Ebay Super8 Telecine Machines - Quality?

[qwerty1234]

I'm trying to get into super8 filming in a cost effective way, and thought maybe instead of buying a projector it would be more economic to buy a cheap telecine machine off ebay such as this.

http://<br /> http://cgi.ebay.com/Transfer-Movies-To-Video-DVD-8mm-Film-Slides-Teleci...d=p3286.c0.m14

But would the flicker and general quality be a big issue with this sort of low end machine? I am not looking for professional results, this is just a hobby. But I don't want absolutely terrible results either. Any information is appreciated!

[Des]

I really have no idea, but I just have to comment that the 'color tinting kit' made me both squirm and laugh

This unit reminds me of those mirror boxes that are sold for this purpose, usually for around $50. The quality of those are OK at best, but never great. Don't know if this is an improvement on those or a snow job.

Still, it made me laugh.

--dES

[ecc]

It looks like you still need a projector to run the film in order to record it (the ad says a projector is not included).

[filmboss80]

It looks like it's just a mirror-and-lens box with a cheesy audio mixer thrown in. You'd still need to supply the projector (with either telecine shutter or variable speed control to knock out flicker), as well as the video camera. This device comes with neither.

Overpriced, IMO.

[gadgetguy]

The results may be better than projecting it at the wall and recording with your camcorder, but the real key to a decent transfer is matching the frame rates. It's been a while, but I seem to recall 8mm film having a frame rate of 15 or 18 fps and NTSC camcorders record at 29.97i fps. You would need to get a projector that allows you to adjust the speed to a compliment of the camcorder. Otherwise you wind up with a lot of half frames that have to be edited out and then you have to do some form of telecine to bring the video to the DVD compliant rate. Not impossible, but it takes some playing with the speed to get it right. When I did my transfers, many years ago, I built my own "mirror box", didn't have the luxury of an adjustable speed projector, and used a VHS camcorder. The results were barely watchable, but more convenient than pulling out the projector and screen to watch the films.

[orsetto]

I'm confused: are you "trying to get into super8 filming", or transferring old super-8 films to DVD? If you're interested in making new super 8 films, I don't know where you'd find film: last time I checked a few years ago a 50ft cartridge with processing ran over $30 (thats for 3 mins 20sec running time). Yikes! But if you just want to transfer some films, the best way may be to drop them at a pro house. They have the best hardware, which is not so easy to obtain cheaply for home use. At the very least, you would need one of the more modern Bolex, Braun or Eumig projectors with widely variable framerate + a good mirror box unit (or matte screen) + a really good camcorder. Balance your dollar budget against how much film you need to transfer and what your own time is worth to you. In most cases you'll find handing the film to a service bureau is the best deal. Unless you have hours and hours to do, which might add up to a big expense.

Back in the Super-8 heyday, in the mid-1970s, Kodak sold the VP-1 Film Videoplayer, an amazing all-in-one telecine unit for the home which used "flying spot scanning" to display Super-8 on a color TV (this was two-three years before VCRs). It was insanely expensive and tended to break down under hard use, plus the results weren't very good except for direct play on CRT televisions of the time.

[ecc]

I'm confused: are you "trying to get into super8 filming", or transferring old super-8 films to DVD? If you're interested in making new super 8 films, I don't know where you'd find film: last time I checked a few years ago a 50ft cartridge with processing ran over $30 (thats for 3 mins 20sec running time). Yikes! But if you just want to transfer some films, the best way may be to drop them at a pro house. They have the best hardware, which is not so easy to obtain cheaply for home use. At the very least, you would need one of the more modern Bolex, Braun or Eumig projectors with widely variable framerate + a good mirror box unit (or matte screen) + a really good camcorder. Balance your dollar budget against how much film you need to transfer and what your own time is worth to you. In most cases you'll find handing the film to a service bureau is the best deal. Unless you have hours and hours to do, which might add up to a big expense.

Pro8mm (http://pro8mm.com) still makes cameras and and I think they create film that will fit by slitting either 35mm or 16mm negative (their "buy film" link would not display on my browser).