DIY real-time 8mm/S8mm telecine system sample footage

[Nicholas Serra]

Yeah looks like vignette
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vignetting
Generally happens when the lens or multiple lenses setup has some obstruction towards the sensor.

Good call on the vignetting going on. I think this is right. Probably doesn't help that i'm using a +1 macro filter on top of my 200mm lens to get the correct frame size for this camera.

I'm close to considering this a failed experiment, and am likely going to just pick up a 4k camcorder. Trying to line everything up and get it level with a giant telephoto lens is just too much nonsense. I mostly went this route because I had all the gear already. Guess it's time to go camcorder shopping.

[Stan Jelavic]

Hi Nicholas. Before you give up I suggest go with the RPI 60mm lens. I can print the holder for you. If that fails then try different camera lens. 100mm macro worked great with the Fuji camera.

[Janne Rinne]

Hello from Finland and many thanks to all for tips..!

I have been building my own digital conversion now, i have unused HS9 camera and bought Sankyo 2000H.

Ulanzi lamp now in place and waiting for Raspberry lens..

Couple of questions:

- should i remove shield glass, it looks fine but not needed because led-lamp..?
- teardown Raspberry lens, is it just screws or di i need to cut plastic/rubber, will fit to holder..?
- building a table for projector and camera, less adjusting all time..?

[Robert Held]

Hi Janne,

- Shield Glass: Yes, I recommend removing every extra part between the light and the film, including the adjustment gate for standard 8 vs. Super 8. That's correct; the glass is not needed as the LED light doesn't produce enough heat.
- 50mm Lens: Remove all the the screws and outer rings until you are just left with the lens barrel. No cutting required. It still won't fit the stock lens mount, which will need to be removed and replaced with a custom mount designed by Stan and 3D printed as shown on page 3, post 37: https://8mmforum.film-tech.com/vbb/f...-footage/page3.
- Table: I think so. Once I got everything lined up, I hard mounted it all to a piece of wood with a wood camera mount. Nothing can come out of alignment:



Good luck with your build!!
Robert

[Janne Rinne]

Thanks.. i will send photo when everything is ready and tested..

[Alwyn Adkins]

@Robert, what camera are you using there?

[Janne Rinne]

I removed glass, but this adjustment gate, does Sankyo 2000H move film with rubber wheels..?

I thought that this switch change some drive sprocket gear too, so is it only for framing film and can be removed? Seams very hard to get it of, maybe too much for me to dismantle.

I am new to this, so dumb questions..

[Robert Held]

I removed glass, but this adjustment gate, does Sankyo 2000H move film with rubber wheels..?

I thought that this switch change some drive sprocket gear too, so is it only for framing film and can be removed? Seams very hard to get it of, maybe too much for me to dismantle.

I am new to this, so dumb questions..

Hi Janne,

There are no dumb questions here. Film scanning and working with old projectors can get complicated!

The gate mask is only for framing and removing it allows to see the full width of the film with sprocket holes. The gate really crops off a lot of the image. In a similar project, Stan has created excellent removal instructions: https://github.com/vintagefilmograph...ask_removal_v1. The Sankyo 2000 and 1000 should be the same except for the lamp voltage, 12VDC vs. 8VDC. Even with the gate mask removed, you still have to move the red slider to choose 8 or Super 8 for correct film engagement.

The film is moved precisely via a cam driven claw that engages the sprocket holes and pulls the film down one frame at time. On the Sankyo, the rubber wheels just keep the feed consistent. Some projectors use sprockets for this purpose. A really great explanation is here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=En__V0oEJsU. It shows 16mm, which uses 3 claws vs. 1, but the concept is very similar.

Robert

[Robert Held]

@Robert, what camera are you using there?

Hi Alwyn,

It's a Panasonic HDC-SD9 which is just the SD card version of the camera (HDC-HS9) from this topic's original postings. That version has in internal harddrive as well as an SD card slot.

Robert

[Alwyn Adkins]

Thanks Robert.

[Fred Hess]

This looks like a worthwhile system for transferring. I'm very tempted to try my hand at putting my own together. But I have a couple questions.

1. For those of us who aren't that good at DIY projects, can you explain further what all is involved in switching the bulb to an LED? I understand the concept but how hard is it to get it wired correctly? If you can explain that in further detail I'd be most appreciative.

2. Do you need some sort of light shield between the projector lens and the camera?

3. Is there a way to use the camera as a pass-through and record directly to an editor such as VirtualDub? I'm assuming not, but maybe???

Thanks for the inspiration!

[Robert Held]

Hi Fred,

1. There are numerous ways to switch the bulb to an LED. The original bulb on a Dualux 1000 is 8 volts DC (VDC), which is not a common voltage for LED bulbs, so you can't simply use the wires that feed the bulb socket for a hardwired LED. You need a separate power supply. Many commercially available LED bulbs are 12VDC. I use this one: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07T2JCJMT with a 12VDC power supply (https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B078RY6YY3). That bulb just gets the positive and negative wires from the output of the supply attached to each pin. I'm sure there are a 1,000 other bulbs that can be used and others may want to chime in with their solution. For any bulb, you'll probably have to figure out a way to mount it, which can get complicated, depending on the bulb. You'll also need to add something to diffuse the light between the bulb and the film. The amount of light is too bright as-is.

Another way is to use a battery powered bulb. Stan, in one or more of his posts in this topic, suggests this one: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B098W63FJ5. I bought one to try and it works really well. It even comes with a diffuser that works well. The bulb's only downside is you have to charge the battery, although it does have a long battery life in use.

Note: the bulb on a Dualux 2000 is 12VDC, so that makes things easier to hardwire a 12VDC LED; i.e. you don't need a separate power supply.

2. No, nothing should be between the lens and the camera.

3. Absolutely. In fact, I think that's the best way to go, as the camcorder ads edge sharpening and compression artifacts when it encodes the video. I feed the signal out of the camcorder via HDMI into a Avermedia Live Gamer Mini (any HDMI USB or card capture device can be used) and capture using OSB Studio. VirtualDub may work, but OBS is very easy to use and free.

I hope that all makes sense. Please ask any followup questions and good luck if you decide to build a similar real-time system like this.

Robert

[Fred Hess]

Thank you, Robert. Yes, it all makes perfect sense.

1) Will probably have to explore my options about finding the right LED light source. Thanks for the insight.

2) I didn't mean to suggest putting anything between the lens and the camera. I meant to say around the entire area. My workspace is quite well lit with lots of windows and there is a gap between the lens and camera. I was wondering if that ambient light will affect the capture in any way.

3) That is awesome! Capturing directly to the computer is how I'm used to doing things and lets me avoid any camcorder encoding, which was my main concern.

Have to admit, I'm getting excited about starting this project. I'm sure along the way I'll have more questions. Good to know I have a place with knowledgeable and experienced people to help me out. Thanks again!

[Alwyn Adkins]

Fred, check out my lighting setup in this post; I steered clear of the LEDs with the central circle shape as I didn't think they outputted a even light across the globe.

https://8mmforum.film-tech.com/vbb/f...8392#post88392

[Robert Held]

Hi Fred,

2) Ah. I understand now. My workspace is also well lit and I haven't had any issues with ambient light affecting the capture. Granted, my camcorder lens bezel is about 2 mm away from the projector lens, so there isn't much of a gap. There may be an effect for larger distances. I can't imagine it would hurt to create some sort of shroud.

Robert