to make progress with such a short window.

What I have. Bolex/Paillard M8, Nikon D3300, Canon Vixia HR500, and a little Ambico Director box that I'm unsure why I bought it.

I've tried several combinations and haven't been Wowed yet. (I even used my iPhone 6s plus yesterday with moderate daylight to some acceptable results. No flicker issues at all).

Like I said, I have the concept mastered. I just need some advice on a good launching point that I can tweak from.

Thanks All!!

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I don't feel like an old man. I feel like a young man with something wrong.

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Janice Glesser
Film Goddess

Posts: 3468
From: Sunnyvale, CA USA
Registered: Sep 2011

posted February 01, 2016 08:33 PM

My first suggestion would be to clean the films and combine those small 50ft reels onto 400ft reels. An editor/viewer is good for this with a Kodak Presstape splicer. This will give you a lot more footage and time to test your setup and camera settings.

A ground-glass mirror system has worked well for me... http://www.ebay. com/itm/TELECINE-TRANSFER-HOME-MOVIES-8mm-Film-or-Slides-to-Video-DVD-Digital-DIY-/252272945527?hash=item3abca3a977:m:meRy9wNHclXTBIC9TaIuNMw, but just projecting onto a white piece of paper on the wall can also produce good results. I would try either of these two options before the Ambico box. The only advantage of the Ambico box is that the room doesn't have to be dark.

[ February 02, 2016, 12:17 AM: Message edited by: Janice Glesser ]

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Janice

"I'm having a very good day!"
Richard Dreyfuss - Let It Ride (1989).

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Phil Murat
Jedi Master Film Handler

Posts: 671
From: Villeneuve St Georges, France
Registered: Dec 2015

posted February 03, 2016 01:28 AM

High Phil,

Take the opportunity to visit here, assuming this is just for you :

http://web.jclaude.free.fr/Site%20jean-Luc/pages_html/Super8.html#titre01

Hope it's help...
This is in French but plenty of interesting solutions , with schemas , explanations, etc , etc......

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Steve Snyder
Junior
Posts: 14
From: Woodinville, WA, USA
Registered: Dec 2015

posted February 07, 2016 08:09 AM

I'm in the same boat as you. I have miles of family 8mm to transfer. I have a Sankyo 2000h and a Sony VCR-4 and a variety of DSLRs and lens to capture the video. I started out trying to capture off the wall with acceptable (for me) results and found this Sony VCR-4 telecine contraption. I expected to get better results, but frankly the wall projection results look better. The results from the telecine thing are grainy and blownout. Could be that I can't dial in my DSLR just right and might need to find a video camera that I can work with but if I spend anymore money then I might as well buy a used frame by frame telecine machine and re-sell it on eBay when I'm done... Does anyone have tips on using a Sony VCR 4?

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Lee Mannering
Film God

Posts: 3216
From: The Projection Box
Registered: Nov 2006

posted February 08, 2016 08:04 AM

Steve you are going back a bit with the VCR4. Think we got ours in the very late 1970's to transfer some 16mm film down to 8mm. A few months later got a Ferguson Videostar Camera and home movies were hitting VHS & Beta in 1980.
The VCR-4 is ancient today, you will see a poor image by todays standards and the only plus was you could use it in daylight.

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Steve Snyder
Junior
Posts: 14
From: Woodinville, WA, USA
Registered: Dec 2015

posted February 08, 2016 08:08 AM

I'm a noob here what would be a good alternative to the sony VCR-4 that isn't going to cost me an arm and leg?? Otherwise, I'm going back to capturing off the wall...

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James Wilson
Expert Film Handler

Posts: 230
From: Norwich, UK
Registered: Jan 2015

posted February 08, 2016 08:27 AM

Hi Steve,

A 3 chip digital camcorder will help.

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James Wilson

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Steve Snyder
Junior
Posts: 14
From: Woodinville, WA, USA
Registered: Dec 2015

posted February 08, 2016 09:57 AM

Can someone recommend a couple of decent video recorders I can buy off of eBay for not too much? I have an old Sony TVR315 but I can't tell if it has three chips or not. It does capture DV with Firewire output. I tried to hook it up to an old laptop that has Firewire but the files it captures are pixelated which tells me I need a faster laptop or another video recorder that captures on SD card or something.

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Jean-Marc Toussaint
Film God

Posts: 2392
From: France
Registered: Oct 2004

posted February 08, 2016 10:36 AM

Phil, Janice is spot on (as always), splicing all your 50ft reels on bigger 400ft spools would reduce the hassle considerably.

And before committing to something complicated and costly (agreed, it's part of the fun, although the jury's still out about the "costly" bit), why don't you try this app providing you own an Iphone or Ipad...

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The Grindcave Cinema Website

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Janice Glesser
Film Goddess

Posts: 3468
From: Sunnyvale, CA USA
Registered: Sep 2011

posted February 08, 2016 12:18 PM

Here are examples of different telecine setups I've used to transfer film. In each of these realtime and even frame-by-frame capture setups you will most likely have to do color correction and sharpening on the computer after capture to achieve a more satisfactory image.

Here is an example of one of my earlier setups... shooting off the wall. I have used a high-end Canon XH-A1 with a variable framerate feature. However, you can use any good Canon or Sony camcorder with manual adjustment.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W_qYHymUJys

In these videos I demonstrate using a couple different transfer boxes. I'm using Sankyo variable projectors and a Canon HV40 digital camcorder. For best results your camcorder should have manual adjustments for exposure, framerate, white balance, zoom, and focus.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=10x6D1DzrCE
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vpHe9If8A5s

This third example is my preferred realtime setup using the ground glass and mirror I mentioned above. This video was intended to demonstrate the Chinon 727, however go to the end of the video to see it setup to transfer video.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ByAus3qm3gA

I also have an old MovieStuff frame-by-frame capture unit I use for 8mm transfers now and I record directly off the film in the projector using a macro lens.

So you can see there are many options and really no one right way. It all depends on your equipment...how much time and patience you want to alot...and the extent of your expectations.

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Janice

"I'm having a very good day!"
Richard Dreyfuss - Let It Ride (1989).

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Steve Snyder
Junior
Posts: 14
From: Woodinville, WA, USA
Registered: Dec 2015

posted February 09, 2016 09:05 AM

Janice, thanks! I like to fiddle with things like this. I think the problem with my telecine box from Sony is that I need to dial down the brightness. I found a 10w halogen bulb that I could wedge in the Sankyo I have. We'll see if that makes a difference, otherwise I might have to buy a used Workprinter off of fleabay...

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