Retro-Universal 16mm Sample

[Tscan]

I had a chance to pull out an old 400ft spool of V2 50D 16mm, which I once payed good money for an SD transfer, and scanned it with the Retro-Universal and 16mm gate. This clip is part of the spool, color corrected with various croppings in Sony Vegas 10. A little Neat Video (65%) on some shots. All filmed with a Bolex Rex 4, either hand held or simple tripod. I need to shoot some more 16mm film I have stored and polish up on a few things, but i'm pretty damn happy with the results so far.
https://vimeo.com/152477655

I still need to install the stabilizer, since i'm scanning on a hallow desktop.

[MovieStuff]

I still need to install the stabilizer, since i'm scanning on a hallow desktop.

Nice! Yes, I highly recommend installing the brace block and move to a more solid surface. I think you will see a more steady image. When dealing with micro-photography like this, vibrations can't really be tolerated.

Roger

[Tscan]

Here's a sample of some reg 16mm E100D. From the box to Vimeo without any post adjustments. I installed the stabilizer bracket and it looks more solid on that surface.
https://vimeo.com/152530564

[pberk]

Here's a sample of some reg 16mm E100D. From the box to Vimeo without any post adjustments. I installed the stabilizer bracket and it looks more solid on that surface.
https://vimeo.com/152530564

I love seeing the 16mm examples. Thanks for posting. We just got a RetroScan Universal machine on the 21st of Jan .. We had no previous experience digitizing movie film. I have lots of motion picture production experience but not from the lab end of the business. I had tons of Reg 8, Super8 and 16mm laying around -- so right now just working with my own work and family stuff (some of it shot before my time). Stabilizing the unit sounds like a good idea. We have it on a folding table. That will have to change. It was not a walk in the park to get going on the machine, but only one phone call to Roger for help (he was very helpful) and in RetroSpect, things went very well for this type of work. I'm pleased so far.

Here's one of our first 16mm tests on some old film. Runs about a minute and a half. https://vimeo.com/152902769 .. more samples to follow in different formats. Had the most trouble so far with Reg 8.

Paul

[Nicholas Kovats]

The 1947 Kodachrome is beautiful, Paul.

[Tscan]

I love seeing the 16mm examples. Thanks for posting. We just got a RetroScan Universal machine on the 21st of Jan .. We had no previous experience digitizing movie film. I have lots of motion picture production experience but not from the lab end of the business. I had tons of Reg 8, Super8 and 16mm laying around -- so right now just working with my own work and family stuff (some of it shot before my time). Stabilizing the unit sounds like a good idea. We have it on a folding table. That will have to change. It was not a walk in the park to get going on the machine, but only one phone call to Roger for help (he was very helpful) and in RetroSpect, things went very well for this type of work. I'm pleased so far.

Here's one of our first 16mm tests on some old film. Runs about a minute and a half. https://vimeo.com/152902769 .. more samples to follow in different formats. Had the most trouble so far with Reg 8.

Paul

You will like it more and more once you have it dialed in cranking away. A new software upgrade just came out with some nice changes. Old regular 8 or anything shot on Kodachome looks just beautiful. It's a dream come true for anyone who likes to shoot a few rolls per month or has a stockpile of film. i started snagging old reels on ebay and thrift stores, now that I can scan just about anything from reg 8mm to S16mm pretty quick and easy. And there's an infinite amount of material out there to pick through, but also a surprising amount of competition for old footage.

[pberk]

More samples from the RetroScan Universal .. 16mm with sound .. Reg 8 .. Super 8mm .. I marked the clips where I used the Neat Video Denoise plug-in.
Very happy with are results on the RetroScan Universal so far.

https://vimeo.com/158708010

[pberk]

I posted new samples from my RetroScan Universal -- 16mm, Reg and Super 8mm. Very happy with the machine so far. THe Neat Video Denoise does help.
It was an interesting adventure to capture and sync up the sound on the 16mm release prints.

RetroScan Universal samples .. 2 min.
https://vimeo.com/158708010

[MovieStuff]

I posted new samples from my RetroScan Universal -- 16mm, Reg and Super 8mm. Very happy with the machine so far. THe Neat Video Denoise does help.
It was an interesting adventure to capture and sync up the sound on the 16mm release prints.

RetroScan Universal samples .. 2 min.
https://vimeo.com/158708010

Nice! My suggestion is to turn off frame blending on your project timeline. Frame blending can really rob your frames of clarity and resolution. Also, if you have footage that was originally shot at around 16fps, such as regular 8mm and some 16mm, try outputting at 15fps instead of 16fps. The reason is that 15fps will divide into 30 evenly while 16 will not, which can lead to a kind of judder in the movement of people onscreen.

Roger

[silverhalide]

Did you know that Bolex still repairs H16's in Switzerland? I sent an EL and a RX-5 to them, both with gate weave and registration issues. They sent back cameras that were basically perfect.

They may not be there forever. If you want a perfect Bolex repair, by this guy or his cowokers, send it along...

https://vimeo.com/150185992

[Tscan]

Did you know that Bolex still repairs H16's in Switzerland? I sent an EL and a RX-5 to them, both with gate weave and registration issues. They sent back cameras that were basically perfect.

They may not be there forever. If you want a perfect Bolex repair, by this guy or his cowokers, send it along...

https://vimeo.com/150185992

Good to know because my Bolex is not rock steady. My tripod setup is not ideal for the vibration that the camera has either. Last week, I scanned about 2400ft of super 16mm for a local client.. It was as rock steady as it could possibly be. I believe he shot it with a decent Aaton rig he recently got. I also scanned some 16mm print reels from the 30's-70's... clear edge, black edge, and even a white edge perf. By using the sensor control, I had no problem scanning in any of them. I also went up to 15fps with the 1200ft spools, the scanner and my Intel I5 650 hummed along without a single hiccup. Recently added the free version of DaVinci Resolve 12, and upgraded to Neat Video4. Still getting the hang of those, but powerful results for $100 worth of software.

[pberk]

>> clear edge, black edge, and even a white edge perf.

I can't seem to run anything in 16mm that is clear edge .. suggestions on settings?

[camera8mm]

why are all these clips except for the bolex one so shakey?