My compact DIY Scanner for Super 8 Film

By restricting myself to the usual 15m/50ft spool of "freshly shot" Super 8 film I was able to build a scanner in form of an attachment for a bellows unit. Due to the Zeiss Jena Mikrotar 4,5/45mm the image quaility is excellent. The claw mechanism of a movie camera leads to a very steady image. The whole device consits of re-used material. :)
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Dieser "Miniaturscanner" für Super 8 Filme ist explizit zum digitalisieren von "frisch gefilmten" Aufnahmen gedacht anstatt ganzer Filmarchive. Durch eine Beschränkung auf die übliche Spulengröße von 15 Meter konnte das Gerät so kompakt bleiben, daß es als ein Zusatzteil für ein bestehendes Balgennaheinstellgerät ausgeführt werden konnte. Auch aufwendige Vor- und Nachwickeltrommeln konnten durch den begrenzten Spulendurchmesser entfallen. Das Gerät ist zudem so ausgelegt, daß von der Schichtseite her abphotographiert wird, was zwar seitenverkehrte Bilder ergibt, diese sind aber schärfer als beim Photographieren durch den Schichtträger hindurch. Aufgrund einer anders ausgelegten Andruckplatte konnte darüber hinaus das scannbare Bildfenster bis an die äußersten Kanten der Filmbreite aufgeweitet werden, was in Verbindung mit entsprechenden Kameras zu einer besseren Ausnutzung der Filmfläche führt.

[@bernardphilips3423]

Bonjour une petite machine en 9.5mm avec votre talent ce serait super

[@ralfschmidt3283]

This thing is completely insane!!! Do you have any plans or instructions for building this thing?

[@Ajidirekt]

Well, you are a confirmed engineer! Now you have to create your own super 8 film digitizer and I would be the first buyer! I subscribe to your channel and thank you for the video.

[@Alex-c3o1o]

Hi Hast du zufällig baupläne für den Aufbau, bzw Tipps wie ich es am Besten nachbauen kann oder dir eines abkaufen? LG Alex

[@nicolablasco]

Hello, everything is fantastic and I congratulate you. But I have a question: using a reflex camera after 150k shots, the shutter could be damaged. The repair is too expensive. 150k shots of Super8 frames equals 125 minutes of digitized film. When you get to this amount of shots, do you replace the camera?

[@matthiasmartin1975]

Wow, your footage is about the best i've ever seen transferred, and you are not even using a wet gate. Awesome mechanical engineering.

[@variopancolar6487]

Thank You :)

[@matthiasmartin1975]

​@@variopancolar6487 You are welcome. That footage you appended to the end this video is also the best example i've seen to date to document how super8 was the best looking "video" format until the advent of large sensor digital HD cameras like the sony NEX series. Well shot super8 looks more or less like 720p, but with excellent latitude. It is just depressing that the technology that succeeded super8 (analog SD-video) is utterly unwatchable by today's standards, while super8 still has a strong appeal.

[@uncled39]

Video?​@@matthiasmartin1975

[@uncled39]

That camera isn't going to last long.

[@jblight1718]

Excellent work. I'm in the midst of building an 8mm scanner myself now and I appreciate the thought you've given to each aspect. I'm curious about the light source. Do you know the CRI rating and would you be willing to share what you used?

[@variopancolar6487]

4 SMD LEDs in front of a milk-glass. The RA value is above 90.

[@markbrown1609]

how is your project going? I am trying to make a go of it myself.

[@jblight1718]

@@markbrown1609 I have stopped to regroup. I had everything set up based around a Super8/8mm projector movement with a stepper. I was measuring out the support & drive for the takeup reel, but the more I got into it, the more I felt a smarter approach would be to 3D print the drive sprocket, rollers and effectively the entire film path. The projector movement was too prone to losing its loops and the gate would only allow me to see a masked window of the frame. I want to produce an archival quality digitized record that would allow me to effectively throw away the film in the end if I want to. Also, I have 16mm films that I would like to scan and if 3D printing the film path for 8mm is successful, that will give me the experience to design and print it for 16mm.

[@sergio4754]

adorei este projeto, parabéns. ficou exelente

[@markbrown1609]

great innovation. Wow, I did not know Pentax made the K1000 in the digital version. This was a very popular camera in the film world. Thousands of photojournalism students used this camera in course work.

[@FramesPerSecondAnimation]

Well done, I made a similar machine for 16mm film and must say I would of loved seeing this movie before I started, some really good ideas you have.

[@petepictures]

Only, you will wear out your Pentax like that

[@victorcarlsson1415]

Do you have a blueprint you can send me. ?

[@boywithadolphin]

Must have taken a lot of time to make. Very well made

[@BenjaminRey]

Hola. ¿Donde se pueden comprar esas piezas?

[@madmanmanx]

Would you consider selling one?

[@RogerHyam]

A thing of beauty!

[@MadawaskaObservatory]

quality is really good. no noise. did you remove the noise digitally?

[@variopancolar6487]

There was no noise. It's silent film. 😆

[@ahmadbidmeshki]

Very nice... Can we recording video with camera? instead taking photos frame by frame?

[@variopancolar6487]

No :-D

[@Luudite]

Looks fantastic, great work

[@MrLecvip]

Unbeleivable ingenious!!

[@plexycolor]

Beautiful machine!!!

[@sofiafilmcom]

Sir, the transport plate is from camera or projector? Which model? Danke!

[@variopancolar6487]

AGFA Movexoom MOS

[@sofiafilmcom]

@@variopancolar6487 And what's behind the film? Since camera using cartridge.

[@markbrown1609]

I'm confused, are taking normal single shots of frame in normal photo mode or video mode?

[@variopancolar6487]

Photos.

[@adnan.ak1960]

very good

[@parisplage1957]

Faszinierend, was ein Mensch so für Ideen hat !

[@АндрейЧернышев-х7х]

Здоровская задумка и реализация

[@whoam42a1]

Nice engineering

[@johannes914]

You are a genius. I dream to build such a thing but I don't have your skills. Where does this short focal lens come from? Is this a 8mm camera lens with a c mount? Does the image cover the whole sensor or a small fraction?

[@variopancolar6487]

Thank you! This is a Carl Zeiss Jena Mikrotar 4,5/45mm, exclusively constructed for large reproduction scales (by Dr. Willy Merté in the 1930s by the way). :)

[@johannes914]

@@variopancolar6487 very sharp result.

[@johannes914]

@@variopancolar6487 were those lenses for cameras or microscopes?

[@variopancolar6487]

​@@johannes914 Mainly for cameras, but there were special camera microscopes like the Neophot.

[@matthiasmartin1975]

BTW, you can also mount a 50mm lens the wrong way around (rear element facing the film gate) with a special adapter, that will also give you exteam near focus and the film will fill the frame reasonably well.

[@gcasdorph]

Absolutely Amazing. May I ask from which machine you salvaged the gearbox?

[@variopancolar6487]

What do you mean gearbox?

[@gcasdorph]

@@variopancolar6487 On your website it mentions "scrap parts" especially the film gearbox with high quality d clutch (Or at least what says via Google translate to English :) I assume that's the first piece featured in video with the film gate and gears that advance the film.

[@variopancolar6487]

@@gcasdorph yes. This part is from an Agfa Movexoom 😊

[@gcasdorph]

@@variopancolar6487 Awesome. Thank you! Have been wanting to build a small scanner like this for a while to test the footage from the anamorphic setup on my Beaulieu.

[@variopancolar6487]

@@gcasdorph This device for only 15 metres of film is useful for people who still shoot with 8 mm cameras

[@eterneetee7043]

did you use carl zeiss microscope lens ?

[@variopancolar6487]

A Microtar.

[@JimRobb44]

Brilliant! Thanks for sharing!

[@BenjaminRey]

Hello. Where can you buy these pieces?

[@dummag4126]

poor shutter!!!!!! not the best way

[@blamm5348]

Stop with the annoying added background noise of someone scribbling.