Warning not to run 8mm film through projector?

[Ben Klesc]

Hello folks. I've decided the year 2021 will be the year I jump into the 8mm hobby. So I thought now would be a good time to start archiving the family collection. Am I a little late to the party?

Anyhow, I was reading a few horror stories on the internet about projectors. I was told by a few archival stores that 8mm film that is older than a decade will have shrunk and should never be run through a projector, because the sprocket holes will be ripped to shreds. I was told I need a sprocketless film scanner.

Is that really true that older 8mm film doesn't hold up in a projector, and I would risk damaging my collection? As I understand with 35mm film it is common to lubricate it before it reaches the projector, as 35mm film cannot shrink more than 1% before it is deemed unplayable.

[Steve Klare]

Hi Ben,

If it's true, then maybe it's a little exaggerated. I have Kodachromes and Ektachromes I shot as a teenager 42 years ago that run through a projector smooth as silk. There are commercial prints in my collection that are much older than that: ditto.

A friend found some very early Super-8 Kodachrome shot by her uncle no later than about 1970. She surprised her aunt by bringing her to our house for an evening of memories: they ran just fine. (We were surprised to also stumble upon her uncle's porn film collection, but that's a story for another day! -I have literally seen a dead man getting yelled at by his wife!)

The thing you need to be on the lookout for is the condition of the film path. The people that I knew with home movies growing up never, ever cleaned inside their projectors. Often when you look on screen it's like the picture is surrounded by fur! You also need to be conscious of wear on surfaces that film contacts. Film is supposed to only contact guides on the film edges, but when guides wear down these valleys wear to the point where they are now flat and contact (and scratching) is everywhere. You should also make sure that rollers turn freely.

At the end of the day, somebody needs to step up and be the first: you can choose some crappy old film you don't care about (even buy a cheapy on ebay) and run it a couple of times and see what changes viewing to viewing, maybe even splice it into a loop and watch for damage to accumulate.

It's like taking a 50 year old car out on the road after 20 years in the garage: you can't just slam it into gear and do 100 MPH: you need to test it out, look for and fix problems and slowly build trust in it.

[Ben Klesc]

Thanks Steve!

I figured it was a little exaggerated. Worst case scenario I leave a little camphor the days before projecting. I would say for most of them I'm only going to make one pass through, archive them and never play them again. So they just have to make it through one pass.

The projector I will be using will be completely refurbished by the time I am done with it. Bauer T610.

You never know what you will find. I have a nitrate with the label "beach bathing beauties." I'm not sure I want to play it!

[Steve Klare]

I know somebody who had (emphasize HAD) a Korean War era practice grenade in his house: a nitrate film aint that bad, but it's close enough!

The T610 is a good machine, a lot of people here hold them in pretty high esteem. Maybe if all you want to do is watch them once, the gentlest possible choice might be a viewer/editor: even less to go wrong.

[Osi Osgood]

Steve is right, as long as you care for films, properly lubricating them, they should run just fine. Welcome, by the way!

[Ben Klesc]

I'm glad I found this forum. The project I will be attempting is going to be pointing a DSLR into the projector I have removed the shutter from, in an attempt to make 4K scans with a budget of only $500. I will be updating as it's built on here. I come from the audio and video tape world but have never worked with film before. I have a lot to learn.

[Paul Adsett]

-I have literally seen a dead man getting yelled at by his wife!)

Steve really has a way with words, this story really cracked me up! But it's possibly a timely cautionary tale to all devoted husbands out there who still have a Harrison Marks collection stowed away in their film closet !

[Shane C. Collins]

Not watching film on a projector means your missing out on the great joy of this hobby! Film looks it's best viewed this way in my opinion. In the present day Super 8 film is how I document my family, and friends. Whether it be a trip to the beach, or a back yard get together. The fun part is getting the processed film back and watching it on my trusty Elmo FP8-C. Friends and family are amazed how nice film looks on a large screen. For your purpose I understand the need to transfer them to digital. But remember in most cases the films themselves will outlive any digital copy.

[Maurice Leakey]

Ben
You use the word "8mm" to describe your films.
Are they the older Regular 8?
The Bauer T610 uses Super 8 film.

[Ben Klesc]

Ben
You use the word "8mm" to describe your films.
Are they the older Regular 8?
The Bauer T610 uses Super 8 film.

Thanks for warning me. I have not purchased a projector yet. Most of my collection is standard 8. I've been looking for a good combo projector as I have Super8 as well.

By the way folks in regards to camphor oil, is that something I should use before putting them into long storage, or right before I'm about to project them? I'm going to be freezing films and start the archiving in about 3-4 years from now while I save up for all of the equipment to do it. I have around 15,000 feet of acetate and nitrate color and b&w film dated from 1940's to the early 1960's. I would say mostly acetate but good amount of early nitrate and I can smell it. Just a hodgepodge of random films I've come across throughout the years, some relatives but a lot are random footage I have never viewed and I'm anxious to see what is on them. Luckily only a handful are smelling up my basement so I want to get to the rest them before it happens.

Interestingly enough some of the later 60's/70's Super8 I have which is polyester are sound film, so I need a good projector for sound as well. It's all just sitting in my basement right now out in the open so want to get them into proper storage. I've got my dehumidifier running. This forum is going to serve as a valuable resource for me as I dive into this project over the next five years.

[Lee Mannering]

My home movies filmed in the late 60's onward and also my mass of deceased friends films even before that also project fine on my Eumig and Elmo machines. Some machines can be a little choosy with vintage ACETATE films tho.

[Steven J. Kirk]

I saw a mention of Nitrate. 35mm nitrate stock is NOT safe, especially if it is sticky. !6mm, Super and Regular 8 are all safety whatever age. Customary warning...

[Ben Klesc]

The fun part is getting the processed film back and watching it on my trusty Elmo FP8-C. Friends and family are amazed how nice film looks on a large screen.

So you still use the format today. I'm curious how they get developed. I have a lot of reels with footage than span multiple months and sometimes more than one year. I imagine these are probably spliced together. What is the maximum length of time you shoot with your film before getting it developed? How long do you keep it in your camera?

[Shane C. Collins]

So you still use the format today. I'm curious how they get developed. I have a lot of reels with footage than span multiple months and sometimes more than one year. I imagine these are probably spliced together. What is the maximum length of time you shoot with your film before getting it developed? How long do you keep it in your camera?

Hi Ben,
There are processing labs here in the US that develop the current Ektachrome in E6. I send my films to Dwayne's Photo. It cost about $12.00 to have the footage processed. I have two 7" reels of all my Super 8 films that I've spliced together, and one 5" reel of regular 8 I shot between 2005-2012.. One cartridge of Super 8 film is about 3 minutes and 20 seconds long. You are basically shooting and making a short story. So lots of 5 to 7 second shots of people, etc.

[Dominique De Bast]

$12 ! That's cheap comparing with European prices...