8mm And Super 8 Film Appleton

SD Scan

• This SD scan was performed with a SD frame by frame machine. The film is ran through a projector and captured using a camcorder.
• If you compare this to the HD or Pro 2K scan you can see that this SD scan almost looks blurry.
• In addition, you can see the blue color shift. This is very common on both 8mm and Super 8 film.

Pro HD Scan

• This Pro HD Scan (1080 lines) was performed with a HD Professional motion picture film scanner.
• Compared to the SD scan you can see more details in the face and the hands.

Pro 2K Scan

• This Pro 2K Scan (1556 lines) was performed with a professional 2K Datacine machine.
• This example also includes our optional color correction restoration.
• Compared to the Pro HD scan you can see more details and better color and skin tone.

Pro 4K Scan

• This Pro 4K Scan (3112 lines) was performed with a professional 4K Datacine machine.
• This example also includes our optional color correction restoration.
• Most 8mm and Super 8 film will not benefit from a 4K scan. But you can go out to a 4K format like 4K-ProRes. This would allow you to create formats for your 4K/UHD TV.

Film Resolution

Resolution of Film

• Determining resolution of film can be a very complicated and controversial task involving many variables.
• The image to the left is a 2K scan (1556 lines from top to bottom) of 8mm film
• At full frame it looks nice and clear and you don't see a lot of film grain or digital pixilation.

Film Grain

• As you zoom in you can start to see the film grain (looks like little dots or bumps).
• We've highlighted the smallest feature which is on the tip of this person's nose. This is about the size of the film grain.
• Film grain is laid out in a random pattern.
• Film grain is not laid out in a nice, neat pattern like digital pixels in a digital image.

Film Grain vs Digital Pixel

• Here we are zoomed in enough on the 2K scanned image that you can see the digital pixels.
• The red highlighted area is the smallest feature size which is about 1 grain of film.
• In order to achieve a digital image as good as the film you would need to scan the film at 1/2 the size of the film grain or smaller. Here, the 2K scan is just enough to meet this requirement.