Andec Pressure Plate

Post by **Skylab001** » Thu Aug 07, 2003 10:33 pm

Hi just curious how many users actually use the Andec Pressure Plate, and whether or not they can see a difference. I recently got back a bunch of k40 which seems to have a lot of "breathing", at least i think that is what it is....picture seems to go slightly out of focus every few frames. So I was just curious if it is really worth it.

Brian

Post by **S8 Booster** » Thu Aug 07, 2003 10:57 pm

Hello.

I have the plate but not tested it on K40 yet.

What I have noticed recently is that the old K40 silent carts - the good ones - almost always jittered a little on many high grade cams. I believe this is - and partially confirmed from PRO8mm and others caused by a too strong pickup force on the cams pickup spindle while at the same time lacking a proper lower film loop, a problem related to silent carts (almost) only.

It appears that the sound cams may be worse (stronger pickup force) than the silents but as i told I have seen jitter on 10-15 years old K40 shot with high end silent Bauers so the problem may always have been there.

I am also a firm believer in that the plate will improve this problem a lot if not totally but I have yet to see the results on a K40 cart.

R

Post by **avortex** » Fri Aug 08, 2003 2:07 am

Yes! It helps very much!

I shot some rolls on K40 that had that "breathing" effect, and after using the presure plate, it disappeared.

Now, I'm a happy man... 8)

Post by **Skylab001** » Fri Aug 08, 2003 7:09 am

Avortex, did your clips look like this? Here is a test clip I did, it is not the best transfer, I just got my Workprinter and haven't had a chance to set it up correctly, but it shows what I'm talking about, the "breathing" in the film.

ftp://ftp.filmshooting.com/upload/video ... saTEST.mpg

Post by **mattias** » Fri Aug 08, 2003 12:40 pm

Skylab001 wrote:ftp://ftp.filmshooting.com/upload/video ... saTEST.mpg

i can only find a Pisa with a captial p. is that the one? people, check your links before posting!!! anyway, that does look like something the pressureplate might take care of, but are you absolutely certain it's on the film and not coming from your workprinter? the breathing looks a little too "clean" compared to what i've seen from bad cameras and/or carts...

/matt

Post by **Skylab001** » Fri Aug 08, 2003 10:55 pm

oops, I apologize, yes it's Pisa whith the captital P, sorry everybody.

heres the proper link:

ftp://ftp.filmshooting.com/upload/video ... saTEST.mpg

I have only had a chance to test transfer a couple things so far on my WP , I am going to transfer some more and see how they look, I'd hate to pay so much for a pressure plate if that wasn't the problem. The breathing is a bit more exaggerated when viewing it at full resolution.

Post by **avortex** » Sat Aug 09, 2003 1:48 pm

Mmmh... that's not exactly the effect...

Normal "breathing" effect is like a focus-defocus on the screen. I suggest you to re-transfer it and wait for the results. Keep us informed...

Post by **tfunch24** » Sat Aug 09, 2003 3:08 pm

Brian,

I've seen the effect that you are describing before. It is almost always on Regular 8mm film that was not properly loaded into the camera, and it is usually more exagerrated that what I am seeing here. Being that you are getting this effect on recent Super 8 K40, I do not know what the problem is.

How is your camera set up when you're transferring your film? Are you using autoexposure and autofocus? That could be the cause of your problem.

I wish I could have been more help.

Tom

Post by **Marius** » Sun Aug 10, 2003 2:09 am

I thought that clip looked fine, I guess I dont have a trained eye for this at this moment sonce im a bit new, but I understand what you are talking about. I can see that on my footage for sure, but maybe that is beacuse I transfer my film over to dv using a good camcorder and a kodak projector, or what do you guys think?

How much does these plates cost, and how do you use them?
If I only knew how to post up some clips which you could see....

Post by **ericMartinJarvies** » Sun Aug 10, 2003 3:02 am

hello,

if you have a dremel, a piece of thin plastic, and some time and dremel bits for grinding and polishing, you can literally make your own plate that will work just fine. these chrome plated andec plates, although nice, and do indeed offer additional smooth transport, are not required. a polished smooth surfaced piece of plastic will work just fine, and does work just fine, and will not mess up your film. i used liquid plastic in my case, and simply used an old carterage and filled in the plastic pressure plate, and once the liquid plastic dried i removed it(you need to use a release agent) and sanded it down and polished it. for under $20.00 it worked fine and my processed/telecined film looks great. creativity will no doubt save you some mula if that is the objective, on top of preventing fogging. once i have some time(that will be etched on my grave stone), i will make a mold and then cast some duplicates and list them on ebay ... cost of material and time will run about $20.00 each ... so figure i will list them with a minimum bid of that. but no guarantees ... i have neither shot enough rolls of film(i've only shot one roll of film using one) or performed any extensive testing. however, once i receive my focal and resolution charts, that will indeed change.