Capturing old cine film

Archived from groups: rec.photo.digital (More info?)

In the process of clearing out my Dad's house we have uncovered a treasure
trove of old family memories all on (silent) standard 8mm cine film.

There are a number of local retailers which advertise the ability to
transfer cine to video or DVD but because of the quantity involved I
wondered whether it was practical to do such a thing oneself.

Does anyone know what hardware and software would be required to capture
standard 8mm film onto PC and what the likely (UK) costs might be? Anyone
ever attempted this?

Keith

Archived from groups: rec.photo.digital (More info?)

"Keith Sheppard" <keith.sheppard@tesco.net> wrote in message news:kEd2e.1765$wr4.1674@newsfe2-win.ntli.net...
> In the process of clearing out my Dad's house we have uncovered a treasure
> trove of old family memories all on (silent) standard 8mm cine film.
>
> There are a number of local retailers which advertise the ability to
> transfer cine to video or DVD but because of the quantity involved I
> wondered whether it was practical to do such a thing oneself.
>
> Does anyone know what hardware and software would be required to capture
> standard 8mm film onto PC and what the likely (UK) costs might be? Anyone
> ever attempted this?
>
> Keith

Hi. Keith,
Do you have a reasonable video camera and is the old projector there?
If yes, then I had quite good results from projecting the films onto a white card
about 2 foot wide and focusing the old video camera I had on it.
It wouldn't cost much, only a LOT of time running them once you had made the
set up. It was easier for me as I have had plenty of practice loading the film into
the projectors - one standard 8, the other super eight. If you have the patience
it might be worth trying.
Best of luck. John.

Archived from groups: rec.photo.digital (More info?)

Keith Sheppard wrote:

>>>Do you have a reasonable video camera and is the old projector there?
>>>If yes, then I had quite good results from projecting the films onto a
>
> white card
>
>>>about 2 foot wide and focusing the old video camera I had on it.
>
>
>
> I do have the projector and a video camera. I was concerned that I might
> get moving horizontal stripes because of the different frame rates between
> the two. I can remember years ago doing the equivalent in reverse -
> pointing a cine camera at the TV screen (to record the first moon landings)
> and I did get striping on that occasion.
>
> Assuming I can get decent output from a video camera, any suggestions as to
> what I might need to capture the video output on PC so that I can eventually
> write it to disk? Does Windows XP include all the necessary components or
> do I need to buy anything extra?
>
> I tried running up Windows Movie Maker but the main window says "Video
> device: none". That's on my laptop, which has a super VHS connector on the
> back which I've never used. I've not yet tried on my home PC which has a
> _very_ old ScreenMachine card in it.
>
> Keith
>
>
The difference in frame rates is high enough that instead of lines you
get a flicker. This is not nearly as objectionable as lines or bars.

Archived from groups: rec.photo.digital (More info?)

"Keith Sheppard" <keith.sheppard@tesco.net> writes:
> Does anyone know what hardware and software would be required to
> capture standard 8mm film onto PC and what the likely (UK) costs
> might be? Anyone ever attempted this?

Best to ask on rec.video about this. Quick answer, there are lots of
ways ranging from quick and cheap, to professional and expensive.
Quick and cheap includes any approach with camcorders. The
professional approach uses CCD scanners and has much better results
but costs a lot. If it's for home movies I'd go the camcorder route.
There are some rear projection contraptions that are supposed to do a
better job than just pointing the camcorder at a projection screen.

If it's for home movies, I think I'd just try putting the camera on a
tripod in a darkened room and recording the projection screen, and
deciding if I liked the results, before bothering exploring more
expensive approaches.

Archived from groups: rec.photo.digital (More info?)

>>If it's for home movies, I think I'd just try putting the camera on a
>>tripod in a darkened room and recording the projection screen, and
>>deciding if I liked the results, before bothering exploring more
>>expensive approaches.

I certainly intend to try that approach. I still haven't cracked the other
end of the process though. Assuming I get acceptable results on video, what
do I need to transfer that onto my PC so I can put it on DVD? I tried
running up Windows XP's Movie Maker but the main window says "Video device:
none".

Keith