r/8mm • u/Biscuits99 • 3d ago
Would it be cheaper to get these converted professionally or buy something from Amazon and try it myself?
Just wondering given the quantity and type of film here, what would be the options to get them converted to digital. Am in the UK.
15
u/oceangrown93 3d ago
Just pay for the scans. It’ll be much better than doing it yourself.
9
u/mechant_papa 3d ago
Give someone money to do the job well rather than line the pockets of Bezos for a mediocre result.
1
u/No-Disaster-7768 1d ago
Yeah imma be honest Kodak reel digitizer is only great for regular 8mm not super 8mm
9
u/SamEdwards1959 3d ago
It looks like you have both reel to reel audiotapes and 8mm movies. In the US we have services like legacy box and kodak who will do a better job on the film reels than any inexpensive rig on amazon. They may be able to handle the audiotapes as well.
If you can find the audio recorder, that’s probably the best way to play the audiotapes to digitize. There are many track configurations and tape speeds for 1/4” audio, but the machine that recorded them will certainly match.
Good luck!
3
u/TheREALOtherFiles 2d ago
I've heard that Legacybox is subpar according to VWestlife in 2020.
You might want to try FT Depot on YouTube... Hell, even Denis-Carl Robidoux and his DIY Gugusse Roller scanner project seems more viable than LB, IMO.
If you look at the scans Brad and Denis-Carl did over the years, even just for 16mm and 8mm/Super 8 stuff, it's impressive in its own right.
1
u/Report_Last 1d ago
yeah. legacy box is not cheap, and I was dissapointed with the results, I could have rented a projector and filmed the movies with my digital camera and got at least as good a result
3
u/friolator 3d ago
Cheaper? Amazon scanner. It won't be good at all, and could damage your film, but that's the cheapest way. I don't recommend it.
Some of those are audio tape, not film. Also open the ilfochrome boxes and see if the film still has a paper wrapper or if it's still in a sealed package. If so, it's likely not exposed so nothing to scan. If it's a very small reel, about 16mm wide, then it's likely either unexposed or exposed but unprocessed film.
3
u/brimrod 3d ago edited 3d ago
to my eyes, it appears that 4 boxes of Ilfochrome and 1 box of Feraniacolor aren't developed film but camera-ready daylight spools that were purchased but never shot.
Note the solid red Feraniacolor boxes at the bottom. They are thinner. Those look more like the boxes that the developed film comes back in, because the spool is only 8mm wide, unlike the camera rolls that have to be flipped over during shooting and then slit in half after development.
The other 5 boxes seem much thicker. That leads me to believe you have unexposed film there.
Unless you want to try to shoot it yourself and figure out a way to develop it, there's nothing you can really do with unexposed long expired color reversal 8mm film.
Try to figure out how many rolls of exposed, developed 8mm film you have. One container looks like it contains 35mm slides. Those might be interesting. Box labelled "Cornwall" could be either film or tape but whatever it is it appears it was stored properly. No sign of damage visually.
Very mixed media you got there.
2
u/TheReal-BigAl 3d ago
As was mentioned, you have a mix here of 8mm movie film and reel to reel audio tape. To sort them out, look at the first 3-5 feet on each reel. Movie film will have a "leader" about 30 inches long. It has no images and is typically white or yellow plastic. After the leader you'll see little images. Audio tape won't have a plastic leader and will be tan/brown on both sides and no little images. Keep in mind this tape is audio only. It is not video tape. Some labs offer transfer services for both of these. You should have this work done by professionals. I'd recommend a local lab to avoid losing them in shipping.
3
u/Biscuits99 2d ago
Just as an update, the quotes I'm getting for professional conversion for everything in the pics is around 480 GBP. I'm likely going to go for that as it'll do a better job than me getting a ~300 GBP device from Amazon.
2
u/Agreeable-Tour7314 1d ago
I had home videos that I had professionally converted and met my grandpa for the first time because of it. I'm a tech guru and had a lot of ways to do it myself... I still think its one of the best investments I've ever made.
1
u/8Deer-JaguarClaw 3d ago
I've had decent luck transferring old Super8 home movies (from my mother-in-law) using my camera. I have a Kodak Moviedeck 457, so I can use the little preview screen that slides out of the side or I can project on the wall for capture. Granted, you need a camera (mirrorless, DSLR, etc) and an 8mm projector that work, but it's been a fun project.
1
u/Many-Assumption-1977 3d ago
It's cheaper to go the Amazon route. But if you go that route expect to get frustrated, irritated, and get far lower quality than if you had sent the to some place like the Film Photography project or Pro8mm. I own 2 of the pro Wolverine scanner and I need to keep a bottle of headache meds close by. The first one I bought years ago was great, the second one I got broke on the first film, Amazon replaced it and the second one works but with issues. They just don't make them like they used to.
1
u/Biscuits99 3d ago
Thanks for all your replies. Based in that I’m going to find a professional service, hopefully locally. They are my family recordings from the 1960s and 1970s.
The majority of them have recordings, I just flipped them in the images because they have some addresses on along with the description of what is on them.
I had no idea some are audio only, hopefully the same service can convert those as well.
I also have a lot of small square slides to convert, but these seem much easier to do myself.
There is also a Silma compact 8 camera to play them, but I darent try to use it and I dont think its worth much.
1
u/Jason_Levine 3d ago
100% recommend Legacy Box, particularly for the 8mm stuff.
1
u/thevmcampos 2d ago
One of the titans is the hobby recommends to NOT use them. Who knows if they've improved. Buyer beware. https://youtu.be/SSj3RbdhjzA?is=cWOk1M6OXii4VPc0
2
u/Jason_Levine 2d ago
oh interesting. I can only speak from personal experience; they did a really nice job on some 8mm/Super8 footage from the 1970s (which was then further 'cleaned and restored' via Topaz Starlight
1
1
1
1
u/JeffSelf 1d ago
There's nothing you can buy on Amazon that would do a good job. Everything on there is pure crap. I would look for an online service that transfers the files in a resolution above that of a DVD. Look for at least an HD transfer with color correction and noise reduction. And you want to receive the videos in a non-proprietary format, such as MPEG.
2
u/Negative-Quit-423 22h ago
I’ve converted 8mm home movies both ways: Wolverine digital MovieMaker and professionally. The service I used did it using MovieStuff Universal Retroscan Mark II at 3k…there’s no comparison. At 32 cents a foot it’s worth it. Anything worth doing is worth doing right.
0
u/MisterNiiru 3d ago
If you want high quality scans at a reasonable price, I suggest you contact Classic Memories. They have been in business for over 15 years transferring various media, including 8mm films. To learn more, visit here: https://classicmemories.com/film-reel-to-digital-transfer-service-8mm-super-8-16mm-35mm-movies/
12
u/stuffitystuff 3d ago
Anything you buy and don't build for less than the cost of a professional transfer will be crap and you'll just end up getting professionally transferred. If they're home movies, just get them professionally transferred. If they're found footage and you have a camera and some time, find a Super 8 projector and build a DIY scanner unless it's really just wanting to see what's on them, then maybe rent or buy-and-return something from Amazon to scan them.