Sorry to hear this.
Could you try the latest build (shared above in post #660) and see if it makes any difference? The Qp floor is now adjustable and higher than before and could help with the occasional freezes.Hacking the Kodak Reels 8mm Film Digitizer (New Thread)
- Thread starter Mac84
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Could you try the latest build (shared above in post #660) and see if it makes any difference? The Qp floor is now adjustable and higher than before and could help with the occasional freezes.The holy grail, if you can ever wrangle it out of this firmware, would be for it to save frames individually as a raw format. My word that would be awesome for HD ripping every last pixel out of these old films.
Edit: Update for FrenchNum. I'm on the very last large reel tonight, and it's a Sunday tomorrow so I'm planning to pull this thing apart and start soldering some wires to it.
Edit: Update for FrenchNum. I'm on the very last large reel tonight, and it's a Sunday tomorrow so I'm planning to pull this thing apart and start soldering some wires to it.
I've scanned 19 3" super 8 reels using @melw WIP firmware from post #656.
- 13 of those completed successfully.
- 3 times the scanner continued to record frames but would not advance the film. This would happen a minute after starting. I thought it might be a mechanical issue with the claw or sprocket. No damage to the film that I could see. It has started making intermittent, high pitch squeaking noises, which seem to originate from the center of the device.
- 3 times I had the same issue as @danhendleydigital described in post # 657. I got a picture of the most recent time this morning. My 3" reels have around 3500 frames, and that time issue occured around the 2400 frame mark. Qp was 20. All three times, no video was saved. As a note, all setting remained constant, including WB, Gain, and Exp.
I plan to try the new firmware from @melw in post # 660 and continue. Only 187 more reels to go.
*If anyone has advice on how to stop the squeaking it'd be much appreciated.
- 13 of those completed successfully.
- 3 times the scanner continued to record frames but would not advance the film. This would happen a minute after starting. I thought it might be a mechanical issue with the claw or sprocket. No damage to the film that I could see. It has started making intermittent, high pitch squeaking noises, which seem to originate from the center of the device.
- 3 times I had the same issue as @danhendleydigital described in post # 657. I got a picture of the most recent time this morning. My 3" reels have around 3500 frames, and that time issue occured around the 2400 frame mark. Qp was 20. All three times, no video was saved. As a note, all setting remained constant, including WB, Gain, and Exp.
I plan to try the new firmware from @melw in post # 660 and continue. Only 187 more reels to go.
*If anyone has advice on how to stop the squeaking it'd be much appreciated.
Hello Chris, I am about to implement the "lens lowering" you outlined here. I know I will need to cut away a small portion of the case. I have one question. You mentioned "I had to modify the camera cover to fit over the lower hanging lens". I know it contains a small hole that limits what the lens can "see". What exactly did you do to the camera cover? Thank you for leading the charge!I am still in utter admiration for the energy and dedication you all are putting into fabricating a firmware that helps us getting a decent picture quality out of a seemingly unsatisfying consumer product!Thank you for that!
I am currently into the hardware side of things and I tried an el cheapo solution for enhancing the resolution my Kodak is getting with its stock lens.
Simply Because I didn't want to spend another 100 € for a new lens, I thought about just bringing the camera closer to the film strip.
After testing a possible distance, where I still was able to focus, I settled on 12 mm.
Which is about the distance between the screw holes of the camera mount. That way I only had to drill four new holes into the metal plate of the scanning assembly.
View attachment 26612
After remounting the camera and connecting it again (don't worry, the ribbon cable should be long enough), I could measure how much of the plastic case below it I had to cut away. (about 5 - 6 mm)
Finally I had to modify the camera cover to fit over the lower hanging lens.
The result now looks like this (cover removed for illustration purposes
View attachment 26614
View attachment 26615
With everything in place I refocused the stock lens to match the new height.
Compared to the effort I had put in, I am pretty satisfied with the final result, considering both resolution and overall look of the modification.
Here is a comparison of before and after - both in 1600x1200 (max zoomed out)
The effective resolution is now at 1152x864, with a small margin around the actual frame.
View attachment 26618
Here is another screenshot of the capture. Given that the actual movie isn't the highest quality, I am still happy with how it turned out
View attachment 26619
Here's my final summary:
Advantages
- sourcing of a fitting new Lens unnecessary (cost saving)
- absolutely no 3D-Printer or other special tools needed,
just a sharp 4 mm drill, a screwdriver and a knive or a dremel- minimal modification of the case (time saving)
- all can be done within about one hour
- no change of the overall aesthetic of your scanner
- mostly easily revertable, if in the future you should decide to go the full mile (with a new lens)
Disadvantages
- not the full possible resolution of 1600x1200 (only 1152x864)
- the lid of the transport mechanism doesn't open completely
(but still high enough to easily thread the movie through)
I would love to hear your comments about my approach. For me personally it's totally sufficient, especially in connection with the modded firmware and considering the cost and time savings.
Hello everyone!
I’m new to the forum. I just received my Kodak REELS this past Friday and I’m really excited to start modding it! I’ve already ordered the 12mm lens, which should be arriving by the end of next week via FedEx.
My serial number is M2025148BK$$$$$, so based on what I’ve read, I should be using Firmware Revision D.
I’m open to any tips, suggestions, or advice while I wait for the lens to arrive. Greetings to everyone from Puebla, Mexico, and thank you all for the incredible work and dedication you put into this project!
I’m new to the forum. I just received my Kodak REELS this past Friday and I’m really excited to start modding it! I’ve already ordered the 12mm lens, which should be arriving by the end of next week via FedEx.
My serial number is M2025148BK$$$$$, so based on what I’ve read, I should be using Firmware Revision D.
I’m open to any tips, suggestions, or advice while I wait for the lens to arrive. Greetings to everyone from Puebla, Mexico, and thank you all for the incredible work and dedication you put into this project!
One more incremental test build for Type D with diagnostics.
What's new
If you hit a freeze, please take a photo of the frozen screen. The
What's new
Sz: <current>/<max>K— the per-frame encoded size in KB.- Everything else same as before.
If you hit a freeze, please take a photo of the frozen screen. The
Qp: cur/low and Sz: cur/max values (+ the frame count) could reveal whether it's a heavy / abnormal sized frame causing the issue.Attachments
My model: H2825
I've been chugging along trying the new "D" firmware drops without any permanent issues until last week when I had the exact same symptoms as @milek7 in post #641. Same screen with the squished X at the bottom, unit then goes back to the normal record screen but unable to record. I wanted to try everything I could before coming back here but I thought my scanner was finally bricked. I tried reverting to stock "D" then reverting to my last working drop, reformatting with Rufus, full reformat with Windows, but nothing was working and the unit still had the same symptoms.
Good news - I found a solution that worked for mine and hopefully will help milek7 and others. From the unit's main menu, I scrolled over to settings and selected "Erase SD Card" I went back to attempt to record and the unit is now working. Prior to doing this, I hadn't tried other SD cards so I don't know if it was an issue with the card or the unit itself somehow. It seems card related based on the fix but I'm interested in hearing what others have seen.
Thanks again to melw for all the recent tweaks - can't wait to try them.
@Eradicator reported a similar issue in post #581 that happened only with regular 8mm, super 8 was fine. I don't know how he got past it but he seems to be back up and running with the latest drops - maybe he can help?
I finished de 7 inch Super 8 reel then made 2 standar 8 mm films with no issues