In Search of New Transfer Unit (On a Semi-Professional Freelancer's Budget)

[Hunter Lohse]

Hello All,

This is my very first thread on this forum, and I am looking for some advice and assistance for acquiring a new system for 8mm and Super 8mm film transfer machine.

I am a volunteer film archivist at a railroad museum in California and acquired my first telecine unit in 2017, one of the FOCUSKYE units with the modified Sankyo projector. That machine lasted me until 2023 when the plastic gears wore down too much on the projector and the film ran too slowly to prevent any flicker. I then purchased a Magnasonic FS81, and a Wolverine MovieMaker Pro, originally as a temporary fix but they have ended up lasting longer than planned.

I am now having the issues with the Wolverine and Magnasonic as mentioned in previous threads on this forum with Super 8 scans. The Wolverine will advance until it seizes and then says "please check the films place" before having to restart. The Magnasonic has lost all image stability in the gate advance with Super 8, and the film will not stay in frame at all leading to a ridiculously jittery scan, it will then give me the same "check the film place". I have seen all the issues and their fixes from similar member in previous threads on here. I was wondering if I could have some detailed instructions as to these fixes and more importantly advice into investing into a future machine that is more robust than these are.

I am currently looking into the Elmo TRV Units, as it looks like getting one secondhand and then repairing it if need be would be the way to go (not sure if any places who can assist in that are still around, but that would help). I am an enthusiast for film preservation and railroad topics, and my YouTube views are small, but I am hoping they will eventually grow so I can take this more full time. With the world as it is now one of the FOCUSKYE units isn't in one of my reach like it used to be, but I have noticed the Elmo's popping up second hand for about half of their price, but if I want to commit to getting what would be two units for both 8 and Super 8, I want to make sure they are able to function properly. Im not sure of any machine that in between, the FOCUSKYE and Wolverine as far as price that's available beyond a used Elmo. I have had experience with the RankCintel and FilmFabriek in archival settings, and would like something at least better than what I have now for my home studio. I am transferring movies on average 3 to 4 days a week, so these machines get a workout.

Summarized questions:

• In search of concise breakdown of how to fix advance issues on Super 8 mode on Wolverine and Magnasonic (both still seem to advance ok on Regular 8){Quick fix for the interim}
• Are there good sources for machines for sale as surplus like Elmo TRVs and places/people still able to assist with servicing for them (would like to avoid eBay price gouging/potential scamming if possible)
• Are there alternative choices to the Elmo in that same budget range (Between Wolverine and FOCUSKYE prices) that I may have overlooked?
• Simply, just where would be some good resources/places to check out to begin this search, these are all the questions that come to mind right now, and everything for me up until this point was moving smoothly for the last 8 years with my preservation progress, and this is the first major snag, I would like to overcome with a more robust, and quality solution when it comes to equipment.

A sample of my work, transfers are from both the Magnasonic and the FOCUSKYE Telecine, in the case of the Magnasonic, this was before the malfunctioning of the advance on Super 8 mode. All footage I master to its appropriate speed, and restore color too, as well as adding narration for the history and a fully synchronized soundtrack.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T3R6kXgJu-Y

Thank you everyone for your assistance! I look forward to hearing from you!

[Robert Held]

Hi Hunter,

I have a Wolverine, but have never experienced your issues, so I'll defer to more knowledgeable people here (e.g. Stan, who answered your other post). However, don't be afraid to take the back off and try to diagnose the problem. All of the Wolverine-type machines are pretty mechanically simple.

As for your other questions, the DIY aspects of this forum and others like it (e.g. https://forums.kinograph.cc/) exist simply because there doesn't appear to be any good commercially available options under $10k. In my opinion, the modified Elmo's with camcorders are okay, but better quality can be had for much less.

This forum has a wealth of information on various DIY transfer systems. For the best "bang for your buck," if you have a little bit of mechanical apptitude, you can a build frame-by-frame scanner with an old projector and a mirrorless DSLR (run in electronic shutter mode) for about $500 and get some incredible results. In 4K. Nantawat created a very simple setup that works really well: https://8mmforum.film-tech.com/vbb/f...tup-that-works

Some more of his sample footage is at the end of this topic: https://8mmforum.film-tech.com/vbb/f...-film-scanning

I built two similar systems that are a little more complicated with a stepper motor and Arduino control, but the results are the same. I use a Panasonic DMG-G6 camera. One projector is a Keystone 100 and the other a Sankyo Dualux 1000. I'll be building a 16mm version this winter.

Robert

[Nantawat Kittiwarakul]

Forget Elmo TRV machine. It's more or less of a (slightly) modified projector transport with a 90's era video camera slapped on it. The result is pretty lame, even for 90's standard. I still have no idea why it still holds its value in 2025?🤔
And a big thanks to Robert Held for referring to my work! For budget around $300-500 this approach is as beat as you can get, I'm pretty sure on that.☺️

[Kim Trampus]

[QUOTE=Nantawat Kittiwarakul;n119766]Forget Elmo TRV machine. It's more or less of a (slightly) modified projector transport with a 90's era video camera slapped on it. The result is pretty lame, even for 90's standard. I still have no idea why it still holds its value in 2025?🤔

Probably because of my friend Stan’s HD upgrade that consists of a raspberry pi global shutter camera running in real time at 1440 x 1080 the results are not perfect but very good for casual users.