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Super8 to 35mm


Juha Mattila

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Hi there,

 

I have 15 years old super8 Kodachrome 40 films that I need to scan, edit and eventually to make 35mm print.

 

Im wondering how much I should spend on transfer? Transfer whit FlachscanHD would be cheap and the clips I have seen are quite good but considering 35mm blow-up should I have 2K transfer whit professional CCD scanner?

 

Im also considered about high contras of the Kodachrome. Can cheaper alternatives cope whit it?

 

I would appreciate any comments on subject!

 

Best regards,
Juha Mattila

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If you're seriously considering a 35mm blow-up, you need to do this at 2k. HD isn't going to cut it since the actual image size is only about 1440x1080 for Super 8. With a good scanner that has high dynamic range, you can actually pull a surprising amount of detail out of the shadows even with contrasty K40. Anything more than 2k and you're really not gaining anything when the source is Super 8.

 

I can't speak to the Flashscan's abilities, but in looking at scanners before we bought one, I found their scanners to be a little bit too prototype-y, like they're still works in progress.

 

-perry

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Definitely 2K... but if you are really concerned about the contrast of K40, you will likely need a multi-flash system with HDR. I'm not aware of any available for Super 8, only 16mm and larger.

 

You'll probably get the best possible Super 8 2K results from K40 with the LaserGraphics ScanStation like that at Gamma Ray Digital.

 

The Millenium 2K at Pro8mm will probably be good too, but it's quite a bit more expensive and still has a result that has that CRT scan look to it.... I can't tell you what it is... just that it's there.

 

Although I have not worked with them personally, I have seen and heard good things about these guys:

 

http://www.mymovietransfer.com/scanning_process.html

 

I have talked with them quite a bit and they have done serious modifications to their old Rank Turbo systems. They work exclusively with reversal, so they are optimized for those contrasty images. You might find them to be a good option too.

 

Either way, I would advise some test scans to make sure you get the look you are hoping for.

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I used these guys about 5 years ago and found them to be decent for the money, especially if you have a lot of film to transfer. They're not really high-end colorists but the scans were decent. I'm sure they've improved their equipment quite a bit and the main guy was extremely helpful and willing to talk about the project sand scanning in general at length.

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Thank you all for your responses!

I would love to have a optical blow-up but its too expensive for my project. Also Andec told me that 2K might be better option anyhow. That might be true considering this blow-up but i just love the all the way analog process.

 

Thanks Joerg for the link to the Studio Gamma. Its nice to know there are still these kind of places out there.

GammaRayDigital and MyMovieTranfer seems like good places but i don't want to ship my films overseas. I forgot to mention im from Finland. I think i will make a test whit Andecs 2K and see how it looks.

Does anyone know is there any ScanStations in europe?

- Juha

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