Which Scanning Machine?

[gaugefilm]

Hi all,

So I've got to a point where all the different film service formats are in place and running smoothly (and hopefully next year I'll expand, experimenting with different film stocks as well). For now however I feel it's important to focus on getting in a competent film scanner for R8 and S8 film. I was looking at Moviestuffs DV8 Sniper HDL:

http://www.moviestuff.tv/sniper_hd_lite.html

Does anyone have any experience with this machine? Is it pretty simple to change from R8 to S8 and what's the workflow like? If there are any other scanners that are around the same price mark I should know about please drop me a message.

Appreciate it,
Kevin

[Will2]

No one here knows about the moviestuff machine. Especially Roger. He doesn't have anything to do with those.

Just kidding.

Great, affordable machine but like anything it depends much upon the operator. If you take the time to understand how it works you'll get amazing results. They're well built and are backed by a company that loves what they do.

You may find a higher quality scanning machine out there, but at 10x the cost.

If you have $45,000 to buy one of those Spirits on eBay right now plus $20k for a DaVinci controller/color corrector and another $17k for a Super 8 gate like Spectra in LA, you would probably have just about the best Super 8 scanner around although that's debatable. So that's 80k+. Actually an amazing deal since that same setup would have run about $1 million 5-10 years ago.

[prtprt]

Have a look at the products offered by the German company "Telecine Components". They have an English web here:

http://www.telecine.de/engl/index.htm

They have modified Bauer projectors and a clever sync unit that makes the projector run in sync with the video camera. I have seen really good results from this equipment.

The company offers different types of lenses and video cameras that fit the Bauer projector.

One thing they do not mention is that you can also use your own video camera if you have a condenser lens in front of the Bauer projector (like the Workprinter from Moviestuff).

[woods01]

The Moviestuff machines are popular and have proven results all over the net. The drawback with them is the models using a camera combo and condenser lens take up quite a bit of real estate. And it can be rather fiddly and time consuming setting up the camera if you don't have the space for a permanent setup. If you can afford it I'd recommend getting one of the Moviestuff models with the built in camera to simplify your life.

The other problem is that the machine's software was optimized for a PC computer that is many years out of date. When my co-op bought one we attempted to build a computer for it according to Roger's exact specs but it was impossible to find all the parts, technology moves fast! What we ended up with did work but there were all sorts of headaches involved with getting all the components to work, mainly issues with the Blackmagic card. This is not Roger's fault (he does offer incredible personal tech support - another plus!) but is a reality of the PC computer world. Something to consider if you need to build a computer to use the software and aren't a wiz with that sort of thing.

The new Tobin HD units look interesting but I havn't seen any samples of film, anyone own one of those?

[MovieStuff]

The other problem is that the machine's software was optimized for a PC computer that is many years out of date.

Hmmm....Not really. The Velocity and Velocity-HD software both are running on state of the art Win7 PCs with a 64 bit version coming up for release between now and the end of the year. Hardly anyone is running the older CineCap software, which was written for Windows XP, as most everyone has moved onto Velocity or Velocity HD. The specs for the HD units change about every 6-8 months as component availability changes and we always try to have a recent component list available for those that are considering building a unit. The problem we run into often is that people wait until the last minute to build their HD systems only to find that the list which was relevant months before is no longer easy to find components for. Generally speaking, everything required for our systems can be found on the internet in short order, even the older components.

Roger

[gaugefilm]

Hi all, thanks for the feedback.

I'll definitely look at telecine components and the Tobin equipment (alongside the moviestuff... stuff). I'll really get stuck into researching this in October, making a few inquiries. If anyone else has any more suggestions in the meantime drop them here, much appreciated!

Best
Kev

[gaugefilm]

Does anyone on here recommend the Workprinter xp conversion to HD:

http://www.filmmaker8.com/WorkPrinter_C ... n_Doc.html

Also I notices Roger sells workprinter HD's but with the rather annoying condenser lens and the mirror setup, I've known many folks get frustrated with these and want to avoid the setup. So my question is would it be better to get the xp or hd printer for conversion? The differences I've spotted between the two are that the HD 'has a panel mounted pre-set to fine tune exposure and the ability to flick a switch to cut capture time in half, accommodating uncompressed HD captures via PC Blackmagic Decklink card via CineCap or for SD captures to Mac or PC systems that lack a Raid-0 drive array' (I hope that make sense to you). Also the HD has the 'velocity circuit already installed and will work with the exclusive Velocity or Velocity-HD software, bypassing the need for a sync mouse'. Which is the better one to go for conversion? Here are the XP and HD units:

versions:http://www.moviestuff.tv/wp_xp.html

http://www.moviestuff.tv/wp_hd.html

Also will I be running the same software and hardware for both units? What operating system is best to use with these older refurbished models? I've got a friend selling a 6gb pc, xps, massive HD screen at the moment so I was considering getting that for a bargain. Finally is it realistic to do the conversion myself or should I get all the parts sent to FilmMaker8? I remember talking to Tony at filmmaker8 earlier this year about it and he seemed like a really nice chap. Anyway if this is a viable option (or if not) please give me the heads up. As usual I look to the people on this forum for guidance and hopefully you can avoid me hitting any pitfalls.

Thanks
Kev

[MovieStuff]

Contact me off-list and we can go over your best options.

Roger

[gaugefilm]

Thanks Roger,

Just sent you a message.

Best
Kev