Samples of DSLR telecine?

[woods01]

Are there any online samples of Super 8 or 16mm footage transfered with a DSLR rig? Be it one of the JK Printer mods or some home brewed setup. Thx.

[Wade]

All my film projects at Vimeo were transferred using a JK Printer and a Canon EOS 30D. Here is one...

http://www.vimeo.com/12388996

[woods01]

Not bad results considering you havn't done any post work on the image. Its encouraging to see!

How did you find working with colour neg on the camera? Can you invert the image in camera to make it easier in setting up the exposure settings?

Also did you purchase the dslr adapter kit from JK or did you build your own?

[granfer]

Pardon my ignorance on this subject, but did you have to record onto a memory card "in camera" first? Also, was it recorded "in real time" or did you have some means of doing a "frame by frame" transfer and, if so, how and at what speed?

[aj]

factors in these method were discussed at length recently on the topic by carllopper

Don´t risk your DSLR as it will wear out very very quickly

[woods01]

That discussion is here:

http://www.filmshooting.com/index.php?o ... Itemid=154

Whether its worth the wear and tear is up to the individual. Considering the low cost of entry level DSLRs it is still an interesting alternative to other DIY telecine options. DSLR bodies are unfortunately now disposable commodities in this age.

[Wade]

Pardon my ignorance on this subject, but did you have to record onto a memory card "in camera" first? Also, was it recorded "in real time" or did you have some means of doing a "frame by frame" transfer and, if so, how and at what speed?

The camera has a small USB port. I connect it directly to the computer hard drive. It downloads as quickly as the shot is taken. Fastest speed is a little slower than a frame a second, slower if you need longer exposure time. This is frame by frame transfer.

Not bad results considering you havn't done any post work on the image. Its encouraging to see!

When I used the footage in a family film I did tweek color and brightness in post. http://www.vimeo.com/12884195
Without changes the green gel/halogen color temp results in being a little too red.

How did you find working with colour neg on the camera? Can you invert the image in camera to make it easier in setting up the exposure settings??

I tried, but I didn't find a way to invert in the DSLR, or using the Canon software. Inverting was done in Adobe Premiere 1.5

Also did you purchase the dslr adapter kit from JK or did you build your own?

I used JK's system entirely. It looks like you could put any kind of camera on it if you wanted.

Don´t risk your DSLR as it will wear out very very quickly

All I can say is that the camera has lasted two years now. Typically I'll use it intensively for a few days or a week, and then not use it, or put the whole JK system in storage for a month or two, and then repeat the cycle. If I were operating a lab I would not use this for transfers. The printer is very slow. Also, as you can see from the "Negative Transfer Test Footage" dust can get on the sensor. I've since had it cleaned and it is spotless now. Since the camera uses the bellows expansion tube between the lens and camera, the camera mirror and sensor is open to any dust that might be in the bellows chamber. I might put optical glass in the adaptor mount to shield the camera from dust.

Although a pretty rare event, the JK Printer cannot compensate for markedly out-of-spec frame lines. At least I don't think it can. Here is experimental footage using a Univex camera. The first shot was taken in the early 1940s using the proprietary Univex panchromatic film. The following recent footage is using modern Plus X. No matter what film stock is used the result is the same. Three different Univex cameras were used for this footage, and each camera puts the frame line in the same crazy place!! Also, you can see color temp difference, for your subjective appraisal, from the JK Printer to the last shot which was done on the Yale Lab filmchain. I have a lot more of the early footage, but unfortunately, cannot put it on the internet right now. http://www.vimeo.com/17474308

[woods01]

Interesting, do you think if you had a different lens on the bellows that you'd be able to compensate for unusual frame lines? You're using a 50mm I guess? Or could you not adjust the crop in post after all the camera takes a picture of a higher resolution than HD?

Given the slow speed of the printers do you adjust exposure between shots or are you doing a 'one light' transfer and correcting any problem shots on the computer?

Does the JK system operate by trigging the remote switch on the SLR?

[BK]

Are there any online samples of Super 8 or 16mm footage transfered with a DSLR rig? Be it one of the JK Printer mods or some home brewed setup. Thx.

Discovered this interesting experimental DIY setup on the net a few months back, using a Eumig to project directly on the CMOS of the Canon 5D MKII for capture in real time. Looks quite promising.

Samples on Vimeo:
http://vimeo.com/5428255

A thread on dvinfo about the experimental setup in detailHere

Bill

[Wade]

Interesting, do you think if you had a different lens on the bellows that you'd be able to compensate for unusual frame lines?

No. It needs a frame line adjustment, of gate relative to the film frame, to compensate for a camera that is way out of whack. Most projectors have this feature.

Or could you not adjust the crop in post after all the camera takes a picture of a higher resolution than HD?

Cropping and scaling in Premiere 1.5 is very easy. Source resolution is maintained throughout.

Given the slow speed of the printers do you adjust exposure between shots or are you doing a 'one light' transfer and correcting any problem shots on the computer?

Well, I have made adjustments in exposure as the printer is working (in other words in the middle of the shot), but the result is usually an unnatural looking change of brightness/saturation in a shot, and it looks pretty bad unless that is part of the style you're going for in the project. But if a particualr shot needs adjustments, I may stop the printer, wind back to the start of the shot, and re-adjust exposure....I usually like the result of adjusting during printing better than making adjustments in the editing software, or in After Effects.

Does the JK system operate by trigging the remote switch on the SLR?

Yes.

[woods01]

bad unless that is part of the style you're going for in the project. But if a particualr shot needs adjustments, I may stop the printer, wind back to the start of the shot, and re-adjust exposure....I usually like the result of adjusting during printing better than making adjustments in the editing software, or in After Effects.

Yeah you'd get better results tweaking the settings at the point of capture. One of the things that appeals to me about the DSLR route is the amount of options you have to control your exposure. When you make adjustments do you prefer to change the lens aperture on the bellows or the ASA or shutter speed on the camera? Or a bit of both?

BTW Thank you for the feedback on my many questions!

[Wade]

One of the things that appeals to me about the DSLR route is the amount of options you have to control your exposure.

Couple of things I haven't experimented with this the DSLR's color temp settings, and pre-programmed styles.

When you make adjustments do you prefer to change the lens aperture on the bellows or the ASA or shutter speed on the camera? Or a bit of both?

I set the lens in the middle of range. My thinking is that the lens resolution characterists are best if set around f8 or so. I set the ASA as low as possible to eliminate noise. That leaves exposure time as the variable.

[Wade]

Here is a little Kodachrome I recently transferred using the DSLR.
http://www.vimeo.com/18042009