Fix Super-8 to DV Transfer

[notacrime]

I sent a couple of hours of super-8 film away to be transferred to AVI files. The shop doing the transfer assured me that I would receive back a frame-by-frame transfer. But what they sent me is a 25 FPS PAL DV file (in an AVI container.) Some kind of blending has been applied to get from the original 18 FPS source to 25 FPS PAL. The film looks OK-ish when played at full speed. But I want the original look of the 18 FPS film and the ability to export frames for printing as stills.

I've been messing around with avisynth and virtualdub trying to undo the blending, but I'm not having much luck. I'm hoping someone can give me some guidance.

Here's an image sequence of six images from the transfer:

http://notacrime.net/media/cine/trimsix0080.jpg
http://notacrime.net/media/cine/trimsix0081.jpg
http://notacrime.net/media/cine/trimsix0082.jpg
http://notacrime.net/media/cine/trimsix0083.jpg
http://notacrime.net/media/cine/trimsix0084.jpg
http://notacrime.net/media/cine/trimsix0085.jpg

This is actually the worst six frame sequence I could find, (I used it in my angry email to them about the quality of the transfer.) The videos all start out with two good frames to every blended frame, and then drift over about 20 frames to one good frame for two obviously blended frames, and then they drift back to the 2 good 1 blended pattern.

I've tried srestore, but it doesn't appear to be recognizing the blended frames - it's actually making it all look worse.

Any advice appreciated!

[rfmmars]

The film was transfered by realtime capture, blended frames are part of that posscess. Only by doing single frame capture like "Video Fred" can you have that type of quality. Cost in the US for that type of transfer is around $150.00 per 50' reel.

The big thing is the lousey color and other things.

Cut out the frames you need and put them in a mount and use a good slide scanner or project and capture with a digital camera.

You can also take a 14 mega pixtal $16.00 Webcam and with a little lens mod, to a excellect capture.

http://cgi.ebay.com/14M-USB-14-MEGA-PIXEL-Webcam-Driverless-PC-Video-Camera_W0QQitemZ220388810169QQcmdZViewItemQQptZPCA_Video_Conferencing_Webcams?hash=item220388810169&_trksid=p3286.c0.m14&_trkparms=72%3A1205|66%3A2|65%3A12|39%3A1|240%3A1308|301%3A1|293%3A1|294%3A50

Richard
photorecall.net

[notacrime]

Thanks.

Yeah, I see now, it looks like crap. Pretty shocking considering how much they charge.

What kind of mod would you suggest for the 14MP webcam capture?

[rfmmars]

Its hard to believe that this device even works but it is excellent, buying 15 more today. Did a demo this morning with a modified unit with what amounts to a 4,200 mm lens for space photography againist a $18,000.00 HD commercial camera and I got the order for a 9 camera array.

The lens that comes with it is said to be German 5 element. At my job sight, I am using 9 of these units to make an Super Ultra Resolution HD camera for high alttiude filming & tracking.

Now for Super 8,

The lens will need an extension tube added for macro photography, so one Super 8 frame will fill the screen.See Videofred's site for details. For just prints you would take the camera apart, cut the 6 leds out, add modified lens, and back light the other side of the film with a VERY VERY LOW LIGHT disfused source, set the software for highest resolution and take a frame grab.

Richard
photorecall.net

[2Bdecided]

The resolution, focus, colour etc are all terrible.

However, it seems each film frame exists as at least one "clean" unblended individual field. Just bob it and grab the ones you want. It's not as-if the loss of resolution by throwing away half the lines is really losing anything from this transfer!

Care to name and shame the transfer company?

Cheers,
David.

[2Bdecided]

P.S. see this page...

http://www.dvdinfinity.com.au/film_to_dvd.htm

..especially "can I get a print from 8mm film" and the hilarious list of people claiming "high quality transfers" while clearing just shooting real time, badly.

(That site isn't a recommendation - I can't find any samples to judge on there (only mediocre stills), and it's a long way from the UK anyway!).

Cheers,
David.

[Terka]

2 rfmmars: can you write more regarding the camera?

[notacrime]

I'm not going to name and shame just yet as I asked them for a full refund. They did tell me that this was a 'frame by frame' transfer, but have since admitted that it wasn't.

It does look like the best solution is DIY. I'm not sure I'm quite up to it right now, though I can certainly manage some stills scanning.

[rfmmars]

2 rfmmars: can you write more regarding the camera?

Tonight I will post pictures of the modified camera, Thanks for asking.

Richard
photorecall.net

[rfmmars]

Tonight I will post pictures of the modified camera, Thanks for asking.

Richard
photorecall.net

Here's the camera disasembled, I used snips to cut away the plastic case. Then cut out the 6 leds. You may want to relocate the caps to the back up the board. It is very important that when all done, the assembly is light tight. The chip is super senesitive to inferred, so no light can come in except from the lens. If you use a different lens, you may have to add an inferred cut filter at the chip.

http://img23.imageshack.us/img23/5601/sensor.th.jpg (http://img23.imageshack.us/my.php?image=sensor.jpg)

http://img19.imageshack.us/img19/5751/assem.th.jpg (http://img19.imageshack.us/my.php?image=assem.jpg)

http://img6.imageshack.us/img6/29/boardmount.th.jpg (http://img6.imageshack.us/my.php?image=boardmount.jpg)

This is the basic layout for either real time capture or for single frame capture.

http://img19.imageshack.us/img19/7779/systempdl.th.jpg (http://img19.imageshack.us/my.php?image=systempdl.jpg)

Have fun building!!!

Richard
photorecall.net