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super 8 scan to 2k


Tomasz Kucharski

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Yeah... Bob Festa at NewHat was asking for anyone that could do Super 8mm 2K on the TIG a few weeks back... I don't remember there being a solution.

 

What facility/company do you work for in Sweden? I was there in the Fall on my 3-month quest to find the best film scanner in the world. Stopped in to meet up with the GoldenEye at Image Systems in Linkoping. Beautiful country.

 

-Paul

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I work for my Company, Uppsala Bildteknik: http://www.uppsalabildteknik.com/english/

 

While not being the best filmscanner in the world if compared to scanners that can transfer larger filmformats we use a FlashscanHD that is the best 8mm filmscanner in the world. We mostly transfer old family films to DVD and Blu-ray, but we also receive newly exposed super8 films from around the world (we´ll be sending orders to Greece, UK and Australia today). They are all riding on a special offer we have for newly exposed 8mm films: http://www.uppsalabildteknik.com/english/?page=999

 

You can find testclips from our work online here: http://www.uppsalabildteknik.com/english/?page=112 , both complete musicvideos and clips from films as old as the -30´s.

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Kent -

 

Like the update on your site, looks great and very professional.

 

Paul -

 

Will your new Spirit handle Ultra 16? I know you are a champion of the format... If I remember correctly the Spirit can see the whole film where a Millennium cannot see the sprockets.

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Paul -

 

Will your new Spirit handle Ultra 16? I know you are a champion of the format... If I remember correctly the Spirit can see the whole film where a Millennium cannot see the sprockets.

 

Will...

A Spirit cannot natively see in the sproket area. I have some ideas for mods and work-arounds to be able to transfer Ultra 16mm on a Spirit but this will require further R&D. Will keep you posted.

 

Kent... cool setup. I've taken a look at that the Flashscan before and it looks like a solid machine. I'd like to see a 1080 sensor rather than 720p but for family films to Blu-Ray your clients must very happy. How are you handling color correction? The one-light RGB controls seemed somewhat limiting.

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Thanks! Yes, it is perfect for this specific use, we are very happy with it. We colorcorrect the old familyfilms in two steps, first in the FlashscanHD, and then after the transfer in NLE using MacPro workstations and Color. So we can tweak the often faded/twisted colors on a scene by scene base as it is needed... Then we render out new files to whatever format the client wants. Datafiles that they can edit with their computers, or just finished DVDs and/or Blu-rays.

 

For clients with new films (pro and semipro) we don´t do any colorcorrection in NLE after the transfer, they want to do this themselves to get the "look" they want to achieve.

Edited by Kent Kumpula
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I share the opinion that the 2K scanning is to be used for a 2K-workflow, not to deliver a better image than say a 1080 scan (or maybe, even a 720 scan). I feel that the problem with everybody offering HD-scanning of Super8 is the actual files. I would take a PAL scan over a 2K scan any day of the week if it had a better codec. To be able to use the scans in a professional workflow, we need to get 10-bit LOG DPX (as it is the standard for 16 and 35mm). Intresting about the 16-bit linear for positive - it makes sense not to go with LOG. But what we can not accecpt is any of codecs that clip white point above 1.0. And that involves the usual ProRes files, DV-codecs and so on. I'm unsure of ProRes 4444, can it contain any overbright inofrmation? I doubt it. If we get this, I would be happy with any resolution, as I feel that it would give be a better looking shot in the end anyway.

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  • 2 weeks later...

Hi,

 

I saw that mediacapture in Paris offers a 1080P TC service for super8 (they have got a TCM Debrie Memory machine).

They deliver AVI files on HD for really low prices (less than 1€ for 1 meter as I can see on their last leaflet).

 

http://www.mediacapture.fr/commande/tarifs_gp.pdf

 

Hope it helps

Edited by Damien Dubois
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TCM Debrie Memory machine...

 

I was actually in contact with CTM Debrie long before I purchased the FlashscanHD. They were very difficult to deal with, and they didn´t really understand much about formats, codecs, compression or image quality. I found this extremely shocking, as tthey seem to be a big company and have been in budiness quite long.

 

I was interested in purchasing a unit from them, but wanted them to transfer a testclip for me... It looked horrible, had interlace lines and was compressed to hell. All in all, it took them months upon months, people quit the company, I was referred to new paople. I was quoted a price for buying a unit and then later when I called them and pushed them against a wall with questions... It turned out that they really hadn´t finished the RnD of the unit they wanted me to pay for.

 

Anyway... I waited a few more months, and finally pulled my films back from them. The testclips they again showed me as "good results", as a reference for their unit... looked really bad.

 

I don´t know if it was due to the unit still not being finished, but to me it felt like they had no idea what they were doing. If you are to get a transfer done with a Debrie 8mm HD unit, get a test-transfer before sending them big orders. I can´t get it out of my head that they showed so poor results when trying to sell me a very very expensive unit... Either they don´t have any "eye for quality", or... I don´t know. :blink:

 

Just to make it clear, I am talking about the manufacturer CTM Debrie, not any company offering transfers.

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I was actually in contact with CTM Debrie long before I purchased the FlashscanHD. They were very difficult to deal with, and they didn´t really understand much about formats, codecs, compression or image quality. I found this extremely shocking, as tthey seem to be a big company and have been in budiness quite long.

 

I was interested in purchasing a unit from them, but wanted them to transfer a testclip for me... It looked horrible, had interlace lines and was compressed to hell. All in all, it took them months upon months, people quit the company, I was referred to new paople. I was quoted a price for buying a unit and then later when I called them and pushed them against a wall with questions... It turned out that they really hadn´t finished the RnD of the unit they wanted me to pay for.

 

Anyway... I waited a few more months, and finally pulled my films back from them. The testclips they again showed me as "good results", as a reference for their unit... looked really bad.

 

I don´t know if it was due to the unit still not being finished, but to me it felt like they had no idea what they were doing. If you are to get a transfer done with a Debrie 8mm HD unit, get a test-transfer before sending them big orders. I can´t get it out of my head that they showed so poor results when trying to sell me a very very expensive unit... Either they don´t have any "eye for quality", or... I don´t know. :blink:

 

Just to make it clear, I am talking about the manufacturer CTM Debrie, not any company offering transfers.

 

Thanks for the advice.

I never used their TC service and There is not much videos on their website. I will ask them a demo for their 1080 service. Maybe it's bad, maybe it's just worth its price. The codec infos are not clearly shown and they did not talk about the compression ratio etc on their leaflet. Maybe they do not offer uncompressed file transfer. I will ask them and tell you.

 

Thanks

Edited by Damien Dubois
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I never used their TC service and There is not much videos on their website.

 

I just found one... K40 transferred to 1080P, I guess. But I still think I can see interlace lines, so how can the images be Progressive? The image quality is not something I would boast with. You can find the clip on this webpage: http://www.mediacapture.fr/extrait/lecture.php?type=hd , click on the "Télécharger"-link at the bottom of the webpage.

 

It looks more like a upscaled image to me, or perhaps like a intelaced image that is de-interlaced in a bad way? Look at the roofs in the beginning of the clip, and at the car. I dare anyone to find sharpness and fine details in these images.

 

To have something to compare with, check the dog and the butterfly on these clips: http://www.uppsalabildteknik.com/english/?page=137 (I know, a shameless link to my website... But I can´t stand to see those guys with their crap-clips!)

 

The codec infos are not clearly shown and they did not talk about the compression ratio etc on their leaflet.

 

On the leaflet you linked to they write HDV as the HD-format (but I don´t speak french, so perhaps I am missing some details on the leaflet).

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I just found one... K40 transferred to 1080P, I guess. But I still think I can see interlace lines, so how can the images be Progressive? The image quality is not something I would boast with. You can find the clip on this webpage: http://www.mediacapture.fr/extrait/lecture.php?type=hd , click on the "Télécharger"-link at the bottom of the webpage.

 

It looks more like a upscaled image to me, or perhaps like a intelaced image that is de-interlaced in a bad way? Look at the roofs in the beginning of the clip, and at the car. I dare anyone to find sharpness and fine details in these images.

 

To have something to compare with, check the dog and the butterfly on these clips: http://www.uppsalabildteknik.com/english/?page=137 (I know, a shameless link to my website... But I can´t stand to see those guys with their crap-clips!)

 

 

You're definitly right. It looks like a blown up Pal :) with those bad interlaced lines that make steps on diagonals.

This 1080 has nothing compared to the true progressive scan you gave through you website. So I guess we should stop about my prior suggestion with this store and that we come back to the main topic : TC for super8 in 2K :)

 

Thanks kent

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You're definitly right. It looks like a blown up Pal :) with those bad interlaced lines that make steps on diagonals.

This 1080 has nothing compared to the true progressive scan you gave through you website. So I guess we should stop about my prior suggestion with this store and that we come back to the main topic : TC for super8 in 2K :)

 

Thanks kent

 

Hey Guys... getting the Super 8mm gate for our Spirit installed tomorrow. Will be sure to post some true 1080p scans soon. 2K will come in a few weeks.

 

-Paul

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  • 2 years later...

Also check out www.framediscreet.com.

 

We offer 2k raw data scans. More information on our website as well as some stills.

Created and run by cinematographers.

 

And Paul at cinelicious Is a great guy who also has a top notch setup!

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