Hi there,
I read about a few ways to transfer my old super 8mm to DV and was wondering about which of the ways would be better and economic? The local labs here charge me about $200 for about 45 minutes transfer, actually kind of expensive and beyond my budget. If I do it on my own, is the quality somewhere near what the lab can do?
Thanks for any info.
Regards,
Daniel
To transfer or not?
Moderator: Andreas Wideroe
It depends on how you lab does it. In the UK a lot of the transfer services on offer are actually a camcorder next to the projector system. A consumer research organisation tried them out, and did it themselves, and found their own efforts better!
My efforts with Hi-8 camcorder are just about acceptable on a full screen and reasonable at the original 320 x 240, or slightly bigger. I calculated the camcorder to be using a 766 x 575 pixel matrix, PAL mpeg-2 is usually given as 720 x 576 as opposed to NTSC 640 x 480. Unfortunately I cannot record at the higher resolutions on my present computer.
If a digital camcorder records at a higher resolution then you might get better results off the screen.
As, like me, you have yet to win the lottery this DIY approach is a good starting point. Of course if you have the funds then obviously go for the MovieStuff of Cinetel transfers. It really depends on the added value to the films at the end of the day.
My efforts with Hi-8 camcorder are just about acceptable on a full screen and reasonable at the original 320 x 240, or slightly bigger. I calculated the camcorder to be using a 766 x 575 pixel matrix, PAL mpeg-2 is usually given as 720 x 576 as opposed to NTSC 640 x 480. Unfortunately I cannot record at the higher resolutions on my present computer.
If a digital camcorder records at a higher resolution then you might get better results off the screen.
As, like me, you have yet to win the lottery this DIY approach is a good starting point. Of course if you have the funds then obviously go for the MovieStuff of Cinetel transfers. It really depends on the added value to the films at the end of the day.
New web site and this is cine page http://www.picsntech.co.uk/cine.html
Video transfers
Daniel, let me explain my experience:
Home made video transfers is contingent on a lot of thinks. One of them is how you get rid of flickering caused by syncro difference. You can use a telecine as MovieStuff CineMate or WorkPrinter that do the job. If you can't afford it (as I) you may get reasonably results if your camera has a slow shutter mode. I'm using a Sony Digital8 in 1/15sec shutter speedy, locked exposure and results are not so bad. I use a small (8"x11") flat paper as screen. It was better then using a rear projection screen, which resulted in a bright central spot. If you have a computer with a video capture card (best is DV camera + Firewire card), you can do all edition in your computer, apply correcting filters, color, brightness, contrast, speed ....
Home made video transfers is contingent on a lot of thinks. One of them is how you get rid of flickering caused by syncro difference. You can use a telecine as MovieStuff CineMate or WorkPrinter that do the job. If you can't afford it (as I) you may get reasonably results if your camera has a slow shutter mode. I'm using a Sony Digital8 in 1/15sec shutter speedy, locked exposure and results are not so bad. I use a small (8"x11") flat paper as screen. It was better then using a rear projection screen, which resulted in a bright central spot. If you have a computer with a video capture card (best is DV camera + Firewire card), you can do all edition in your computer, apply correcting filters, color, brightness, contrast, speed ....
Yes - shutter speed seems to be critical. My camcorders lowest is 1/50, that is the lowest that can be manually set. As a three baded shutter at 18 fps means 54 fps it seems to work without any flicker.mOf course the projector speed might be slower and nearer the magical 16 2/3 fps, which of course equates to 50 fps.
60 Hz supply people seem to have more problems.
60 Hz supply people seem to have more problems.
New web site and this is cine page http://www.picsntech.co.uk/cine.html
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Daniel
Thanks guys for helping me out. I'm going to stay put and what I can do with my DV and if everything goes well, I will save a bunch of money going to lab.....by the way I did try once with my friend's DV doing the transfer, The results: flickering..I mean big time. Probably due to the shutter speed. I guess I'll do better this around with advises from everybody. Thanks again.