Modding the Kodak Reels 8mm Film Digitizer (Firmware Hack)

Rob_A said:

I've been collecting my thoughts for some comments and queries about the updated firmware and use of the Kodak Reels in general, but this discussion of alternative lenses prompts me to jump in now with a specific question that seems relevant. 0dan0 unhappily reports that "16mm AZ-231622S-MAC hasn't worked, I couldn't get a focus at this short distance". Might it not be possible to achieve focus at a closer distance by adding a supplementary lens? Back in the sixties I used a 1 dioptre "close-up" lens on my Sankyo 8mm camera when shooting animation. Similarly a 2 dioptre supplementary on my 35mm Voigtlander enabled me to copy prints etc. at a shorter distance than the standard (fixed) lens allowed. Granted that we're now considering a MUCH shorter distance than in those cases I suppose that in principle it might be possible to come up with a supplementary that would appropriately reduce the focusing range of the 16mm lens. Others with more knowledge of optics will be better able to calculate the required spec for such a lens, but it seems to me that it might be a feasible solution. Obviously any additional glassware potentially degrades the achievable quality by some margin, but maybe not enough to offset the advantage of an optimised field of view?

This thread has been an invaluable resource while I've been getting to grips with my "Kodak" Reels and I have to express my appreciation of all the contributors, particularly those responsible for the hugely impressive firmware and hardware enhancements. My scanner is as yet unmodified, until I have completed an initial digitisation of my family's 8mm archive (1958-82) but I hope that in due course I'll be able to take advantage of all that voluntary development work.

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Rob_A said:

A small addendum to ThePhage's splendid User's Guide to 0dan0's Enhanced Firmware...
In the FrameRate section I read "8mm film is 16 fps; Super8 film is 18 or 24 fps".
While it is true that the frame rate for standard-8mm cameras was 16fps in the days of spring-driven ("clockwork") motors, with the arrival of battery-power, circa 1961, most manufacturers adopted 18fps as standard. Thus when scanning standard-8mm film the appropriate setting depends on the camera that was used; older film almost certainly 16fps, post-1961 possibly 18fps.

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ThePhage said:

With a Model C on v7.1.1, I started scanning a 7" reel of Super8 film yesterday. Started off going well for about 7 minutes of resulting footage (with no issues on the resulting file). And then I had to stop the capture to re-frame the image. I restarted the capture and it automatically ended after about 17 minutes of resulting footage (the MP4 file is 4.2GB in size). When it ended capture, the scanner's on-screen display'gave me the typical poup message about closing or playing the file. But the scanner seemed to be frozen because it wouldnt' respond to button pushes. I was able to power off the device and the most recent captured file was okay. I am curious if the capture ended because of a 4GB filesize limit. On previous scans of 7" reels (about 9 months ago), my files never exceeded 4GB, even with Mac84's increased bitrate firmware.

Also, I'm sad to report that the entire 17 minute long video had some jitter on the bottom of the image (where I had only previously seen it on the top, when it would occasionally manifest - but that was on a different scanner, with Mac84s firmware). Here's a sample from it:

Still not quite sure what triggers that from happening sometimes, but not other times on the same footage.

Click to expand...

ThePhage said:

With a Model C on v7.1.1, I started scanning a 7" reel of Super8 film yesterday. Started off going well for about 7 minutes of resulting footage (with no issues on the resulting file). And then I had to stop the capture to re-frame the image. I restarted the capture and it automatically ended after about 17 minutes of resulting footage (the MP4 file is 4.2GB in size). When it ended capture, the scanner's on-screen display'gave me the typical poup message about closing or playing the file. But the scanner seemed to be frozen because it wouldnt' respond to button pushes. I was able to power off the device and the most recent captured file was okay. I am curious if the capture ended because of a 4GB filesize limit. On previous scans of 7" reels (about 9 months ago), my files never exceeded 4GB, even with Mac84's increased bitrate firmware.

Also, I'm sad to report that the entire 17 minute long video had some jitter on the bottom of the image (where I had only previously seen it on the top, when it would occasionally manifest - but that was on a different scanner, with Mac84s firmware). Here's a sample from it:

Still not quite sure what triggers that from happening sometimes, but not other times on the same footage.

Click to expand...