Have digitized 8mm and Super 8 silent films using Wolverine into MP4's with very good results but still have to get my Sound Super 8 digitized.
Many years ago sent them off and not only result poor but worse they cut and spliced them haphazardly. Now resplicing sound segments .
My old Koday projector works but sound dead
Fellow Hoggers, in your experience who does a good job today?
Now do you prefer DVD or MP4 formats or others?
Thank you in advance, a grand pa trying to leave a visual legacy.
Howdy Tote 40.
The subject of capturing video and sound from Super-8 sound films can be a daunting one. There are many services that will do it for you- for a hefty price. Most of them will produce for you a captured video in either a finished DVD or in the MP4 format. My preferred method is MP4 because you have the ultimate versatility to edit the video/audio files as you wish, or make DVDs as you wish.
But if your classic Super-8 sound films are precious to you, or you are on a budget, and you have some time, you might want to set up your own Super-8 transfer system. This consists of a Super-8 sound projector, and a video camcorder, or a digital camera that has Audio Input Port, NOT just an external microphone. In my opinion, the BEST Super-8 Sound projectors were made by Elmo, notably the ST-1200, and the top of the line GS-1200. You mind find these on E-bay, or at consignment stores.
If you fortunate enough to find one of these projectors in good operating condition. You're good to go with the next phase- which is to get a decent AV recording device, either a true video camcorder or a digital camera with, both with audio LINE in input ports. In a nutshell, the process involves connecting the Audio OUT from the projector to the AUDIO IN of the camcorder. This avoids having to go through the noisy Mic In port. Then the next step is the line-up of the projected image in your recording device. This can be tested by lining up the image in your LCD viewfinder.
A final step is avoiding the annoying shutter bar problem with using this process. Normally you would see a rolling shutter bar in the viewfinder, which is very annoying. This has to do with the different frame rates between the projector and the video recording device. It is generally avoided by having the process done by a professional transfer company with the right equipment, or by you if you have access to special telecine transfer projectors which are designed to eliminate the issue. Elmo made such projectors as well.
But even if you can't find such a projector, you still MAY be able to reduce the rolling shutter bar if your camcorder/digital camera has the ability to modify it's shutter speed when recording. Usually choosing a slower shutter speed than the standard 1/30th of a second will help. You just have to experiment to find the right balance.
Perhaps Wolverine might introduce a SOUND version of such a transfer machine, but that remains to be seen.
I know all this experimentation is daunting, but as I said, if you have the time or on a tight budget, you might be able to accomplish it yourself with my suggestions above. Good luck.
Tony
Tonybear:
I think you are correct; I have a very old Kodak ektasound projector; works but no sound. Will try to revive it since keep finding Sound Super8 reels.
If it works has speaker out, with some resistors can drop this to line input in old Digital Camcorder. My D800E does not have line input.
Thank you for ideas.
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