Just bought one to use on my grandparents films from 1964-1986. I’m excited to watch the one labeled as my mom’s first birthday back in 1971 haha. Thanks for this
me too, just received the Kodad Reels and digitized a short film with my parents (I wasn't yet an idea in their brain ('74)) ! I really like your TH-cam videos, made with care and passion. Congratulations for your business since 2002 ! (from France)
Thank you for your helpful video! I just opened my new Kodak digitizer and had trouble understanding the instruction book. Your video made is super-clear and I'm digitizing my first Super 8 film reel right now. Thank you so much!
I just received mine today and was up and running within an hour. I have 15 3" super 8 reels to digitize. Also I have a 9" that I spliced together years ago to put to VHS. I will save that for later because of the splices. Otherwise I ran one 3" reel through with no problem. I see that I have to get used to the grainy film--at least the one I digitized. It was shot in lower light. Thanks for the video. I can confirm that it is easy to use. BTW, the Kodak instructions are good!
Thank you for watching! Good to hear that it all worked out for you. Please help support the channel by subscribing if you have not already. Id greatly appreciate it.
They can snag. A problem that seems to be true of all of these home digitizers, at least the ones I know of. It wouldn't hurt to go through the film and remake any weak or lumpy splices before you try running it through one of these. The take-up on them needs improving.
Just got my new Kodak digitizer. Kind of scary loading my first 8mm. 1957. RCMP musical ride. Wow! Thanks for all your help. Some of us learn better from watching than from reading. 😊
Splices can be a problem, as can kinks in the film. A well-made splice (tape or cement) can pass through the gate without issue, but some splices can get hung up in the gate, and either the film stops moving and keeps copying one frame until you stop it, or (worse) the film keeps moving but the take up stops turning (the tansion is weak) and film starts spilling on the floor. In that case , you have to stop the digitizing process, take up the spilled film by hand, and restart at the point you left off-and hope for the best, keeping an eye on it. You will end up with two separate files which you can later merge with editing software. (The Wolverine, and other similar units, has this problem too. Stronger motors would help, but hopefully the manufacturers will upgrade at some future date. Seem to be a lot of complaints about this.)
Thanks for the great review! I used my Wolverine (which wasn't great) to digitize about a dozen 3 inch reels last year, but then I ran across 32 seven inch ones in my dad's other closet a few days ago, so I needed something bigger. I tried an Eyesen, which was so bad that I sent it back the very next day. I just ordered this one, since everything about it is so much better. My only complaint with all of these is the rewind process, but I guess powering the back reel would add to the cost, so it's worth the wait. My dad used his super-8 camera like I use my phone's, so there's a LOT to go through. :)
Hi, just received mine. It works but I would have expected advanced quality options even if this slows down the acquisition: Various MPEG compression levels or even MJPEG...Are you aware of any plan for firmware update with such advanced options ?
WOW, just came across your TH-cam Video - great !!! The only thing it did not answer is the bronze/yellow strip at the bottom of the Kodak films (which means it has sound) - how do you do that to PLAYBACK when you've done the conversion??? BIG frustration for me ! 😞
I have not heard of negative 8mm film. I did a google search and came up with nothing. Negative film that I know of is from pictures such as 35mm slides and photo prints. Back before digital, people shot on 35mm rolls. Took the rolls to a store that developed the film and gave back photo prints along with the negatives. Please make sure to support the channel by subscribing! Thank you for watching and your comment.
The software you use to go from negative to positive needs to have a dedicated setting for a film source. Just using an effect in iMovie or other editing software will give you a blue-tinted result.
Thank you for the review - really appreciated it. I've got 44 x 120m (400 ft) films to digitize. So the questions I've been pondering are: - scan time : how long must i expect one reel to take? - spliced films: how likely does the Kodak handle splicing? - and then finally color quality. Must I wash the films and if so is this something that cna be easily done myself? thanks and greetings from Switzerland
Hello Switzerland!!!! The 400 ft reels take about four hours to digitize and you should keep an eye on it every once in a while to make sure it doesn’t jam from an old splice. The Kodak does handle good splices very well but poor ones will get stuck. For cleaning, I used pec 12 cleaner pec 12 pads which you can find on Amazon. Not sure if you have amazon so try a google search. Cleaning the film will obviously remove the dirt but it will also lube the film to make it run smoother. If you go on eBay, you can find a manual hand machine like the one in this video. th-cam.com/video/7qKXb3mMod4/w-d-xo.htmlsi=om7lMHZkAYZU6dHE or you could get a film viewer to turn the film while cleaning. I also used the Kodak reels machine in the rewind mode like what I did in this video. th-cam.com/video/IOQgKDyN2aY/w-d-xo.html&feature=shareb. Thanks for watching and the great questions. Good luck. Let me know if you have any other questions. Please make sure to subscribe if you have not already.
Thank you ever so much for the wonderful tutorial on the Kodak device that I have been thinking of getting for some time. Given that the output quality is more than satisfactory with such ease of use I am now going to order one from Amazon. It costs just under £400 in the UK. Thanks again!!
I have 2 Wolverines and I have about had it with them. Even the slightest sprocket damage or less than perfect splice causes them to freeze up. The take up reel often quits working resulting in film spilling all over the desk and floor. The 32GB card limit has been a problem for me several times. I've noticed a serious over saturation of the yellows. Something I was really hoping to see with this Kodak unit was the ability to adjust the compression levels. The Wolverine is too highly compressed resulting in a great deal of noise, especially in the shadows. I would happily deal with larger file sizes to get better quality
Unfortunately bad or lumpy splices can affect the Kodak too. Really, this problem seems endemic to these home digitizers. All you can do is stop scanning, take up any spilled film by hand then continue where you left off. You end up with two separate files, parts 1 and 2, which you can then merge with iMovie or whatever editing software you use.
Hey Mark, question. Coming from a Wolverine to a Kodak Reels. Do you know how I restrict the filename from resetting to 0001 ever time I turn off the machine? I scan films in bulk and don't view them immediately after scanning, so I can't have a bunch of 0001 filenames in my hard drive!
That's interesting, my Kodak doesn't reset back to 0001 every time I turn it off, it only resets when I reformat the disk. I just now tried it and didn't have that issue.
@@TheMediaNerdMT Huh. Does this happen when you move the files away from the SD card? I wouldn't expect it to, since the number acts as an odometer of sorts, but mine does for some reason.
@@TheMediaNerdMT Haha, neither does Kodak. They told me to call back Monday to speak to a specialist. I can't find any mention of this online. Thanks for your quick replies!
Thank you for your video! I'm having a very difficult time rewinding. It would be great to have you do a video on how to use the adaptors correctly. I just got the machine yesterday, have an 8mm film on a Super8 reel, so I need the adaptor on the right to rewind. I think they might have sent me the wrong adaptors. It says to only use red on the left and gray on the right, but the gray is the exact same size as the gray on the machine. It's pretty frustrating. I would appreciate any ideas. Thanks!
I never tried it. However, the machine will not capture without an SD card. It does have a USB adaptor port in the back but I do believe that is for just transferring the videos over.
Thank you for the excellent demo and review! How is the image quality of the Kodak Reels MP4s? If a professional photo lab Super 8 conversion is A+ quality, would these Kodak MP4s rate as B, B+, etc.? Thanks again!
Yeah, I would give it a B. The compression on all of these types of machines are ok but not like using a 50k film scanner. There was one really nice scanner out there for about 5k but they no longer make it and it is very hard to come by. If you are just wanting to scan your own and not spend too much, then I would go for the Kodak Reels. Here is a link to Amazon for it. amzn.to/453cDj3 By following the link and making the purchase, you will be helping my channel monetarily which I thank you for!
The sharpness is very good; about as good as you can hope for considering the tiny size of the frames. You will see film grain, but that's part of the experience. I'm less happy with the color rendition. Sometimes it's good, but certain underexposed scenes might come out thin looking.
In your opinion is the Kodak digitizer better than the Wolverine Pro? I get by with the Wolverine only because I redo the scans through software. Fresh from the Wolverine most movies are full of noise.
Over the past few months, I have been using the Kodak. Not too sure there is a significant difference with the scan quality but I do like the interface a lot better. The buttons are bigger, the screen is bigger so I don't have to use a monitor and I can see the thumbnails of the film after the scan instead of just numbers. Plus, I think that it runs the film smoother. I don't have as many catchups like the wolverine. Finally, I don't have to readjust the image every time I put a new reel in.
Very interesting and comprehensive presentation. Thank You! The Super 8 Sound film, with its nostalgic grain and vintage charm, holds cherished memories for many, . But what about the sound? When recording, my vintage camera simultaneously captures both the visual frames and the audio signal. How does it find its way back to our ears by digitizing it?
These machines only do silent film. There are other methods of transferring super8 with sound. You can check out my video on transferring 16mm with sound. It is the same process for me. Others may have different methods and machines.
@@TheMediaNerdMT I know. But nearly all the important elements are basically there… and it makes sense to be able to play it and decide which parts of a reel you want to copy. If Apple made them, they’d make it do that.
I do video digitizing and I was wondering how you deal with liability of damaging people's film? Sometimes film is brittle and of course you need people to acknowledge the potential loss of footage due to its condition or age.
Great question! I haven't really had to have too many conversations about this topic. Most people understand that the film could be brittle from age. I do examine some of the film while I am with the client to check out the condition. Also, if I do have to cut out some small sections when it breaks, and I have to splice, the truth is, the client has know idea what is on the film in the first place to know what has been taken out. They are just happy that most of it has been recovered. Thank you very much for watching and make sure to hit that subscribe button!
@TheMediaNerdMT I've converted a vhs once that was completely white from mold. I cleaned it and ran it through, but it made me think. Man this is a wedding film what if I get that one unreasonable person who expected me to fix their tattered original film
This is why you inspect the media first while the client is there or if you find a tape that is damaged, you call them immediately prior to the transfer and let them know. Last week, I had a VHS tape that was covered with mildew. I didn't even bother with it and called them to let them know that I would not try and even transfer it because the chances of ruining my VCR was not worth the risk. Thanks for all the comments! Love it if you would subscribe!
I just bought a similar digitizer, I did not realize it will not capture sound off the 8mm. Is that even possible, as I’ve found old films from the 80’s , also have the old projector as well from my Grandmother, but it seems to jam the film up when loading. Be sure nice to get the sound.
These types of machines do not have sound capabilities. You need to have someone with a sound projector and proper setup to do it. I have a video on how to transfer 16mm film which would be the same setup.
Sorry to hear that. There wasn't protective plastic that you might have missed unpackaging? Did you try multiple reels? Did you do a factory reset? If it doesn't work, send it back for a new one.
Hey Mark, I am a novice when it comes to projector film. I recently inherited a box of 8mm reels, and sadly most of it is damaged. The majority of them have just a few notches missing. Is that something that needs to be fixed/taped before using any of these digitizers?
You can still digitize them but it will stop once it hits the missing notches. At that point, you can stop the transfer, pull the film through until you get a clean run of notches. After that, you will need to edit the video together because it will become separate files. OR, you can cut out the missing notches and splice the film together using the appropriate splicing tape. You can find splicing tape on amazon. 8mm and super 8mm are different so you will have to make sure to purchase the correct tape for the film.
By "notches" you must mean perforations. Sometimes old films will come with torn perforations from being badly run. If the problem is really bad, you can try winding it to the end and running it through the digitizer backwards. then using editing software, to correct the result (it will be upside-down and backwards).
Thanks Mark!! My brother is using this tool to transfer our dozens of 8mm film reels from the 1950's, 60's and 70's. Can you recommend a free video editing software? Thanks again!
I have put over 2 hours of film in a 32 gb card and most likely could put a lot more. Transfer the card to your computer. You can then erase the card once you back it up if you want to.
The Kodak rails machine is very easy to use. I love the buttons on top of the big screen but I'm on real number 5 and this one is showing the image upside down?? I've tried turning the wheel around the film around it just still is always upside down. Will it come out like that once it's recorded? It's a good quality reel of my grandfather from about 50 years ago
The film was put on the reel upside down or backward. Once you transfer it, you can flip right side up or reverse it in an editing software program. Sometimes this happens.
@@TheMediaNerdMT 24p def looks the best. Now for the speed issue. I've got Super 8 footage which is 18fps on a 24p timeline (encoded at 20 fps). So if I slow the 24p down by 83.333% (24 x .8333 = 20) but it still looks fast. Do you have a recommended % to slow the footage down? Thanks
Sorry, I haven't played with that. I always think that being a little fast gives it that old feel that sort of goes with old movies. For me, it gives it a nostalgic appeal.
Most home movies were shot at either 16 or 18 frames per second. I found that the slightly faster 20 fps is not objectionable for silent films. For the exceptions, like a film that was meant to be synced to a recording, I'm still looking for an easy fix. The iMovie software I use can only slow down a picture to 50% speed, or multiples of that. Way too slow. I would like to find something that you could set to any speed and still give a smooth result. You can play back a file on the VLC player, which lets you choose from a lot of different percentages, then do a screen capture that will play at the speed you chose. But that's a pain.
You can't fast forward once the film is clamped in the gate. Too much tension. If you are part-way through a reel and want to skip to a later section, you have to take it out of the gate before fast forwarding.
Hi Mark, I am using the Kodak Reels to digitize some old 8mm and Super 8 film. However, the film is advancing quite slowly in capture mode. Any idea what might be causing that. Basically it take one frame several minutes ot advance. As opposed to each frame advancing relatively quickly. Thanks!
The take-up spool does work well for the most part. I have had issues with all of the different brands with the take-up reels after a period of time. The latest issue I had with the Kodak after a lot of use is the take-up reel started pulling hard on the film making it jump. However, like I said, this has happened with the other brands (like Wolverine) that I have used. It is what it is. Overall, I still think that Kodak is a great choice and they do have a 1 year manufacture warranty.
@@TheMediaNerdMT Thanks for your prompt reply. A few years back, I bought a Winait and had the same issues, not to mention that it is quite a low resolution compared to the Kodak. I had to rig up an old projector to do the take-up. Just one more question, For the size of any of the reels (3", 5", 7" or 9"), what is the output size of the mp4 file?.
I am sorry but I do not know the size output off hand. A 32 GB flash card by sandisk or sony will work just fine and will be large enough to hold a ton of files.@@jayvadgama5663
I saw that as well. The other videos that are with a Z seem to be older than mine. My video is fairly recent so there must have been an upgrade or two along with the name change. Plus, some of the videos had pretty bad reviews for the "Reelz" model. Thanks so much for your question! Please make sure to support the channel by subscribing.
Thanks for the reply. Yes, subscribed 😊 Another question: I don't get the resolution: It's 3280x2464 but then the specs also say the native resolution is 1296p??? That's 1728x1296 I don't get it. Native resolution is the same as sensor resolution so how can this be different?
About 30 minutes for a three inch reel (50 feet), 2 hours for a 5 inch ( 200 feet)and about 4 for an 8 inch reel (400 feet). Make sure to hit that subscribe button if you haven’t already!!!
You are absolutely right! I didn't see those. Bad oversight on my part! Can't change the video now unfortunately. Thank you. Please subscribe to my channel if you would!
Do you notice any difference in the actual capture quality between this machine and the wolverine? Although, the Kodak has higher specs, I have read reviews that surmised there is no discernible quality difference in the end result .
@@TheMediaNerdMT Thank you. I think this would be of great interest. Please include regular 8mm which I believe would highlight the difference between the two. I notice the Wolverine quality drops with regular 8mm .
hello Mr Mark. Seeing your KODAK 8mm and Super 8 Film Digitizer working so well is quite a sight. .I have a similar model SOMIKON,,it gave me a lot of problems. The film freezes constantly.If I was sure that your KODAK works without problems I would buy it.Anyway, thanks for the great product review.👍👍🙏
Thank you so much for watching! I have used the Kodak now for a few months with 50 ft and 400 ft reels. So far, it works really well. Please help support my channel by subscribing! I would greatly appreciate it.
This one will freeze too if it encounters bad splices, either tape or cement. It might just get stuck on one frame, copying it over and over until you stop it. Worse, the takeup reel may stop taking up, spilling film on the floor (or if you're careful, into a clean cardboard box situated strategically). They really need to deal with this in the next model.
Hi Mark. Thank you for the video. about the Kodak 8mm digitizer. It was a big help since I was a bit scared too like some other people said they were to tackle it. When I tried it after watching your video, all went well as far as the operation went but the picture is out of focus. 😯😕 Who would want to look at something like that. I was going to send it back but because I've had it over 30 days, Amazon won't let me send it back for a refund. So because of my stupidity of not checking it before then, I'm stuck with a $300 worthless piece of junk. 😢 And I'm a low income senior. I wonder why it would be like that on mine but not on other peoples. 😕
UPDATE/CORRECTION: I must not have had the film under ALL FOUR little (and I do mean little) pins and THAT was why it was out of focus but it's doing just fine now. But, gee, it sure is hard to see and to try to hold a light on it while getting the film under all 4 pins and keeping them there till the lid is closed. Whew! 😬
@@TheMediaNerdMT : They certainly are, especially for someone who doesn't have super eyesight. Mine is pretty good for being 79 years old but on that thing i had to try to hold a flashlight while putting the film under those pins 😐 but I finally managed to do it.
Three points there are four plastic tabs in the gate, not two, and it's important that the film is threaded beneath all four before you close the top part, otherwise it won't lie flat and the result will be out of focus. Ir's kind of fiddly to do it right but with practice you can get it by feel. Also, if you're switching between standard and super 8 films, you have to reset the Frame Adjustment so the entire frame is captured since the different formats have different size frames. Finally, you should always clean the light source (the white rectangle in the gate) either with the brush they provide or with a shot of canned air. That's because bits of dirt tend to fall off the film and accumulate, and can show up as dark blobs on the picture.
Normal 8mm film you thread with the perforations facing you; this does it the opposite for reasons I don't quite get but were probably decided on for good reason.
Just bought one to use on my grandparents films from 1964-1986. I’m excited to watch the one labeled as my mom’s first birthday back in 1971 haha. Thanks for this
Good luck! That sounds like fun. I enjoy watching old footage of my parents. Thanks for watching!
me too, just received the Kodad Reels and digitized a short film with my parents (I wasn't yet an idea in their brain ('74)) ! I really like your TH-cam videos, made with care and passion. Congratulations for your business since 2002 ! (from France)
Thank you for your helpful video! I just opened my new Kodak digitizer and had trouble understanding the instruction book. Your video made is super-clear and I'm digitizing my first Super 8 film reel right now. Thank you so much!
I am glad I could help!
Just bought the Reels digitizer. This was a great overview! I’m excited to get started.
Hope you enjoy it!
Thanks for such a comprehensive hands on review. Well done Sir!
Thank you very much! Please help support the channel by subscribing. I greatly appreciate it.
thank's mark. you made it so simple to understand. plus, the reels machine is awsum.
Thank you! I’m glad that you enjoyed it! Please make sure to hit that subscribe and like button!
I just received mine today and was up and running within an hour. I have 15 3" super 8 reels to digitize. Also I have a 9" that I spliced together years ago to put to VHS. I will save that for later because of the splices. Otherwise I ran one 3" reel through with no problem. I see that I have to get used to the grainy film--at least the one I digitized. It was shot in lower light. Thanks for the video. I can confirm that it is easy to use. BTW, the Kodak instructions are good!
Thank you for watching! Good to hear that it all worked out for you. Please help support the channel by subscribing if you have not already. Id greatly appreciate it.
How does it handle splices in the film ??
I spliced a lot of ours together also I take a piece of clear tape and just cut it down the middle so it's really narrow
They can snag. A problem that seems to be true of all of these home digitizers, at least the ones I know of. It wouldn't hurt to go through the film and remake any weak or lumpy splices before you try running it through one of these. The take-up on them needs improving.
Just got my new Kodak digitizer. Kind of scary loading my first 8mm. 1957. RCMP musical ride. Wow! Thanks for all your help. Some of us learn better from watching than from reading. 😊
That’s great! Best of luck to you. Enjoy!!!
Splices can be a problem, as can kinks in the film. A well-made splice (tape or cement) can pass through the gate without issue, but some splices can get hung up in the gate, and either the film stops moving and keeps copying one frame until you stop it, or (worse) the film keeps moving but the take up stops turning (the tansion is weak) and film starts spilling on the floor. In that case , you have to stop the digitizing process, take up the spilled film by hand, and restart at the point you left off-and hope for the best, keeping an eye on it. You will end up with two separate files which you can later merge with editing software. (The Wolverine, and other similar units, has this problem too. Stronger motors would help, but hopefully the manufacturers will upgrade at some future date. Seem to be a lot of complaints about this.)
Thanks for the great review! I used my Wolverine (which wasn't great) to digitize about a dozen 3 inch reels last year, but then I ran across 32 seven inch ones in my dad's other closet a few days ago, so I needed something bigger. I tried an Eyesen, which was so bad that I sent it back the very next day. I just ordered this one, since everything about it is so much better. My only complaint with all of these is the rewind process, but I guess powering the back reel would add to the cost, so it's worth the wait. My dad used his super-8 camera like I use my phone's, so there's a LOT to go through. :)
Thank you for your comment! That is a lot to go through.
I had the eyesen one too. For three days. Terrible
Hi, just received mine. It works but I would have expected advanced quality options even if this slows down the acquisition: Various MPEG compression levels or even MJPEG...Are you aware of any plan for firmware update with such advanced options ?
I am not aware of any firmware updates for advanced options. Sorry.
Nah. You shouldn't worry about compression anyway. The granular effect you see is film grain, not digital artefacts. Comes with the territory.
WOW, just came across your TH-cam Video - great !!! The only thing it did not answer is the bronze/yellow strip at the bottom of the Kodak films (which means it has sound) - how do you do that to PLAYBACK when you've done the conversion??? BIG frustration for me ! 😞
Thanks for the comment! I transfer 8mm film with sound using a sound projector, not with this machine.
Thank you for the detailed video. Can this digitise negative film (e.g. Vision 3)?
I have not heard of negative 8mm film. I did a google search and came up with nothing. Negative film that I know of is from pictures such as 35mm slides and photo prints. Back before digital, people shot on 35mm rolls. Took the rolls to a store that developed the film and gave back photo prints along with the negatives. Please make sure to support the channel by subscribing! Thank you for watching and your comment.
You can but need to flip it in post back to a positive a do some color grading but it will work.
The software you use to go from negative to positive needs to have a dedicated setting for a film source. Just using an effect in iMovie or other editing software will give you a blue-tinted result.
Very helpful video even in 2024. Clear and easy to understand.
You're welcome! Thanks for watching!
Thank you for the review - really appreciated it. I've got 44 x 120m (400 ft) films to digitize. So the questions I've been pondering are:
- scan time : how long must i expect one reel to take?
- spliced films: how likely does the Kodak handle splicing?
- and then finally color quality. Must I wash the films and if so is this something that cna be easily done myself?
thanks and greetings from Switzerland
Hello Switzerland!!!! The 400 ft reels take about four hours to digitize and you should keep an eye on it every once in a while to make sure it doesn’t jam from an old splice. The Kodak does handle good splices very well but poor ones will get stuck. For cleaning, I used pec 12 cleaner pec 12 pads which you can find on Amazon. Not sure if you have amazon so try a google search. Cleaning the film will obviously remove the dirt but it will also lube the film to make it run smoother. If you go on eBay, you can find a manual hand machine like the one in this video. th-cam.com/video/7qKXb3mMod4/w-d-xo.htmlsi=om7lMHZkAYZU6dHE or you could get a film viewer to turn the film while cleaning. I also used the Kodak reels machine in the rewind mode like what I did in this video. th-cam.com/video/IOQgKDyN2aY/w-d-xo.html&feature=shareb. Thanks for watching and the great questions. Good luck. Let me know if you have any other questions. Please make sure to subscribe if you have not already.
Excellent video, thank you. Only weird thing is the rewind vs. fast forward. Surely one is the 'opposite' of the other? Doesn't make sense!
It doesn't make sense at all but both do go counter clockwise.
Thank you ever so much for the wonderful tutorial on the Kodak device that I have been thinking of getting for some time. Given that the output quality is more than satisfactory with such ease of use I am now going to order one from Amazon. It costs just under £400 in the UK.
Thanks again!!
You're very welcome!
I have 2 Wolverines and I have about had it with them. Even the slightest sprocket damage or less than perfect splice causes them to freeze up. The take up reel often quits working resulting in film spilling all over the desk and floor. The 32GB card limit has been a problem for me several times. I've noticed a serious over saturation of the yellows. Something I was really hoping to see with this Kodak unit was the ability to adjust the compression levels. The Wolverine is too highly compressed resulting in a great deal of noise, especially in the shadows. I would happily deal with larger file sizes to get better quality
I have found that the Kodak Reels is a bit better all around.
Unfortunately bad or lumpy splices can affect the Kodak too. Really, this problem seems endemic to these home digitizers. All you can do is stop scanning, take up any spilled film by hand then continue where you left off. You end up with two separate files, parts 1 and 2, which you can then merge with iMovie or whatever editing software you use.
Thanks Mark, great quick review! Just got mine and this has me ready to dive in. Post editing tips or videos on your page?....Thanks
Thanks for watching! I’ve been thinking about doing editing tip videos! Please make sure to subscribe if you have not already!
Hi, what about 8mm with audio, does it records with audio. Thats the point I didnt get it. Most of the films my father recorded with microphone.
These types of machines do not have audio transfer capabilities. You would have to find a company like mine that can do that type of tranfer.
What type of sad card is recommended? Thanks
I use a SanDisk Extreme 90MB/S 32 GB which works really well for me. The machine will not read anything over a 32 GB card.
Hey Mark, question. Coming from a Wolverine to a Kodak Reels. Do you know how I restrict the filename from resetting to 0001 ever time I turn off the machine? I scan films in bulk and don't view them immediately after scanning, so I can't have a bunch of 0001 filenames in my hard drive!
That's interesting, my Kodak doesn't reset back to 0001 every time I turn it off, it only resets when I reformat the disk. I just now tried it and didn't have that issue.
@@TheMediaNerdMT Huh. Does this happen when you move the files away from the SD card? I wouldn't expect it to, since the number acts as an odometer of sorts, but mine does for some reason.
I just transferred a reel, copied the reel onto my computer and the did another one and it counted it as 002. Not sure why yours is doing that.
@@TheMediaNerdMT Haha, neither does Kodak. They told me to call back Monday to speak to a specialist. I can't find any mention of this online. Thanks for your quick replies!
Good luck.
Hello Media Nerd, can you please tell me what do you use to clean the film? Thank you.
Pec 12 pads and Pec 12 photographic emulsion. You can find both on Amazon. Thanks for your comment and please subscribe!
@@TheMediaNerdMT already subscribed. Thanks.
Thank you for your video!
I'm having a very difficult time rewinding. It would be great to have you do a video on how to use the adaptors correctly. I just got the machine yesterday, have an 8mm film on a Super8 reel, so I need the adaptor on the right to rewind. I think they might have sent me the wrong adaptors. It says to only use red on the left and gray on the right, but the gray is the exact same size as the gray on the machine. It's pretty frustrating. I would appreciate any ideas. Thanks!
Put the reel on without the adapter
Can the machine save directly to a pc while scanning?
I never tried it. However, the machine will not capture without an SD card. It does have a USB adaptor port in the back but I do believe that is for just transferring the videos over.
No.
Thank you for the excellent demo and review! How is the image quality of the Kodak Reels MP4s? If a professional photo lab Super 8 conversion is A+ quality, would these Kodak MP4s rate as B, B+, etc.? Thanks again!
Yeah, I would give it a B. The compression on all of these types of machines are ok but not like using a 50k film scanner. There was one really nice scanner out there for about 5k but they no longer make it and it is very hard to come by. If you are just wanting to scan your own and not spend too much, then I would go for the Kodak Reels. Here is a link to Amazon for it. amzn.to/453cDj3 By following the link and making the purchase, you will be helping my channel monetarily which I thank you for!
The sharpness is very good; about as good as you can hope for considering the tiny size of the frames. You will see film grain, but that's part of the experience. I'm less happy with the color rendition. Sometimes it's good, but certain underexposed scenes might come out thin looking.
Does this machine do 8 mm negative film?
I don’t see an option for negative film in the settings
In your opinion is the Kodak digitizer better than the Wolverine Pro? I get by with the Wolverine only because I redo the scans through software. Fresh from the Wolverine most movies are full of noise.
Over the past few months, I have been using the Kodak. Not too sure there is a significant difference with the scan quality but I do like the interface a lot better. The buttons are bigger, the screen is bigger so I don't have to use a monitor and I can see the thumbnails of the film after the scan instead of just numbers. Plus, I think that it runs the film smoother. I don't have as many catchups like the wolverine. Finally, I don't have to readjust the image every time I put a new reel in.
@@TheMediaNerdMT Thanks
@dalehammond1704 you are welcome
Rewinding on this machine is slow compared to 8mm projectors.
Very interesting and comprehensive presentation. Thank You!
The Super 8 Sound film, with its nostalgic grain and vintage charm, holds cherished memories for many,
. But what about the sound? When recording, my vintage camera simultaneously captures both the visual frames and the audio signal.
How does it find its way back to our ears by digitizing it?
These machines only do silent film. There are other methods of transferring super8 with sound. You can check out my video on transferring 16mm with sound. It is the same process for me. Others may have different methods and machines.
Everything cool, but still cannot record audio from super8, right?
That is correct. No audio
Please support the channel by subscribing if you have not already. Thanks!
I digitize with sound using the trv s8 and currently experimenting with a DSLR and st1200 sound projector as trv is impossible to find another one
That's the best way to digitalize, if you have a working projector and a space to use it@@ForgetMeNotArchive
Does it play from the reels so that you can choose which parts you want to digitise?
No. It scans frame by frame.
@@TheMediaNerdMT so you can’t just play the reels on it at all? That’s weird.
It’s not a projector.
@@TheMediaNerdMT I know. But nearly all the important elements are basically there… and it makes sense to be able to play it and decide which parts of a reel you want to copy. If Apple made them, they’d make it do that.
You are best off just running the whole film, and being patient. You can edit later on your computer.
Excellent video, thank you so much.
You are welcome! Thank you for watching!
I do video digitizing and I was wondering how you deal with liability of damaging people's film? Sometimes film is brittle and of course you need people to acknowledge the potential loss of footage due to its condition or age.
Great question! I haven't really had to have too many conversations about this topic. Most people understand that the film could be brittle from age. I do examine some of the film while I am with the client to check out the condition. Also, if I do have to cut out some small sections when it breaks, and I have to splice, the truth is, the client has know idea what is on the film in the first place to know what has been taken out. They are just happy that most of it has been recovered. Thank you very much for watching and make sure to hit that subscribe button!
@TheMediaNerdMT I've converted a vhs once that was completely white from mold. I cleaned it and ran it through, but it made me think. Man this is a wedding film what if I get that one unreasonable person who expected me to fix their tattered original film
This is why you inspect the media first while the client is there or if you find a tape that is damaged, you call them immediately prior to the transfer and let them know. Last week, I had a VHS tape that was covered with mildew. I didn't even bother with it and called them to let them know that I would not try and even transfer it because the chances of ruining my VCR was not worth the risk. Thanks for all the comments! Love it if you would subscribe!
I just bought a similar digitizer, I did not realize it will not capture sound off the 8mm. Is that even possible, as I’ve found old films from the 80’s , also have the old projector as well from my Grandmother, but it seems to jam the film up when loading.
Be sure nice to get the sound.
These types of machines do not have sound capabilities. You need to have someone with a sound projector and proper setup to do it. I have a video on how to transfer 16mm film which would be the same setup.
It's possible to save all the frame of a reel in jpg or is possible only in mp4?
The only option is mp4 with this machine.
@TheMediaNerdMT ok
Out of the box, my new Wolverine captured 8mm film very blurry. Any suggestions about the "fixed" focus.
Sorry to hear that. There wasn't protective plastic that you might have missed unpackaging? Did you try multiple reels? Did you do a factory reset? If it doesn't work, send it back for a new one.
Hey Mark, I am a novice when it comes to projector film. I recently inherited a box of 8mm reels, and sadly most of it is damaged. The majority of them have just a few notches missing. Is that something that needs to be fixed/taped before using any of these digitizers?
You can still digitize them but it will stop once it hits the missing notches. At that point, you can stop the transfer, pull the film through until you get a clean run of notches. After that, you will need to edit the video together because it will become separate files. OR, you can cut out the missing notches and splice the film together using the appropriate splicing tape. You can find splicing tape on amazon. 8mm and super 8mm are different so you will have to make sure to purchase the correct tape for the film.
@@TheMediaNerdMT I appreciate your reply very much!
By "notches" you must mean perforations. Sometimes old films will come with torn perforations from being badly run. If the problem is really bad, you can try winding it to the end and running it through the digitizer backwards. then using editing software, to correct the result (it will be upside-down and backwards).
Thanks Mark!! My brother is using this tool to transfer our dozens of 8mm film reels from the 1950's, 60's and 70's. Can you recommend a free video editing software? Thanks again!
If you have a PC, it comes with a free video editor. If you have a Mac it comes with a free editor as well.
Hi, just ordered the Kodak Reel on Amazon, what happens when the SD Card is full, how long a film will fit on the SD Card.
I have put over 2 hours of film in a 32 gb card and most likely could put a lot more. Transfer the card to your computer. You can then erase the card once you back it up if you want to.
Thanks, when you use the USB to PC, does it prompt for a file name...
The Kodak rails machine is very easy to use. I love the buttons on top of the big screen but I'm on real number 5 and this one is showing the image upside down?? I've tried turning the wheel around the film around it just still is always upside down. Will it come out like that once it's recorded? It's a good quality reel of my grandfather from about 50 years ago
The film was put on the reel upside down or backward. Once you transfer it, you can flip right side up or reverse it in an editing software program. Sometimes this happens.
It wasn't rewound by the last user.. Rewind and try again.
With 20fps footage, what is the best frame rate for your editing timeline? I can't seem to find a consensus online. Some insist on 24p, others 60p
I use 24p. It makes the most sense to me. You can always experiment between the two to see which looks best.
@@TheMediaNerdMT 24p def looks the best. Now for the speed issue. I've got Super 8 footage which is 18fps on a 24p timeline (encoded at 20 fps). So if I slow the 24p down by 83.333% (24 x .8333 = 20) but it still looks fast. Do you have a recommended % to slow the footage down? Thanks
Sorry, I haven't played with that. I always think that being a little fast gives it that old feel that sort of goes with old movies. For me, it gives it a nostalgic appeal.
Most home movies were shot at either 16 or 18 frames per second. I found that the slightly faster 20 fps is not objectionable for silent films. For the exceptions, like a film that was meant to be synced to a recording, I'm still looking for an easy fix. The iMovie software I use can only slow down a picture to 50% speed, or multiples of that. Way too slow. I would like to find something that you could set to any speed and still give a smooth result. You can play back a file on the VLC player, which lets you choose from a lot of different percentages, then do a screen capture that will play at the speed you chose. But that's a pain.
Have you tried fast-forwarding with the film loaded through the machine?
When I tried that feature it behaved just like the rewind feature, it went in the same direction. It doesn’t make sense to me.
You can't fast forward once the film is clamped in the gate. Too much tension. If you are part-way through a reel and want to skip to a later section, you have to take it out of the gate before fast forwarding.
What program do you use to edit the films with?
Final Cut X
Hi Mark, I am using the Kodak Reels to digitize some old 8mm and Super 8 film. However, the film is advancing quite slowly in capture mode. Any idea what might be causing that. Basically it take one frame several minutes ot advance. As opposed to each frame advancing relatively quickly. Thanks!
I don’t know why without looking at it. Sorry.
@@TheMediaNerdMT Thank you. It looks like I hadn't threaded the film properly. It's working now!
Question: Does the take-up spool work well? I heard there can be an issue with 'frame jumps', did you find that?
The take-up spool does work well for the most part. I have had issues with all of the different brands with the take-up reels after a period of time. The latest issue I had with the Kodak after a lot of use is the take-up reel started pulling hard on the film making it jump. However, like I said, this has happened with the other brands (like Wolverine) that I have used. It is what it is. Overall, I still think that Kodak is a great choice and they do have a 1 year manufacture warranty.
@@TheMediaNerdMT Thanks for your prompt reply. A few years back, I bought a Winait and had the same issues, not to mention that it is quite a low resolution compared to the Kodak. I had to rig up an old projector to do the take-up. Just one more question, For the size of any of the reels (3", 5", 7" or 9"), what is the output size of the mp4 file?.
I am sorry but I do not know the size output off hand. A 32 GB flash card by sandisk or sony will work just fine and will be large enough to hold a ton of files.@@jayvadgama5663
How does it handle splices in the film ???
So far so good. Much better than the wolverine
@@TheMediaNerdMT Oh, Good ! A friend of mine bought a Wolverine and sent it back after trying to convert his first reel of film :)
Cool. Thanks for watching and commenting. Please make sure to subscribe to help support my channel
@@TheMediaNerdMT I did !!! :)
Thank you sir...
You are most welcome. Thank you for watching!
I see this for sale as Kodak Reels but also as Kodak Reelz.
Is there a difference?
I saw that as well. The other videos that are with a Z seem to be older than mine. My video is fairly recent so there must have been an upgrade or two along with the name change. Plus, some of the videos had pretty bad reviews for the "Reelz" model. Thanks so much for your question! Please make sure to support the channel by subscribing.
Thanks for the reply. Yes, subscribed 😊
Another question:
I don't get the resolution:
It's 3280x2464 but then the specs also say the native resolution is 1296p??? That's 1728x1296
I don't get it. Native resolution is the same as sensor resolution so how can this be different?
How long does it take to digitize a super 8 film?
About 30 minutes for a three inch reel (50 feet), 2 hours for a 5 inch ( 200 feet)and about 4 for an 8 inch reel (400 feet). Make sure to hit that subscribe button if you haven’t already!!!
Don't forget that there are more than the two notches at the back of the film gate, there are two at the front as well either side of the back light.
You are absolutely right! I didn't see those. Bad oversight on my part! Can't change the video now unfortunately. Thank you. Please subscribe to my channel if you would!
@@TheMediaNerdMT Subscribed! Enjoyed your video and started watching a few more of your videos.
Thank you! I subscribed to yours as well. Your 8mm transfers are very nice!
Do you notice any difference in the actual capture quality between this machine and the wolverine? Although, the Kodak has higher specs, I have read reviews that surmised there is no discernible quality difference in the end result .
I am making a couple of videos doing comparison between the two. One will be for black and white film and the other will be for color.
@@TheMediaNerdMT Thank you. I think this would be of great interest. Please include regular 8mm which I believe would highlight the difference between the two. I notice the Wolverine quality drops with regular 8mm .
hello Mr Mark. Seeing your KODAK 8mm and Super 8 Film Digitizer working so well is quite a sight. .I have a similar model SOMIKON,,it gave me a lot of problems. The film freezes constantly.If I was sure that your KODAK works without problems I would buy it.Anyway, thanks for the great product review.👍👍🙏
Thank you so much for watching! I have used the Kodak now for a few months with 50 ft and 400 ft reels. So far, it works really well. Please help support my channel by subscribing! I would greatly appreciate it.
@@TheMediaNerdMT thank you Sir
This one will freeze too if it encounters bad splices, either tape or cement. It might just get stuck on one frame, copying it over and over until you stop it. Worse, the takeup reel may stop taking up, spilling film on the floor (or if you're careful, into a clean cardboard box situated strategically). They really need to deal with this in the next model.
@@pebey I was not wrong .my ideas were very clear .They all have the same problem.We just wasted our money.Thanks Sir .👍
Hi Mark. Thank you for the video. about the Kodak 8mm digitizer. It was a big help since I was a bit scared too like some other people said they were to tackle it. When I tried it after watching your video, all went well as far as the operation went but the picture is out of focus. 😯😕 Who would want to look at something like that. I was going to send it back but because I've had it over 30 days, Amazon won't let me send it back for a refund. So because of my stupidity of not checking it before then, I'm stuck with a $300 worthless piece of junk. 😢 And I'm a low income senior. I wonder why it would be like that on mine but not on other peoples. 😕
UPDATE/CORRECTION: I must not have had the film under ALL FOUR little (and I do mean little) pins and THAT was why it was out of focus but it's doing just fine now. But, gee, it sure is hard to see and to try to hold a light on it while getting the film under all 4 pins and keeping them there till the lid is closed. Whew! 😬
Yeah. Those four little pins are nasty. I think I missed a couple myself!
@@TheMediaNerdMT : They certainly are, especially for someone who doesn't have super eyesight. Mine is pretty good for being 79 years old but on that thing i had to try to hold a flashlight while putting the film under those pins 😐 but I finally managed to do it.
It does take practice. I got pretty good at doing it by feel.
Three points there are four plastic tabs in the gate, not two, and it's important that the film is threaded beneath all four before you close the top part, otherwise it won't lie flat and the result will be out of focus. Ir's kind of fiddly to do it right but with practice you can get it by feel.
Also, if you're switching between standard and super 8 films, you have to reset the Frame Adjustment so the entire frame is captured since the different formats have different size frames.
Finally, you should always clean the light source (the white rectangle in the gate) either with the brush they provide or with a shot of canned air. That's because bits of dirt tend to fall off the film and accumulate, and can show up as dark blobs on the picture.
Thanks!
Great video thanks
Thanks for watching. I’m happy you liked it
I cant download it, computer is to old.
Get yourself a new computer
I find it kind of strange that it works backwards.
It doesn't work backwards.
Normal 8mm film you thread with the perforations facing you; this does it the opposite for reasons I don't quite get but were probably decided on for good reason.
You did not show how was the final result or sample of the captured still or clip ? I am sorry you wasted your time and my time
That’s what the other videos are for.