8mm Forum: Copy Quality Tips

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Posted by Bob DeMartino (Member # 3860) on August 19, 2013, 07:33 PM:

I started to experiment with capturing a digital image of some 8mm film. My setup includes a Chinon Whisper 8mm Projector, a Sony Handycam camera and a laptop with download hardware and software.
My initial try was to project on the wall and position the video camera to capture that. It did work but the quality needs to be improved. So I can use some tips on ways to do this. Thank you.

Posted by Mike McCord (Member # 3767) on August 19, 2013, 08:37 PM:

Welcome to my newest addiction. About three months ago I become interested in this "hobby". Search google as well as this forum for "telecine". There is plenty of info out there to read. I find new stuff almost every day. I currently am "playing" with one of the (black plastic) telecine boxes found on ebay. I have not perfected anything, yet. I have discovered many many things that do not work well (for me), yet. Projector speed, lamp brightness, distance, camera white balance, focus, distance, zoom, are just a few of the things to work with. Then, just as you nail a working process down, you change to a different reel of film, and find that this just aint so good after all.

After the capture to digital, there are a few pieces of software available to remove noise, crop, adjust colors, etc. And again, what worked on the last reel may not do any good on the next reel...

This is really fun, but certainly not for the impatient or weak. If you want a challenge, stick to this. If you want a stable - predictable hobby then try cross stich...

Perhaps over the upcoming weeks, we can exchange ideas, and also receive some sound advice from the "forum elders".

Good luck!

Posted by Gerald Santana (Member # 2362) on August 20, 2013, 12:09 AM:

Bob,

Make sure your camera is set to 24fps and that you white balance on the lamp as it's running without film. Use a white screen for color film and a silver screen for black and white. The next step is to keep adjusting all of the levels until you find a sweet spot that works for you.

But essentially, you will have to adjust the gain and color temperatures for almost every film you telecine depending on how light or dark the print is and how bright your projector lamp is plus, lens that you use. The dimmer the lamp or slower lens (1.3-1.6) the more gain you will need, which will muddy the picture. The faster lens, (1.0-1.2) with the addition of a bright lamp will give the best result.

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