Daniel D. Teoli Jr.

Everything is getting hard to get. FilmFabriek companied they had trouble getting parts. I try to stock up on items if I can afford it. I won't get into politics, but if things escalate in the world and chips are under fire, more than they are now, we will really be screwed. My Epson ink has gone from $55 to $79 per cartridge. It has a big gold-plated chip right on top. And I use 9 of the cartridges. Maybe the next step is... I will have to buy outdated ink on eBay? Jeeesus, what a mess. M-Disc has gone from $2.15 a disc to $3 a disc. And they were hard to get for months. Verbatim discontinued their affordable M-Disc. ($1 per disc.) Maybe their license expired? Right now I need 700 - 800 M-Disc for my VHS archive. All I have is 67. I could never afford to bulk up on them when they were cheaper. I would just buy a few hundred $ worth every so often.

http://8mmforum.film-tech.com/cgi-bin/showpic.cgi?dir=uploads0503&file=EccoFilmCleanersmall.jpg How long does it take to clean? Do you like cleaning by hand with rewinds better? Yes, film cleaning is a pain. http://8mmforum.film-tech.com/cgi-bin/showpic.cgi?dir=uploads0503&file=FOC1small.jpg 8mm Forum: Product Review: Film-O-Clean (film-tech.com) I'm thinking the Film-O-Clean won't handle filthy films. Film is pretty filthy stuff! – Daniel D. Teoli Jr. Archival Collection (wordpress.com) This is from just a few feet of film I deal with.

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Looks like the film cleaner is extinct. Also, a foreign company. Why can't US companies make an affordable film cleaner??

GD...who calls the HDS+ a toy? Let me guess. I'd be thrilled to get one. If I was young and could do a backflip I would. How did you get into all this work? You had mentioned you do it as a side gig for extra income. I think you said made $$ in the stock market and bought the scanner to go into the stock footage biz. But that is very odd for someone with no film background to go into, especially the restoration end of things. Well, when you hit the big time and can get a ScanStation you can also sell a manual and DVD series on how to work one. That is the sad thing about open content work. While it is very rewarding to do only as you please, most of the time, there will never be any 'hitting it big' unless you happen to be Prelinger.

Everything has its price Dan. No need to make excuses for the Retroscan. If you have no budget...the Retroscan is the only scanner choice. When I bought mine, I sold my 23 yo Harley 883 for $2600. I put a couple thousand $$ on my maxed our credit card and a lady loaned me the rest. I didn't buy the scanner to make a penny, I bought it to preserve history...cine' history. If I had to scan people's films for $$, I'd hate it. Sure, I will buy an interesting home movie to scan, but I won't scan boring, low end, garbage home movies or movies that do not interest me...even if they offer $$. I won't do it. No time for it. Too much fascinating work I can't get to because of time....and money. Time, money, expertise and space are the limiting factors Dan. Money is stored energy...and with money you can buy all 4.

What does the wet gate do to res? With still scans, wet mounting reduces res.

Macro Photography Lens Tests (coinimaging.com) Here is a massive list of field tests for small lenses that are used for reproduction. Dunno if they are adaptable to cine's scanners, but maybe some are if you need to upgrade your lens.

Now, another thing the scanner company could do is make a discussion forum...like this one. I was on a scanning forum for still photos. They use digital cameras and not scanners for the job. Fantastic little forum. All the free downloads, videos etc. Just amazing what they breast feed you...AMAZING! And what is the company? They sell a cheap piece of software...yet they give you a zillion times more than Lasergraphics would give you in 10 lifetimes. How is this possible??? Tell me Perry. Yet companies making cine' scanners, that only the filthy rich can afford, can give you crap.

Clip of Early Wingsuit & Airplane Stunt Accident : D.D.Teoli Jr. A.C. : Free Download, Borrow, and Streaming : Internet Archive Any of you complainers that say your filmmaking career is not up to snuff...be grateful you don't do this for a living! That early wingsuit is something! I wanted to get into that. But my mentor got splattered all over some rocks with one. I'm too old now and got too much work to do to get splattered.

Some guy online says Lasergraphics is the standard that all other scanners are compared to. Maybe so, dunno. Fanboy Perry may say so, we will have to see what more levelheaded Robert has to say. As far as I'm concerned...Lasergraphics stinks with customer service. I've written about the issues extensively here. No time to keep beating a dead horse. (Perry) And in the big picture, even if Lasergraphics is the best scanner in the world...you have to be able to afford one and you have to pay them money to answer their emails. But why do you need all those machines? Can't you get happy with just one scanner? In the photography world we got 'camera fondlers.' They like collecting cameras and fingering them rather than actually taking photos. I hope you don't end up like that. ...well gotta go and do some work. Hope to be back soon to catch up. Thanks to all the members who replied here!

Too bad someone in the USA doesn't put it altogether in an 'affordable' package Robert. A company that actually answers their emails.

The gates on the RS? Well, they are nothing but film supports. I need warped film gates for many of my films. Something that can hold warped film half-ass flat.

I inquired about bringing the RS up to 4K with the maker. They had no interest. There was also some confusion of what 4k meant. I'm thinking a 4K 35mm scanner in size and he was talking about a 4K 16mm scanner. (I guess?) I don't know what it all means. I prefer rating sensors in mp's like it is done in cameras. If you got a 10mp sensor there is no debate or confusion about using it for 35mm or 16mm...it was all scanned with a 10mp sensor. I don't care about the 4k for the RS anymore. It is good for what it is, but as I said I need more features than just 4K for my Archive.

A problem for me with the Retroscan is warped film and clear edge film. The laser lightpin gate addition didn't work for me with warped film. It worked worse than the original system. So, it is a waste for me. You can only do so much with the Retroscan. But for the low budgeted film scanner, it is a good value.

I got a few minutes so will try to catch up a little on this old thread I started. Since I got ADD...I will start from the rear end! If I never answer someone it is not that I'm a snob or anything. I just got no time and get overloaded with work. If you ever demand a reply and I don't give it, feel free to write me direct. That is impressive what you did with your Retroscan. You should put up some photos of the mods. I got the Retroscan Universal scanner. It is not their latest model. The FF HDS+ looks like a beauty. It is 'almost' affordable. Film Fabriek Cine' Film Scanner D.D.Teoli Jr. A.C. : D.D.Teoli Jr. A.C. : Free Download, Borrow, and Streaming : Internet Archive But I read a few things here that make me leery. I think Tyler had said he had issues with getting it to work out of the box and had issues with the lens or something that was producing somewhat sleepy images. Another member wrote about issue with the optical sound reader not producing good sound. Have you had any problems like this? Sound is a big deal for me. Maybe 40% of the Archive is sound and I don't want to be bothered with AEO Light. AEO Light is nice, if that is all you got, but I don't have the time to screw around with all these films. I need so scan, capture sound at the same time and move on. As far as your discussion of 'support' for your mods? Make a DVD of all aspects of it like I mentioned to Perry in a previous post in another thread. Breast feed it to the customers with a DVD/s. Start a discussion group to let them figure out things somewhat on their own and once a week or every few days visit it and put in your two cents. For the price the old Retroscan is a good value. (No experience with the new model.) But it lacks feature I need with my Archival work. So, I need to upgrade. And yes, the lens adjustment gears are something with the Retroscan. I hate having to move them. Too bad Arca-Swiss didn't make them. For me, I need a scanner with 16mm optical sound, warped film handling, steady image capture, 4K, reliable, affordable and easy to use. I've had no issue with the light of the Retroscan. Maybe just a film or two. My usual exposure is f5.6 with light about 3/4. For some films I needed f4 with full light. But they were horribly exposed films. Homemade 'humidor' 16mm film cans DDTJRAC

Thanks Robert. That is pretty impressive. I guess that is why it is so $$. I don't recall, but I think I read here you gave a price for wet gate equipment and the cost was staggering for the big boy scanners. What about these somewhat inexpensive scanner's wet gate, like the FilmFabriek? Do they have this same setup where the film gets dry before the take-up reel? And what sort of chemical are companies using for wet gate? Does it affect archival stability of film? Color? Dye transfer?

You could buy one at B&H and have a selection to choose from. Of course, Perry will say this is not based on any kind of reality. (And he would be pretty much correct.) blackmagic design cintel scanner | B&H Photo Video (bhphotovideo.com) If scanners were more mainstream, you could go to B&H and pick up what you need. You want sound...boom...B&H for $3500. Now all they need for the capstan driven Cintel, to make it suitable for the archivist, is a warped film gate and a better sensor (as people have told me here.) Another issue is all these items are special order and non-refundable. So, you have to be careful about not adding to the paperweight collection. I wonder why FilmFabriek has not approached B&H about selling their scanner? It is small and a suitable addition to their family. Especially their 8mm scanner. From reading FF's site, they had some issues with getting electronic parts, but they said they are back in action. I don't have a lot of 8mm to scan, maybe 300 - 400 reels. I hate 8mm. 16mm is bad enough quality, but 8mm is really bad. (Of course, I'm talking archival material and especially the old multi-gen stag films.) I had another 400 8mm reels in the Archive but got rid of them. Too low I.Q to waste time on. I've got bigger fish to fry...

Some photos NSFW Some of these old catalogs are stupendous in cost. Take this 1960 Holubar... I bid $37.63 for it, that was all I could afford. Well, someone has got some dough. Maybe a rich Silicon Valley engineer or crypto miner bought it? And in the big picture, I don't need the catalog. I'm not a collector. I can get by just fine with 600 dpi scans of it. Yes, lots of time capsule stuff in the old catalogs. This is dummy cell was hi-tech back then... Look at these snowshoes! Some companies sold 'sew at home' kits. Wow! Look at that mom! She was not pierced and tattooed like the gals we got nowadays. What a freak. ...and then we come to Warmlite! (He was the aforementioned nudist enthusiast.) NSFW GD, can you imagine if Lasergraphics made catalogs like that! I only have one original Warmlite catalog in the Archive. These are all PDF's scans someone else made. They have a special collections library in UT with a massive collection of outdoors catalogs...2700 or so. I only have maybe 300 or so catalogs. (A big chunk of it digital.) I wrote them asking if they had any PDF's to share with me. They said they are just trying to scan the covers only and not the contents. (I thought to myself, what a GD mess for an Archive. They have a messily 2700 catalogs and can't even scan the covers. I routinely scan 25,000 - 40,000 pages a year.) They asked if I could donate some $$ to sponsor scans. I told them I could scan 10 to 15 catalogs for free each month as an ongoing donation until the project is completed; as long as the material is shared with my Archive. They never wrote back. Well, Spring is coming...plan to get outdoors this summer and ground with the earth...with no insulation!

Perry, you poo-poo any idea that does not emanate from within Perry. That is what ego does. Divorce the ego and be free Perry. Let the person, place or thing tell you...don't let Perry's ego tell you. If you don't broaden your horizons Perry, you will be pigeonholed into the little world of Perry and dismiss potential successes before even trying. Here Perry, read this old post. It illustrates how you can fail before even trying. NSFW Don’t quit before you even start…work blind! – Daniel D. Teoli Jr. (wordpress.com) Also pay attention to the audio link there from artist Romare Bearden on being able to dream. If the scanner companies are too cheap to include DVD's, they should make a series of download instructional videos for their scanners Perry. Reality is...there is nothing holding a company back financially from doing it. All that is involved is...to do it. Take this example Perry. 10 years ago I bought a gal a #10 kettlebell for a present. I think it was $16.95. It came with a workout and instructional 40 min DVD. A good DVD too. Now, if a $16.95 Kettlebell can have a DVD...what can't a $150,000 Lasergraphics scanner have a few GD download videos Perry? And let's say Lasergraphics is just too greedy and can't do it. OK, charge $295 for the instructional PDF and video downloads. Would that fly in the gospel according to Perry? As I said Perry, it would be a great sales tool for any scanner company to come clean with everything related to the scanner before the sale as Retroscan has done. It helps potential customers make a more informed decision as well as helps the owner operate the machine to its full potential.

OK, thanks for the explanation.

That is for the tinkerers AAPO. Someone that has a talent for it. Plus much of my film is warped like hell or has blown sprockets. Click on it...and keep clicking to magnify Now, the section I showed above of the broken film...I just cut it out and splice around it. Same thing if I get a few inches of film with terrible glue on it from melted tape. I just cut it out. I got bad lungs and don't need more crap to breath. If I can clean it with Filmrenew or Edwall, fine. But if it needs the hardcore cleaners my lungs say NO! I abused the lungs enough with 30+ years of being in the darkroom. I deal with a huge, huge amount of archival material as well as my own, neglected photography; plus audio and VHS video. So, I can't do it all and just make do best I can AAPO. Now, if it is something super rare, then I will attempt some perf tape repairs on it. Now a proper archivist leaves it all in AAPO, burn holes, rips, everything. But they have big budgets and eager beaver lackey interns to do the grunt work. ...I'm my own lackey intern! Well, gotta go. I will try to catch up when I can. And thanks for everyone's replies! I look forward to reading some more of Perry's excuses as to why scanner companies are entitled to rape their customers.

Sure Don, as you outlined, would not make sense to do it yourself. As I replied previously, I got over a million feet of film and some of the material commercial scanners won't touch. And in the big picture I like doing things myself if possible. But if rich...I agree...let someone else do it if you can. This is just a fraction of the films I gotta scan Don... Eventually this will be for films titled from 'M to T' (I'm hoping they fit in this space.) For my own filmmaking I'm all digital Don. I only work with cine' film for archival work or for my personal still film work before I moved to digital.

Hey, it pays for itself with your side gig. Good for you! That is better than running an open content Archive with no funding. Although, I only work on what want to. (Maybe not 100% of the time, but the majority of the time.) Sometimes I need to work on peripheral material I don't like to round things out with a project. If I shot film and produced a few reels a year, then commercial scanning would be the deal. But, even if I was rich and could pay half a million $$ for basic commercial scans; there are some films, such as vintage bestiality films, that commercials scanners wont scan. So, you are still stuck scanning them. And to get proper scans you need the TIFF files as well as the video. And the scans need to be timed instead of best light scans with most vintage and home material. It all that adds up.

I said Perry at the opening this was about how a scanner should be built. It outlined basic things I wanted in a scanner. The basics of not giving out a proper manual seems to sum up Lasergraphics to a proverbial T. They want the support $$ they want the service call $$ Perry. One would think you work for Lasergraphics with your defense of the indefensible Perry. If Retroscan can give you a detailed PDF manual on a $6,000 scanner and an equally detailed manual on the $200 software, then why can Lasergraphics do it for a $150,000 scanner Perry? How is that possible Perry? Is Retroscan not based in reality Perry? No Perry, my wants would be easily doable by any company that wanted to implement them. As I said, if they don't want to make a handheld scanner for trouble shooting, then diagnostic software would not be a big deal at all. It is only in your mind Perry that these things are ridiculous. Nothing I proposed is out of line to implement.