A Quick Review of the KODAK REELZ Film Scanner for 8mm and Super 8 Movies

[@RM_VFX]

The "Kedok" unit had the same problem with the takeup reel stopping. I noticed it rubs against the side of the unit, so I pulled it out 1/16 inch after putting it on the spindle, and it doesn't stop any more.

[@chris_758]

Wow. Thank you Motorcar Lamar for making this Kodak Reels vid. We can certainly see the reasons for your frustrations. Glad you could at least like the final results. Obviously it would've been difficult to also be instructional but would'a been nice for us. Have a good day Lamar. Well I just got done enjoying your family movie. I remember getting blinded by those old camera's. Hope you've all been blessed since

[@motorcarlamar]

Thank you so much! I was so disappointed with the Kodak. It has features that I prefer over the other brands but when it doesn't work, it kind of nullifies the advantages.

[@chris_758]

@@motorcarlamar @motorcarlamar Ya I thought the same thing, now I'm looking at maybe buying the Magnasonic. You have a good one

[@ronwilken5219]

I just purchased one, and I found, like you, that the takeup just does not have enough grunt to pull the film through. A solution I found is to exclude the last "peg" in the outlet side of the takeup chain. Mine certainly doesn't like splices. One suggestion I would make is to make sure the arms of the reel supports are fully extended so that the internal belt is as tight as possible. I'm on my third 5" reel (about 2.5 hours worth) and believe me there are a few seventy year old splices in one of those. I'd appreciate a report on the magnasonic when you get it. A major frustration with this machine is the inability to make frame, colour, or sharpness adjustments while it's running and the fact that ANY stopage results in yet another file starting. I'm hoping they can be stitched together on the computer. otherwise, it'll be like looking through a stamp collection. Every now and again, I've heard it twice, this one grinds like a coffee grinder. It doesn't stop and still copies, but it sounds like it's trying to tear its guts apart. For nearly $600 in Canada, I agree with you that Kodak should be able to put their name to a better product. But the Kodak company went the way of the dodos, so I'm sure it's just a licence agreement with whichever Chinese company is churning these out by the thousand. Thanks for your report/rant.

[@G_Machine_Joe]

The issue with the take-up reel is the grey plastic 'sleeve' on the take-up shaft. It's too loose on the shaft and any tension will make it spin on the metal shaft. Poor design. If you take the reel off and do a FFW or RWD, you can actually hold the grey piece and the shaft will continue to spin normally... strong. Hold the end of the shaft and it'll be real tough to get it to stop spinning. The grey adaptor on it needs to be tightened somehow... maybe Super Glue? The sleeve can't be removed unless you take the arm off first.

[@chris_758]

Hey Joe. I'm thinkin that if I had to deal with this issue I'd go ahead & take a heat gun to the adapters & maybe a slight pinch to tighten them on the shafts

[@G_Machine_Joe]

@@chris_758 Good luck. I actually pinned the adaptor to the shaft and it was still a piece of crap. Sent it back and paid a digitizing company instead. Almost same price. 😎

[@ronwilken5219]

​@G_Machine_Joe I thought about that, but I have 56 x 5" reels to do and the one reel we had "professionally" done a few years ago is junk. This one at least, when it does work, produces an acceptable digital product.

[@brianmuhlingBUM]

Other reviews have had similar problems. Sounds to me like some adjustment is required on the take up arm assembly. A real pity because the transfers I have seen on ebay reviews looks fine for a budget transfer machine. 😢

[@motorcarlamar]

Yes, the transfers looked really good. I was so disappointed with the quality.

[@followyourbliss101]

the fact that you had two defective units in a row doesn't say much for the reputation of Kodak - it used to be a standard, now seems from your experience it's just another junker now.

[@lawman2112]

Whats the preferred product for converting 8mm to digital? Is there anything else thats affordable for the consumer?

[@motorcarlamar]

These devices are about all there is for the consumer. There's several brands out there, but they're all the same unit just with different brand names. Pay your money and take your chances. There are companies that you can send your movies to and they will transfer them for you. I have no idea what that would cost though. I bought a Magnasonic after the Kodak and it has been pretty good so far.

[@sunrisesunset7]

What did you end up doing? Are there better options?

[@motorcarlamar]

I returned it and bought a Magnasonic brand scanner. So far is has performed very well. As far as being any better, I think it's just a roll of the dice. You might get a good one or you might get a bad one regardless of the brand.

[@sunrisesunset7]

@@motorcarlamar Wow thanks for the quick response :)

[@Faze2vision]

Thanks for the heads up!

[@stefan.holst65]

Did you return your Kodak Reelz machine?

[@motorcarlamar]

Yes. I returned two.

[@stefan.holst65]

@@motorcarlamar Sad, the same thing broken both times? Any responses from the supplier, Kodak?

[@motorcarlamar]

@@stefan.holst65 I got it through Amazon so I returned the first one for an exchange. The second one went back for a refund. I didn't deal with Kodak at all. I was really looking forward to using the Reelz. It has a 5 inch screen which is double the size of the other brands, which is great for my old eyes. Also, I trusted the Kodak brand. Just Chinese junk like everything else.

[@wheatonna]

@@motorcarlamar Kodak just licenses its name. I doubt that they have anything to do with the design or production. This is late market capitalism.

[@rizzlerazzleuno4733]

As a mechanical engineer that has repaired or redesigned many products, it looks pretty obvious that whatever they are using to drive the take-up reel is failing. I suspect it is a round rubber drive belt like what is used on tape recorders. It would be fun if VWestlife could get one of these and take it apart to analyze what is wrong. He likes to get audio gadgets and open them up to check out the components, both electrical and mechanical. The company that is making these digitizers either has a quality control problem from the maker of the belts, they might have specified the wrong belt requirements, or the folks that assemble this have picked the wrong belt out of the supply bin. I bet that with a little time and effort the factory could cure this problem. This is nowhere as bad as the defective and often dangerous cars that have been produced, but usually now they are recalled to fix the problem. This scanner should be recalled and none sold until the take-up reel works 100%. From reviews I read the other consumer grade movie scanners are no better, so I hope you had good luck if you bought another scanner. They only scan at 720p, if that. PS: If nothing else, this video led me to see your other interesting videos. Thanks. 👍

[@motorcarlamar]

Thanks. I agree 100%. I worked with an ME for several years doing prototype design and construction. I was kind of hoping that Amazon wouldn't allow a return on the second unit so I could take it apart and figure out a fix. This scanner is actually 1080p. One of the brands offers models in both 720p and 1080p, it just depends how much you want to spend. Thank you for watching my videos. I do have some uncommon hobbies.

[@rizzlerazzleuno4733]

@@motorcarlamar Did you buy another brand scanner? Would love to hear further adventures of film scanning. I have at least 50 hours of Reg8 and Super8 that I would like to convert. I did have 25 and 12 min films I made in college scanned by a professional company, but that was quite expensive. If I could get one of these cheap-o gadgets to work I would not mind spending the time to save my old film. Many reg8 films were done by my grandparents in the 50s and 60s. I do have several working projectors and was considering the "shoot it on a screen and record with a 4K video camera" method, but who knows if that is a good route to go. Plus I no longer have a good projection screen. Hope to hear if you had any success with another capture device. Apparently the Kodak is the only one with a larger screen, which is why you said you chose it to start with. There are some other reviews of the Reelz, so I need to watch them. The price at the Zon is the best, other places want $100 more. Yikes.

[@motorcarlamar]

@@rizzlerazzleuno4733 I have not purchased another scanner yet. I'm probably going to get a Magnasonic 1080p. I was hoping it might go on sale during the "Prime Days", but it hasn't come up on sale yet. When I get one, I will definitely be doing a review of it. I will put them on my channel as I get them done.

[@rizzlerazzleuno4733]

@@motorcarlamar Thanks. I was also looking to see if one of these scanners were discounted, but no luck. Good thing is I have had no problems returning defective or problem things to Amazon. So many Amazon reviews are conflicting (and entertaining) that you just gotta try some gizmo for yourself to see if it works. Most recent was a turntable that wobbles. Returned it, the manufacturer sent me another that is just as bad, then told me to keep it as they were trying to improve the product. So woopie I got a free defective turntable. Such a deal. I communicated a lot with the manufacturer, so maybe they will fix their product. Maybe as the supply chain and related issues improve, one of the companies making these scanners will offer a new and improved model. I would pay more for one that is decent. The take-up reel problem is ridiculous. I believe all the models have a video out port so you can view the scanner screen on a TV or monitor with a analog video port. Good luck with the Magnasonic. Looking forward to your review.

[@rizzlerazzleuno4733]

@@motorcarlamar FYI, after watching twenty (seemed like more!) 8mm scanner videos I concluded that the possibly safest choice is the Wolverine Pro, but it is also sold as Eyesen Moviemaker Pro which happens to be at Amazon for $275. Several intelligent reviews found faults with the Magasonic (sold as different brands but the same machine.) One technique that sounds like a decent solution is to not bother with the take-up reel, just let the film drop into a clean box...let gravity do the work. That keeps the transport process equal over the length of the film (torque does not vary because of diameter of film on the take-up reel) Then just carefully manually wind the film back on the supply reel, and is also faster than the rewind by the machine. Eventually I will be uploading some films to KZbin. A $300 machine is not going to equal a $10,000 to $100,000 machine, but at least with effort I can preserve the films I have. There are some pretty wacky YT videos on converting film to digital. One is more about a cute dog that the transfer process. Also, use a larger monitor instead of the tiny screen on the machine. They even supply a video cable. Good luck. I am interested in your progress with this transfer process.

[@ratmadness4858]

you should order the optional Reelz Kicker attachment

[@Repeatingpower7]

What does that do?

[@rizzlerazzleuno4733]

@@Repeatingpower7 I think that is a joke. Rat forgot a humor emoji. 😉🙄

[@stefan.holst65]

Where have you seen this "Reelz kicker"?

[@rizzlerazzleuno4733]

@@stefan.holst65 It was a joke comment by Rat Madness

[@matthew6905]

I hear its hit or miss with this product

[@motorcarlamar]

I certainly agree.

[@LuisGonzalez-dq4bg]

Thank you!

[@ThirdRegentPictures]

I would have more respect for your criticism, if you had the sense not to try to point a bright lamp at the built in screen ,which makes it impossible to get a decent picture of the screen! if you click the arms down the reel will work fine, also dubbing the sound of a printing machine is not fair.

[@motorcarlamar]

There is no dubbed sound. The arms were set in the exact position they are supposed to be. And I'm sorry about any lighting issues you may have, but this is the first time I've ever done this type of video. Thanks for watching though.

[@JeffJasperVO]

@@motorcarlamar No good deed goes unpunished.

[@matthew6905]

Sounds like your mad at him for it being a crap machine