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

[0dan0]

No stabilization needed, you just need a locking ring:

My Type C has the 12mm lens at 26mm, so the 8mm lens at 18mm, for a very similar resolution gain.

Compression at a high bit-rate solves most of the image quality issues (with a new lens, or a moved lens.) JPEG is also a compression format, so that will not solve all the issues either. H.264 (the .MP4s) is a just a more modern from of JPEG (very crudely.)

 

[0dan0]

Type B is finally working fully (matching C.)

The upgrade is significant.

 

[eyeidea]

@0dan0 Wow, that looks amazing! Is the Type B v6.2 image sample above with the factory lens?

 

[0dan0]

@0dan0 Wow, that looks amazing! Is the Type B v6.2 image sample above with the factory lens?

This is with the replacement 12mm lens, although it should help the stock lens a tad. As thjakob discovered, you might be able to move the stock lens closer for similar results.

 

[0dan0]

Here is Kodak Vision 3 negative (home developed) through my modified Reels scanner. Not too bad. The white balance was changed to 1,1,1.75 to remove the orange cast of the negative film.

I spent a few hours trying to find the color matrix or some way the invert in the scanner, but that might be unnecessary, as post inversion is easy.

The main issue remaining you can see from the histogram, the negative image is very low contrast. This wouldn't be so much an issue for a professional scanner outputting 10 to 16 bits, but for 8-bit scanner you want a wider histogram. The sensor readout is likely 12-bit (might be 10), so if I can find the black offset, I can get more contrast in 8-bit. Any ideas on where that might be?

 

[ReelyReelPerson]

Hey. I made an account, just to follow the progress of these efforts. It's incredible.

I've already installed 0dan0's latest firmware hack and I can see the benefits immediately, but now I want to improve the lens.

I have these in my cart and I'm ready to check out, but first I'm here to ask for some guidance.

M12 Lens 12mm F2.8

Scorpion Vision M12 Lens with a Focal Length of 12mm, F Number of F2.8 and a format of 2/3" with a resolution of 10MP. The Back Focus is 4.78mm and the HFOV is 35.3°.

shop.scorpion.vision

M12 Extension Rings (5mm)

Add a 5mm spacer between the lens mount and the lens to shorten the working distance or increase magnification.

shop.scorpion.vision

I have removed the cover over the camera, and this is where I'm nervous. I don't know anything about hardware modification. What do I do at this point, and do I need anything else to hold this new lens in place? I don't have access to a 3D Printer.

This thread has very excellent detailed instructions for all the software side of this, maybe it's worth a write-up for the hardware side too!

Thanks!

 

[0dan0]

I have not found an easy solution.

My first unit (Build #1) was extra messy, this used the 5mm extension ring. This first design is more zoomed in, as the sensor board is raised only 6.5mm. While there is less cutting of the back plastic, the 5mm ring that you have is wider than the plastic lens holder, which meant a lot of cutting was involved to the to where the sensor build is screwed. This wasn't easy.

In Build #2 I used a 7mm spacer. https://www.m12lenses.com/7mm-Metal-Extension-Ring-for-M12-Mount-p/pt-erm12-700m.htm (they are cheap). There is no cutting to the mounting, just a bit more plastic is removed from the back case/housing. You can use a Dremel or soldering iron to cut the case, to make room for the higher sensor board -- be careful not to damage the sensor-board ribbon cable. I disconnected the sensor board to limit accidents.

In either design, it is best to add a M12 locking ring. https://www.m12lenses.com/searchresults.asp?search=locking+ring

Both designs used 3D-printed offsets. Build #2 was pretty nice (ReelsSTandOffv6.zip is a STL file) as this print has some adjustability.

Try using https://printathing.com/order/ to order the 3D part.

I printed in ABS plastic. Seems it will cost about $11 ($0.79 for the part, the reset is handling.) I have not used this service, as I print at home.

 

[0dan0]

My latest shoot, scan and edit on youtube, watch in 4K so youtube doesn't destroy it with its own compression:

 

[JSYBen]

Hi there. I've just ordered a new Kodak Reels and was doing some pre-research about whether it was possible to hack the firmware as all the reviews seemed to mention the high compression and lack of settings available. Wasn't expecting to find this gold mine though. Really appreciate all the work that has gone into this. Looking forward to trying out some custom firmware

For those who have dug into the internals of the unit, would you know how the display is connected to the unit? I know some alternative models of this type of unit have a composite out. Is the screen on this unit connected via some kind of digital to analogue converter, or is it a pure digital display? Just wondering if there is any scope at all of hacking some kind of uncompressed video output onto the unit. Wishful thinking perhaps

 

[0dan0]

Hi there. I've just ordered a new Kodak Reels and was doing some pre-research about whether it was possible to hack the firmware as all the reviews seemed to mention the high compression and lack of settings available. Wasn't expecting to find this gold mine though. Really appreciate all the work that has gone into this. Looking forward to trying out some custom firmware

For those who have dug into the internals of the unit, would you know how the display is connected to the unit? I know some alternative models of this type of unit have a composite out. Is the screen on this unit connected via some kind of digital to analogue converter, or is it a pure digital display? Just wondering if there is any scope at all of hacking some kind of uncompressed video output onto the unit. Wishful thinking perhaps

The display is digitally connected, but also at lower resolution. No video feed on this unit.

 

[0dan0]

Bug fix firmware release for Type B & C

I have mostly resolved the frame stability issue, the one I demo'd here

So no new features, just more reliable captures.

Also Type B, the end of reel detection was improved.

It turn out the longer shutter, and lower ISO, for lower noise, was causing the frame start sometimes slightly too late. As this hack is a still good quality improvement, it will not use a shorter shutter before capture, switching to the longer shutters while encoding.

Rescanning now.

New firmware attached.

 

[matead]

Hi. I recently acquired a second hand 8mm reel-to-reel digitiser and when I plugged it in, the unit did not power up. After checking the 12V power supply, it was not outputting any voltage. I then connected the unit to my bench top power supply (12V center positive at 1.5A) and still nothing.

Upon taking the unit apart, a component on the switching regulator circuitry had been destroyed. Possibly from overvoltage as the 12V power supply the unit came with was dead.

Anyway, the chip markings appear to be BNEAF and upon searching on Google, nothing really comes up except for one listing which indicated this chip might be a LSP5523-R8A.

My question is, does anyone else's unit have this same marking on their chip or do schematics for this project exist by any chance?

 

[0dan0]

More work reliably to stabilize the frame. Even the stock FW is flakey sometime, so this is about stock reliability.

Upgrade the auto exposure to be smoother when it needs to change, sometimes on a cut, but to nothing if the histogram is good (90% of the time.)

Firmware v6.4 for Type B and C Reels units.

 

[ThePhage]

View attachment 22164View attachment 22166

More work reliably to stabilize the frame. Even the stock FW is flakey sometime, so this is about stock reliability.

Upgrade the auto exposure to be smoother when it needs to change, sometimes on a cut, but to nothing if the histogram is good (90% of the time.)

Firmware v6.4 for Type B and C Reels units.

These recent updates are phenomenal, 0dan0! Addressing the frame stutter issue is going to be super helpful and a big time-saver. Previously when I got jumpy results, I had to go back and re-scan the full or partial reel and just hope that the next scan somehow avoided the stutter.

As I begin to wrap up a separate project in the next couple of months, I'm starting to think through the re-scan of my family films with the newest firmware (but probably using the stock lens since I don't think I have it in me (skill, time, and money) to swap lenses.

 

[Gewendell]

@0dan0 , think there may be a chance of getting your custom FW mods on the Type A machines, by chance? Anything we can do to help that cause? (incredibly jealous of all those B & C types

 

[0dan0]

@0dan0 , think there may be a chance of getting your custom FW mods on the Type A machines, by chance? Anything we can do to help that cause? (incredibly jealous of all those B & C types

I also have a type A, but it is not working yet. No idea why.

 

[eyeidea]

My latest shoot, scan and edit on youtube, watch in 4K so youtube doesn't destroy it with its own compression:

@0dan0 your results look amazing! Cannot wait to try FW6.4 and make some more tweaks that you have outlined.
THNAK YOU!

 

[0dan0]

New minor discovery, I found how to set the time and date (other every time via the shell - smrec st 2025/7/12 12:23:00.) I was annoyed that all my scans are Jan 1, 2022. These devices do not have a battery backed clock, so the best I can do is set the date to the day of the firmware build.

Units B & C
This is SetTime(Hour, Minute, Second, ??) - FUN_000692d4(uint param_1,uint param_2,uint param_3,undefined4 param_4)
This is SetDate(Year, Month, Day, ??) - FUN_000693a0(uint param_1,uint param_2,uint param_3,undefined4 param_4)

 

[0dan0]

Type A Now Works!!!! All Kodak Reels units now work.

Other changes
File stamps - Now 2025/7/12
White balance - 1.75,1.0,1.0

 

[fishgee]

Hi. I recently acquired a second hand 8mm reel-to-reel digitiser and when I plugged it in, the unit did not power up. After checking the 12V power supply, it was not outputting any voltage. I then connected the unit to my bench top power supply (12V center positive at 1.5A) and still nothing.

Upon taking the unit apart, a component on the switching regulator circuitry had been destroyed. Possibly from overvoltage as the 12V power supply the unit came with was dead.

Anyway, the chip markings appear to be BNEAF and upon searching on Google, nothing really comes up except for one listing which indicated this chip might be a LSP5523-R8A.

My question is, does anyone else's unit have this same marking on their chip or do schematics for this project exist by any chance?

View attachment 22109

I have a Rev "C" unit. I took a pic of the board/chip and made some voltage measurements for you. Hopefully it will help you find the chip or a compatible one to repair your scanner.