Super 8 transfer

K

kookooframe

Well-known member
I'm attempting to transfer old Super 8 film footage onto 60iHDV with my XH A1. So far the best results have been when I project the film onto a piece of light gray bond paper (to cut down on flash) and shoot it in auto mode with manual focus. I have a variable speed projector (old Bell&Howell 458) to help eliminate flicker. The results have been okay, but it seems to me they would be much better if I could somehow eliminate the slow pulse caused by light variation in the projected image (see http://www.vimeo.com/3244958) The projected film itself doesn't seem to have this pulse, only the footage of it that I shoot with the Canon.

Any suggestions? Does this seem like a flicker problem, pure and simple? Might I try something with exposure settings on the A1 to address this? I tried turning off auto gain and using various gain settings but that didn't help.

Of course I could always send the film to a transfer house but where would the fun be in that!
 
Speed Change Process

Speed Change Process

So it is playing at 18 fps and you are recording it at a different speed which then would need to be processed to 18 fps. If you can process this speed change, it should remove the flicker. I'll ask someone else to verify this. I work with film transfering, but I'm not the expert yet.
 
I would say it's more "pulsing" than flicker. Try shooting at 18fps then converting that to 24fps.
This may not work if you are not using a crystal sync projector, as it may drift in and out of sync.

Try using a 360 degree shutter on your camera, this would open the lens all the time, and also try at 24p and 30p as well.

Also, try to capture in progressive rather than interlace, that may not be the source of your problem, but should provide a better image.

-J
 
thanks Kris & j. I agree with j that it seems more like pulsing than flicker. I will try the 24 and 30p modes and see what happens. As for 360 degree shutter, could you tell me how I would achieve that on an XH A1? It does seem reasonable that if the lens were open all the time there would be no light pulse.

My old projector drifts in and out of synch, so achieving a perfect 18fps is doubtful. In fact, the whole idea was to have a variable rate so I could move through different gradations of speed to reduce flicker.

I saw one of those Sniper frame by frame film transfer units on eBay for 3K and it sure looked tempting. But no, I'd like to try doing it this way until I win the lottery.
 
That pulsing looks like a combo of auto iris, auto gain, and auto white balance. Look at 3:04..you can see the light in the widshield of the bus change color along with the pulsing.

Set your camera to Manual mode, adjust the iris, turn off auto gain and set it to L. Turn off auto white balance, set the white balance manually. I'm pretty sure your results will be much better.
 
Thanks, I'll try that too. Manual iris may be the key. I did previously turn off auto gain (though not any other auto settings) but could not find a setting that didn't completely lose the darker scenes. Also tried to manual white balance but that only seemed to throw off the hue. Try, try again!

I appreciate the help -- I've almost got something decently watchable -- just have to clear this last hurdle...
 
It takes a little practice to get everything correct in Manual mode, but once you figure it out, you'll never go back to auto.
 
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