Best Quality Super-8 Editor/Viewer

Ed HPV · May 7, 2015

Hi,

I'm looking on eBay to buy a Super-8 editor/viewer. Which models offer the best quality image on the screen?

I need to run some film through it and stop at certain frames and take a photo of the frame, a good editor/viewer would be good enough quality for what I need, but at the price you can pick these things up for, I might as well go for the best.

Failing that, does anyone have any experience adapting these to produce a better image?

Any experiences/knowledge would be helpful

Thanks
Ed

Mark Dunn · May 7, 2015

Super-8 viewers don't have particularly good image quality. That's not really what they are for.

A better criterion might be how kind they are to the film. You'd probably be better off rigging up a macro system to copy frames directly, and just using the viewer to find the frames.

Ed HPV · May 7, 2015

Super-8 viewers don't have particularly good image quality. That's not really what they are for.

A better criterion might be how kind they are to the film. You'd probably be better off rigging up a macro system to copy frames directly, and just using the viewer to find the frames.

Thank you Mark.

In that case, have you any guidance on which editors/viewers are kindest to film?

Not quite sure on your rig suggestion, do you mean something like setting up a DSLR with a macro lens and pointing it directly at the film by adapting the editor slightly? Are there any tutorials on this, can't see any from a Google search?

Thanks

Mark Dunn · May 7, 2015

No, I mean rigging up something like a slide duplicator.

A viewer with a straighter film path would be preferable to one, like mine, with an S-shaped path. You can judge that from the photos on ebay. I fitted mine with fabric pads to reduce the damage.

Edited May 7, 2015 by Mark Dunn

Ed HPV · May 7, 2015

No, I mean rigging up something like a slide duplicator.

A viewer with a straighter film path would be preferable to one, like mine, with an S-shaped path. You can judge that from the photos on ebay. I fitted mine with fabric pads to reduce the damage.

Thanks, I'll look out for one with a straight path :-)

I considered something like a makeshift slide duplicator or the Wolverine FD2 machine, but I assumed an editor/viewer would be give me more accurate control over lining up the frames and moving through the film quicker.

Mark Dunn · May 7, 2015

If you have no Super-8 equipment at all, you need something just to transport the film and a viewer would be more convenient than a projector.

The scanner you refer to is meant for 35mm. slides so the magnification would need to be much greater to get a decent image scale. You can see how tiny the S-8 frame is.

Most of the ones on ebay at the moment look decent enough. Minette, Muray and Goko were decent brands IIRC.

Edited May 7, 2015 by Mark Dunn

Mark Dunn · May 7, 2015

I see it is meant for 8mm. but I suspect that the file size will be quite small.

Beware- from what i can see, you can only scan from strips of film. So you'd have to cut the reel near the frame you wanted. You can't 'thread' the scanner onto a continuous reel.

Edited May 7, 2015 by Mark Dunn

Ed HPV · May 7, 2015

I see it is meant for 8mm. but I suspect that the file size will be quite small.

Beware- from what i can see, you can only scan from strips of film. So you'd have to cut the reel near the frame you wanted. You can't 'thread' the scanner onto a continuous reel.

Good point.

I asked Wolverine about these scanners and they told me they produce 3000x2000 JPEGs from Super-8 film, and they sent me an example frame. Not too bad. However, considering the price of this scanner (About £80) I would assume my DSLR with a macro lens must produce better images.

Anthony Schilling · May 7, 2015

The Minette is the only Super 8 viewer as far as i'm concerned. Very bright clear picture, all the rest are very poor.

Ed HPV · May 8, 2015

The Minette is the only Super 8 viewer as far as i'm concerned. Very bright clear picture, all the rest are very poor.

Thank you Anthony. There's one on eBay now, a Minette S4. Is this a good Minette?

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Minette-S-4-Super-Single-8mm-Viewer-Editor-/301594596625?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_3&hash=item4638705511

Mark Dunn · May 8, 2015

Since the amount of money at stake isn't very much, you might as well have the best machine available, but do bear in mind that pictures off the screen will be nowhere near the quality of a scan.

If you have one, you might even try a flatbed scanner. Some won't work with transillumination at all, but if yours does, it's a quick fix.

Edited May 8, 2015 by Mark Dunn

Ed HPV · May 8, 2015

Since the amount of money at stake isn't very much, you might as well have the best machine available, but do bear in mind that pictures off the screen will be nowhere near the quality of a scan.

If you have one, you might even try a flatbed scanner. Some won't work with transillumination at all, but if yours does, it's a quick fix.

Thanks Mark. Yes I'd like to get the best possible, not just for picture quality but for the sake of the film. Which editor/viewer would you say is the best?

I did consider a scanner, but the process would be very slow. An editor/viewer would allow me to run through the film quickly and by using sprockets I guess the film would line up accurately for my pictures.

Is there nothing to be said for adapting the editor/viewer? Ie not using the screen, instead just taking advantage of the reel to reel practicality, lamp and sprockets to enable me to set up a DSLR and macro lens to photograph the film in some way?!

If you think that idea sounds daft could you point me in the direction of a decent flatbed scanner for Super-8, might give that some more thought..

Anthony Schilling · May 8, 2015

I have the S5 but the S4 should be just as or almost as good. It's excellent for viewing and splicing, but i don't see it working very well to record moving images from. If you want film scanned for cheap, PM me.