I found a sizable number (25) of 8mm cine films dating back to the late ‘50s. They contain some family memories, so I enquired about having them converted to digital format, but this will cost me well over £300. Has anyone had this done? Any advice? I could try DIY videoing them as they’re projected, but would have to source a working 8mm projector, and the different frame rates may render the results less than satisfactory...
Videoing a projected image is never going to give results other than utterly awful. There's just way too much contrast. A camera with high dynamic range, with contrast reduced in the settings menu (you might need to bump this back up a little selectively in post processing on your PC), will help a little but still I wouldn't bother, if you don't have one were talking many multiples of £300 to buy a suitable camera anyway plus you'd need the right software for post production. Ask the company that is offering to do them for £300+ to provide a comparable sample of 8mm footage that they've converted. Doing this well for 25 films isn't too bad for, presumably, <£400 IMHO.
Yep, not an easy thing to do. My old man had all his on vhs and I burnt them onto dvd's as well and made copies for everyone. Also, you can then add a soundtrack! Lol, we made one up for my folks 50th ann and did a complete storyboard and just downloaded sound fx. Quite fun but time consuming...
Here's my experience. My parents had a load of 8mm reels that I took custody of. Along with the projector. I digitised them all myself but it is time consuming. I projected them onto a neutral background at the smallest size the projector would go to. I recorded them with a Nikon D4 at a middle of the road focal length, can't remember exactly but somewhere between 50mm and 70mm on a full frame camera gives a decent image without any distortion. Digital camera was on manual and fixed ISO to enable full control over the image. Camera was set up as close to the same level as the projector and on a tripod. Had to record in batches as the reel changes take time. Post production was fairly simple and done in Photoshop. Just global adjustments to levels really. No point faffing too much as the original imagery isn't great anyway and didn't want to detract to the feel of the footage. I'd say if you can get them all digitised for 300 to 400 quid I'd get them to do it. It isn't as easy as I've made it sound and a decent camera and lens will cost a bit if you don't have one. I've just uploaded one of the reels to vimeo. No audio, just the projector going in the background. Me in the 70s, not a care in the world. Link:
The other option is on ebay. There are many 8mm to dvd companies/services, change your search parameter to "nearest first" and if one is closest to you, pop over and have a chat with them first, they seem to be charging around £5 for each 50ft?
