8mm and Super 8 Film to iMac?

[cgbier]

Well, uhm, thank you

 

[initialsBB]

I don't see what's the point of going through the cost of scanning these reels if it's to end up in a VOB on a DVD but if it makes you happy then I'm happy too.

 

[Mkology]

Check out http://dijifi.com/. I do a lot of work with super 8 film, and I can safely say, they are one of the best places around for transfers.

 

[Keebler]

google local places. They'll be some in Miami.

Tour their shop and DO NOT use them if they project onto a wall.

gotmemories and other companies will use a frame by frame scanning method directly connected to the computer.

anything else is amateurishly subpar and not recommended at all.

Not recommended is costco either. They ship their films out to California from what I'm told and I've had clients who had issues with footage being cut out (not a client request), weird music added etc..etc.. Of course, maybe that's just a few bad cases, but still....no need to ship precious memories which could get lost when there is probably someone local with the professional equipment. Shipping probably isn't a problem, but what I'm saying is you can't just to Best Buy and buy another set of memories!

Touring their shop is essential. These are family memories and you want to ensure that whomever you trust, had got the right equipment and takes the business of preserving memories, seriously.

Usually going to digital is more cost effective then getting them to blu ray or DVD. You can get .avi files or numberic jpeg or tiff files which you can compile in FCX, FCexpress or IMovie. The benefit of having the digital files is that you can edit out what you want, it's cheaper to transfer and then you can share smaller sections with more family easier.

Best of luck,
Keebler

 

[flowney]

cgbier,

... gotmemories.com statement that there was something unique in the way they perform their conversion, such that it was uneditable with a Mac (although I couldn't imagine how that could be). As long as it's a standard DVD, then it's not an issue.

Actually, you can ask them to provide you with uncompressed video (Apple ProRes for example) so that you can better future-proof your movies. DVD is highly compressed MPEG-2 and even DV digital files are compressed. Think compressed = data thrown away.

 

[phrehdd]

Morning folks!

So my mom and I were going thru my grandfathers things last night, he just recently passed away, and we found boxes of 8mm and Super 8 film. We also found his old projector, which after an hour, we were able to figure out how to work and watched a few reels. It was amazing to watch this 50 year old footage. I had never seen my grandparents in their 30s. It was pretty emotional.

Image

Anyhow, i want to know how I can capture these to my iMac and store them digitally for the whole family. Obviously the old projector does not have the right connections, since its 50 years old. But is there a new projector I can buy or some other kind of equipment that would let me capture this old footage?

Or is this impossible and do I have to send it to a professional? I rather do it myself.

This is not something you should do at home. Some have explained that some companies use the cheapo method of projecting your film and video taping the projection. That is LAME. It is not a transfer but a bad copy.

What you want is a proper direct or near direct transfer. As example -

http://www.moviestuff.tv/8mm_telecine.html

No, I don't work for them but they have a very good reputation. At least you can see the machines they offer to sell AND the services they will do for you.

There are also other companies that will do a decent transfer or corrected transfer (costs more). I urge you to consider going this route as family films are priceless when you think about them and a poor copy is no substitute.

I don't do vid work but I do digital restoration of photos for many people and consider good movie transfer to be just as valuable to families so I advocate the above process over hack work. After all, it is your family.

 

[senseless]

The moviestuff projector is interesting and you can rent it for $100 per day.