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  • Author Author: Matt
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Modding a Super 8 Camera into a Digital One -- Episode 382

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One mans trash is a makers treasure! Clem found a super8 camera in the trash, and soon realised that the original analogue films and the processing is crazy expensive nowadays. So he creates a drop in replacement for the film cartridge that turns the super8 camera into a digital one! But that is easier said than done!

Clem's Frequently Asked Questions

Why is the image quality so bad compared to modern cameras?

This super 8 camera is 47 years old. The films originally used were very light sensitive (much more than any modern sensor that could fit in there) and even with the correct film home videos filmed in super 8 looked like that. The lens is what determines picture quality for the most part. if you want to see the difference a lens makes check out videos on my personal channel (http://youtube.com/mayermakes) and watch some the oldest and newest videos those were shot with the exact same camera(Nikon D3300) but with different lenses(old: Kit lens f4.5, new Nikkor 35mm prime lens f1.8) and more light. you may understand it better if you see it for yourself.

So the look of the footage I've taken with the Super8 camera is pretty authentic for "1970s home video". that is just how it was when your Parents were young, or even grandparents depending on how old you are.

Couldn't you just remove the lens of the picam and put it directly in place of the film?

No.Tried that in multiple version, but no the focal distance and the sensor width are extremely different, you can only get a blotch of light by doing that+ you can't even get to the exact same plane because of parts that would hold the original film and should not be damaged. 

How did you get it to focus then?

Extended the picam lens to near maximum and found a position that allowed me to get alignment with the shutter by trial and error, focused to UE and pushed back and forth until the image was mostly sharp. this ended up being a position multiple centimetres back which resulted in the need to extend the case.


Why the big case?

See above + I damaged multiple flat flex cables when fitting everything in the tiny version ,with only a day left until deadline i had to make sure that won't happen again + easier to install the buttons.

Will you do another version?

I plan to but It may be  a longer term project with dedicated self developed hardware.

if you would like to see that leave it in the comments below.

Supplemental Images and Links:

-  Episode 382 Resource Files  

-  Super 8 Camera Digitizer -- Episode 505  

{gallery} My Gallery Title

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Bill of Material:

 

Part

Raspberry Pi 3A+

 Raspberry Pi 1 Buy Now

Raspberry Pi Camera

 Raspberry Pi 1 Buy Now
Adafruit powerboost 1000 Adafruit 1 Buy Now
Tactile Switch, B3F Series, Top Actuated, Through Hole, Round Button, 100 gf, 50mA at 24VDC OMRON 1 Buy Now
Signal Relay, 3 VDC, DPDT, 1 A, TQ Series, Through Hole, Non Latching Panasonic 1 Buy Now
METAL FILM RESISTOR, 1KOHM, 500mW, 1% TT Electroniks Welwyn 1 Buy Now
LED, Red, Through Hole, 5mm, 20 mA, 1.8 V, 643 nm MULTICOMP 1 Buy Now
molex Board Connector FFC / FPC Board 1 mm, 15 Contacts, Receptacle, Easy-On 52610, Surface Mount molex 2 Buy Now
molex Premo Flex Jumper FFC / FPC Cable, 14 Core, 1 mm, Same Sided Contacts, 12 ", 305 mm, White molex 1 Buy Now

 

Additional Parts

Product Name

Stranded Wire

Used Super 8 camera

Kodak Super 8 Film cartridge for Size and Position Reference

3D printed Case and Buttons (files are available for download)

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Modding a Super 8 Camera into a Digital One

element14 Presents  |  MAYER MAKES VCP Profile  |  Project Videos

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  • Hi Clem,

     

    My name is Devin L. Hardy, I am a filmmaker/writer living in Los Angeles, CA. My resume consists of stints at 21st Century Fox, Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, and Netflix, just to name a few.

     

    I stumbled onto your Super 8 modding video and I wanted to take you up on my own personal quest to establish a unique visual style using my own Sears 204S Hand Held (see images below).

     

    I saw the following comment on said video, and thought this seemed like a viable idea, what do you think?: "I don't think you'd have to alter the camera. You could take a piece of film from your development debacle and turn it into a belt. You could then use an optical sensor of some kind (akin to how old ball mice worked) to detect when the camera has started moving the film belt."

     

    If you believe using different parts would be better, please let me know with an updated parts list. And please send over how much you charge for labor.

     

    Best,


    ----

    Devin L. Hardy

    Morehouse College '13

    412.689.2763

    www.linkedin.com/in/devinlhardy

     

     

    Best,imageimageimageimageimageimageimageimage

Comment

  • Hi Clem,

     

    My name is Devin L. Hardy, I am a filmmaker/writer living in Los Angeles, CA. My resume consists of stints at 21st Century Fox, Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, and Netflix, just to name a few.

     

    I stumbled onto your Super 8 modding video and I wanted to take you up on my own personal quest to establish a unique visual style using my own Sears 204S Hand Held (see images below).

     

    I saw the following comment on said video, and thought this seemed like a viable idea, what do you think?: "I don't think you'd have to alter the camera. You could take a piece of film from your development debacle and turn it into a belt. You could then use an optical sensor of some kind (akin to how old ball mice worked) to detect when the camera has started moving the film belt."

     

    If you believe using different parts would be better, please let me know with an updated parts list. And please send over how much you charge for labor.

     

    Best,


    ----

    Devin L. Hardy

    Morehouse College '13

    412.689.2763

    www.linkedin.com/in/devinlhardy

     

     

    Best,imageimageimageimageimageimageimageimage

Children
  • in reply to devinlhardy

    Hi Devin,

    thanks fo the interest in the project and the feedback.

    While there is always a solution to triggering the mechanism internally, that needs a lot of testing with masses of cameras to ensure it works on most of them not just one particular camera, judging from the behaviour of manufacturers of that era, it appears that specifications were more taken as suggestions not as binding.
    For example the position requirements differ greatly even between the few models I own, the cartridge accounts for that by exposing a bigger area of film, so it will cover the film no matter if the shutter is higher up or lower. That is something that just can't be easily done with a digital sensor as it would either require a bigger diameter sensor(not fitting into  the formfactor) or a custom developed sensor (not commercially viable for such an extreme niche market). there may be a solution that allow to alter the  position by the user (adjustment screws?).

    I do prototype development for industry and startups, but only for Proof of concept, and intiial prototype stages (no certification stage or market ready product- thats a regulated field for experienced engineers)
    and I restrict it for now to clients in my area ( Austria, European neighbor states) so I can handle it as a one man company.

    So I have to decline, but I put the project on my list for follow up projects in 2021, which means you might find a version on element14presents that fits your needs better.


    Some custom electronics will be needed for sure, but you may have noticed that i've done that for quite some projects over 2020.
    I'd love to provide Kits for all of my better builds but its a long steep trail from a crude frist prototype to a viable kit that filmmakers can productively use.

     

    Hope you can still benefit from the outcome or a second version coming up.
    To justify the further development it would help if you can asses the market potential among filmmakers.

     

    thanks

    Clem