Hi!
been lurking around for a while now. I have a bunch (4k feet or so) of super8, and several hundred feet of 8mm that need preserved. I’m way outside the realm of sending things off for professional scanning due to cost. I also like the control and learning to handle things myself…
All that said, it seems the project is between v1 and v2. I’d like to start a build. Any links/help with a design and build guide?
Thanks!
Hi @Jcr159,
A film scanner basically consists of a film transport system, a lighting system and a camera with its corresponding lens, and on the other hand, the software that allows these subsystems to work in a coordinated way to obtain the desired results.
In my opinion, the most complicated part is the construction of the transport system. Building a transport system from scratch requires having a good design and a well-equipped workshop that allows us to carry it out.
In my case, I do not have a workshop. For this reason I decided to build my scanner using an old projector for transporting the film, which I already had at home at my disposal. In my own home and using basic tools, I converted the old projector into a fairly decent film scanner.
In the forum you have other similar examples.
Good luck with building your device.
thanks for the response… assuming I have access to pretty sophisticated 3d printing and machining… but building with an old projector is easier/less work…
how much difference in quality am I getting?
are there “plans” that I can follow step by step to build a transport system? that’s where I got lost between v1 and v2…
The quality of the images obtained would not depend on the transport system.
The difference would be in the capture speed and, above all, in the possibility of capturing multiple formats with the same device designed to capture different formats.
Using a projector, logically, we are limited to capturing only films of the projector format we have chosen.
good points… i’d need a super8 and 8mm at a minimum…
the smaller the film gauge you’re scanning, the harder all of this is. You have to magnify the image much more with 8mm than 16mm or 35mm, and because of that you’re also magnifying any little imperfection in your system. So if there’s jitter in the transport it may not be as noticeable on 16mm as it is with 8mm, which is 4x smaller (so to get the same size output file you’re magnifying it 4x). Also, the small size of the film really makes working with small gauge a lot harder, when working from scratch.
The big problem with using an existing sprocketed playback system (like a projector) as a base for this is that as film ages it shrinks, and projectors can do some serious damage to shrunken film. The sprocket wheels are metal and unforgiving so the higher end scanners are typically sprocketless. But of course, that brings with it a lot of other complications like how you register and count the frames, etc.
Indeed, the main problem with small format scanners is precisely that, the small format.
I have to admit that I was unaware of the phenomenon of the change in film dimensions over time.
High-end scanners certainly move films without using toothed wheels, but I was convinced that they do so to digitize films that even have damaged feed holes.
However, in my case, my film collection is composed almost exclusively of 50-year-old Kodachrome 40 rolls. None of them have damaged feed holes, they retain their colors very well, and after several passes through my self-built scanner, based on a projector made in 1975, none have suffered any noticeable damage.
In my system, frame advance/reverse is done simply by using the projector mechanism, without the need for sensors or detectors of the correct frame position. The stability of the captures is very good despite the small format of the frames.
If you’re looking for a scanner project where you can just collect all the parts and assemble a working scanner complete with software you should check out Torulf’s project Tscann8 . The project is updated frequently and Torulf is quick to respond to emails.
There are lots of great designs shared in the forums. If you want to design your own scanner, you can borrow from their designs. Many have shared portions of their project with the community. I am not aware of another design where everything is available with build instructions. If I’ve missed a comparable project, please let me know. I’m not informed enough to provide a comparison between the different projects or comment on any design choices. Best of luck. When you finish your project, please share your build with the community. It’s interesting to see how people solve the same problem differently.
The Gugusse Roller has a new version, Gugusse Compact, and I believe it’s almost entirely 3D printable. The facebook group is fairly active. I’ve been following it for several years. http://deniscarl.com/
excellent, thanks for the recommendation!
thanks for the recommendation, i remember running across that build a while ago.