Steven Boldt

I suppose this belongs in the Telecine forum.

I'm going to be getting a Tobin Cinema System unit. Probably the "My Own Telecine". What else will I need? I like to use Virtualdub when possible. Will I need a capture card or can I record to my old Sony DV camcorder and then transfer to computer? It seems like there are a lot of options.

Thanks Rick, that's what I did. It looks like it would stay in under it's own weight if it was metal so I'll attach something to the upper part of the plastic I used. I had some questions about the Tobin telecine units but I'll put it in another post.

I just picked up a Nikon Super Zoom and a Yashica Super Zoom 800 Electro off ebay. Both cameras appear to be working mechanically and the lenses are clean but they are missing the filter key on both. From the manuals they appear to be about the same. Any idea where I can get filter keys for them? I don't know if they are a standard size for these cameras and nothing came up doing a search for the part. I tried inserting a coin and other things but it doesn't seem to work.

Anyone know how to take the side off a Leicina Super? I picked one up off ebay for $60 but the film does not run. I though about shelling out $70 for the repair manual but I'll probably just wind up deeper in the hole, LOL. I suppose I could sell it for parts or something.

Excellent super 8. How do you transfer?

The white glow is the hot spot is from the projector. Shooting off of the herculene reduces the hot spot a bit but I am still working on different things to reduce it more. The focus was not very good on the original film. I made a gradient in photoshop that helps to reduce the hot spot using Sony Vegas. The herculene(duralene) makes a big difference. It's cheap and comes in 2'x3' sheets for about $5.

This is just a short test of super 8 film

This is excellent. What is your projection set-up? I Like Virtualdub too but my new JVC camcorder records in Mpeg2 format so I can't use Virtualdub unless I convert the video to AVI. I agree about projected film producing more natural motion.

I have a Sankyo Dualux 2000H I use for DIY telecine. It's variable speed between 16-22 FPS. If you just want a projector that has 24 FPS there are a number of brands to look at. Eumig, Elmo, Chinon, Sankyo. If you want to stick with Eumig I believe you want a later model(not sure). The advantage of the Elmo's is that they can probably be worked on if need be and parts might be available. Lots of choices at 24 FPS.

It took a while to sort out the different kinds available. Something like the Induro A213 or 214 looks about right. My Nizo weighs about 4 lbs., the head about 3.5 and the Induro has a max of 17 lbs. Thanks.

Hello, I picked up a Bogen 501 tripod head and I need a tripod for it. Can anyone recommend a good(and cheap) tripod for this head? The Bogen site doesn't recommend a 190 for this head and the ones they recommend are out of my price range- (about $100). Is the 190 enough for my hobbyist needs?

Excellent! Keep up the good work.

Thanks General, I got my footage back from alphacine and I've been using Virtualdub. Great tool. The biggest problem I'm having is a pulsating sort of hot spot. I've read that you have to sort of ride the variable speed on the projector to do away with it. Not so great results but it's still fun.

I'm just mad because when I finally got around to taking a course where we actually do 16mm the instructor turned out to be a real jerk. About 70% of the class dropped the course just to get away from him and I followed suit. Film school wasn't for me.

In school I was surprised to find that many students didn't like to see any film grain. They just see it as a flaw. I'm used to it because I grew up watching old movies. Some younger students get used to it after going to the film festivals and such. This is what I meant by it being an aquired taste-in part. I grew up with it and it doesn't bother me. I watched Double Indemnity last week because I wanted to, not because I had to.

Chris, I wasn't suggesting that a comedy can look like "poop" as you call it, I was suggesting that digital(well shot) might be a better choice over 16 or 35mm for a comedy perhaps. This was just an obsevation- not a fact or even an opinion. In the future I will confine my questions to the 8mm forum where people have been friendly and helpful. And let me remind you that Super 8 is and always will be a consumer format so I'll stay in my forum if you stay in yours.

Chad, You are right. That's why I characterized my posts as rants. I can see now that I'm scapegoating.

I'm not in the industry so I don't really know if film is dying or being phased out. If pleople say it's here to stay then it's probably true. It is becoming a big pain to do it as a hobbyist. It took me quite a while to get a super 8 camera and projector that would work and suit my needs and to learn the basics. I'm going to do my stupid Super 8 music videos and not worry about what others are doing. Like I said, sorry for the rant.

I like the look of 16mm but it is an aquired taste these days. Times have changed. There's nothing wrong with using video for a comedy for instance because all focus is on dialog. It just seems like the whole debate itself, film-video is bad. Film is simply becoming too expensive for hobbyists. I going to stop whining and go get this tripod I need. Sorry for the rant.

I was talking about the difference in the cost of processing between 8 and 16. Most of my teachers at film school preferred 8 over 16 because of the look. They were art majors not film majors in school. They don't know much about film but they could see. 16mm is elitist and it's killing film altogether. Too many formats.

16mm film and processing isn't cheap and that's why so many people have gotten into Super 8. I know the difference between 8 and 16 isn't that much but it's enough. Film schools just don't give us enough time with their 16mm set-ups and theirs are definitely not cheap. Film is dying, that's all I know. I always wanted a new format for audio cassette tape- 1/4" instead of 1/8" and that never happened. I should know I'm wasting my breath on this. People who really love film will continue to do it after the pros have all given up on it. In the 1960's 16mm may have been the peoples format but not any more. There's Super 8, DV, HD.

Professionally, film is on the way out. It's that simple. That's why we(non-pros) need a new format. Excellent movies can be made for theatrical release with 16mm but it doesn't make sense for this to remain a standard and 8 mm just doesn't cut it in a big movie theatre. What we need is something like a 12 mm film format for non-pros that pros can dabble in. All these 8 and 16 mm movies cameras out there are old as hell so why not push for a new format? The more film dies the more people will miss it. Digital technology is linear so it has an inherent ugliness that all the resolution in the world can't fix. All you can do is fake different looks. We need a new film format and you pros need to make it happen.

That's what I assumed. Im using "The Photographer's Guide to Filters" by Lee Frost. It's a great book for beginners and I'm looking forward to trying reds and greens next. Wish I had more funds right now. :(

I need to get a better handle on the basics of cameras but filters are a gas. I kept the camera on it's artificial light setting to keep the internal filter off. I assume that's how this works but I could be wrong. Using external filters with super 8 is tricky but I'll do my best to figure it out. Different cameras could require different methods.