I have some Super8 home movies from the late 1960s and early 1970s converted to digital by Ralph Morris and the results were excellent. I do my own video editing and DVD authoring so I just had Ralph capture the film to miniDV tape but he can take it all the way to DVD for you, too. He does all sorts of capturing, scanning, etc. services. Below is his description of the process he uses that he sent to me. Since I didn't want him to do the DVD authoring that part of the service is not discussed.
You can contact Ralph at
rmorris21942@yahoo.com I highly recommend him.
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As you may have read in my post, I clean and lubricate all the film I do.
I use a Sony VX2000 MiniDV (3 chip) for capture, and all my transfers are fully attended, meaning that I monitor and adjust for changes in lighting, white balance, etc. My transfer device is a CineMate 20 from Moviestuff.
I frequently do transfers for people who want to do their own editing. I price by the minute rather than the foot because that is the only way we can both verify the quantity. My price equates to about 10 cents per foot for the transfer itself.
The applicable costs would be as follows:
Clean and Lube - No Charge. This also helps protect your film from mold.
Splicing - $1.50 per splice or repair needed (repairs are sometimes required for torn feed holes, broken old splices, etc. but most film is in pretty good shape. I've transferred film as old as 1940.) I leave some leader between spliced segments to help you ID the sections. If you don't want any leader left, let me know.
Reels and Cans - I splice to new 200 ft plastic reels. They are $3 each
Tape Stock Charges - I use Sony DVM60 tapes exclusively @ $8 each
Transfer Charge - $1.50 per minute.
Shipping and handling - Actual costs plus $5. I strongly recommend sending all materials via UPS/FedEx with a tracking number. I do not return transfers and originals in the same shipment.
Figure 3.5 minutes for a 50 ft reel, 14 minutes for a full 200 ft reel, 28 minutes for a full 7 inch reel.
If you can make a count of each reel size and estimate the percentage fill I can provide a very close estimate to costs, exclusive of repairs.
Thanks for the inquiry. If you have additional questions let me know. By the way, I'm located in Chantilly, VA.
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