Steven Boldt

The digital versus analog debate is 100% elitist crap. Bring on the ugly-go digital.

Thanks Richard. Good article.

Hi, I just got my film back from alphacine and as a first timer_I'm hooked! I shot 4 rolls, 2 Ektachrome 64 and 2 of Tri X. I tried to write some charts as I experimented with external filters on my Nizo 3048. I fired up the Sankyo 2000 to take a look and everything is O.K.(sort of) at this point.I have some very basic questions; 1) I tried using a dark orange cokin filter and got the look I wanted but some of the other film I shot at dusk(not really that dark) was under-exposed. In this case Should I reduce the Number of the f-stop, say it reads 2.8, and set it to 2? I'm assuming a lower number means a wider apeture=more light allowed in. 2) My focus was all over the place at times. Should the outermost focus ring be adjusted last? My eyes aren't what they used to be. 3)Everything I shot indoors under artificial light is very under-exposed and grainy. Do I just need to use strong lights? I tried to take notes and stay organized but this is my first time so you know how that goes. I'm still trying to get my head around f-stops,exposure,appeture at this time. I might use a meter down the road but not right now. Ive read the camera manual several times but it is a bit confusing in places. Thanks, Steve

Super8arena.com has a 204 for $99.

The Gitzo is a bit out of my price range. Looks good though. I'll see if I can get a used Bogen 501 off ebay as it seems to function about the same. I would think Super 8 cameras would benefit with something heavy and solid. Thanks, Steve

Hi, Can anyone recommend a heavy duty tripod for a Super 8 Camera? My Nizo 3048 is faliing over with my cheapo Best Buy tripod. Looking at Amazon reviews of tripods it looks like a lot that are advertized as heavy duty really aren't.

Another question. My projector runs from 14-22 fps. If I shoot Super 8 at 24 fps what would be the best way to do this. I assumed I could shoot at 24 fps then slow it down to 20 fps when doing the telecine(20 being a multiple of 60 used by the camcorder). Then speed it back up in my NLE. I don't have my own footage processed yet. I grabbed a movie short off ebay that is probably 18 fps.

I took my first stab at doing a Super 8 DIY telecine. I'm using a Sankyo Dualux 2000, Sony mini DV camcorder. I can get the flicker down to about once ever 3-5 seconds but I can't get rid of it entirely. It's not too bad really but is it possible to improve on this? Also, there is some noticable interlacing.

When I put in some Alkalines just for a second to test the camera the light indicators in the view-finder were much brighter than with the NiCd batteries. I would say don't use 1.5V alkalines in the camera if it calls for 1.2V NiCds. It's too much of a difference in voltage and will cause problems down the road. This is unrelated but I'm interested in a Bauer camera. I can't find accurate info about running the new Ektachrome with them. I have different sources about the new film and Bauers but they don't match. Any Bauer users with first hand experience around? They seem like really solid designs with good lenses and good manuals. I know the Nizos have good lenses but they may not be right for someone who is only going to use 1 or 2 cameras like me. They seem good for the real junkie with 3 or 4+ cameras. Sorry to ask so many questions but I'm new to Super 8. :D

I think the batteries needed a good long charge. It seems to be O.K. now. I'm looking at other cameras because I don't like the design of the XXXX series Nizos."Dreaded". That's about it, LOL.

I'm just getting started with a Nizo 3048 and when I film it runs down after about 5-8 seconds. The batteries should be good. It just gradually runs down.

Can anyone tell me some details about modifying the lamp and adding some diffusion to a projector for telecine? I looked at the Falker website but it was hard to make sense of the translation.

Thanks Bengt, I've heard good things about the Noris. I'll keep those two in mind.

I've been looking around for a variable speed Super 8 projector for (very low budget)telecine. Anybody have any experience with the Elmo FP series? The Eumig 7xx or 8xx are also considerations along with some of the Sankyos.

Freddy, if we had people with your skills teaching film over here it would be great, but we don't. Schools should have courses devoted just to telecine methods to encourage experimentation. Student can learn to use cameras and software on their own. Most of the teachers I had in film majored in art in college. In a way that's good because they're trained to see things most people can't but they are out of it when it comes to technology and they all use macs of course. The people that romantisize film in schools are the same one's that are killing it. Everyone is teaching outside they're major here and that's why I dropped film as a major. English is much more fun. I'll see what I can do with old school methods. :ph34r:

Hi Freddy, Thanks for taking the time to answer my questions. The situation with small gauge filmmaking in the U.S. is much different than it is in Europe and other places. People who want to keep Super 8 alive as a means of filmmaking here in the U.S.have to settle for simpler means of digital transfer than frame by frame and we aren't going to get help from transfer houses or universities. The biggest problem is that anyone here with a 4 year college degree thinks they are qualified to teach about technology but very little of what they say about the use of anolog/digital stuff is true so you are forced to do everything yourself, except for processing. I was hoping there was a middle ground between a crude "off the wall" method and full blown frame by frame. I've already spent quite a bit of time looking at your set-up and results and it's very impessive, but it's a bit beyond my technical abilites to put such a system together. There's a big difference between wanting to preservre old Super 8 family movies in a digital format and wanting to film Super 8 movies yourself and I would hope that people who do film transfers as a means of income would be wise enough not to respond to this thread. I might take a chance by getting a machine vision camera but getting everything together, Super8 camera/film/filters/projector/capture camera etc... is slow going. I'll probably just wind up doing the old shoot it off the wall punk rock thing.LOL. Anyway, thanks again. Steve

I'm trying to put together a real-time home telecine system and I have a few questions. 1) I need a variable speed projector so does that refer to the 18fps-24fps settings or to a fine adjustment to those setttings? 2)I'm looking at some of the Machine Vision cameras so will these work O.K. in real time? (I think frame by frame transfer is overkill for people shooting in small guage-Super 8) 3)What do I need as far as optics-lenses? This is where the layman such as myself really needs help. 4) If the camera has a global shutter is having a CCD instead of a CMOS that important? 5)Are there any particular projector models I should look for? Thanks for your time, Steve

Just got the 3048 camera today. I'm using the online manual for the 6080 that say's use NiCd 1.2V. The battery holder itself say's to use Alkaline Mangenese. :blink:

Thanks, It sounds like it's impossible to determine whether using regular AA's will effect the camera in the long run. To be on the safe side I'll use the recommended batteries for the time being. I might as well start looking for a cheaper back-up camera. People here say don't rely on just one to work all the time.

The Nizo 3048 I'm getting calls for NiCd 1.3V AA rechargable batteries. Nothing on Am ratings. Is it safe to use regular AA 1.5V in these cameras?

Fred, I don't know if a still from a film is a good indication of the end product but a video of yours I saw is as good as anything I've seen. Are you scanning frame by frame?

Thanks for the link. I'll have to read this a number of times before it all sinks in. Seems like a good approach.

It's interesting that he added some digital grain to neutralize the film grain. Maybe it's the same principal as adding reverb to a big hall with bad acoustics.

I must have seen about 300 transfers in the last week and this is tops.

Hello, I've been checking out this forum for a while and I'm new to super 8. The Nizo 3048 I bought should be here any day now.I was wondering if it was a good idea to use a filter on the front of the camera for daylight shots instead of the built-in filter. I was planning on shooting about 3-4 rolls just to do tests at first, writing down different settings and showing that at the beginning of short shots.