My new transfer units: update

[VideoFred]

I finished my two transfer units:




The reflected backlight system on the Super-8 unit:




Inside is a 35mm 35Watt halogen spot:




Here are some first results made with this backlight principle:
1980 K40, 1972 Fuji R25, 1980 K40.
No manipulation, this is how the picture comes out of the camera.
It is much better to work this way, then apply leveling etc in post.
White balance was set to automatic, very low camera sharpness.








You find more pics from the units here:
http://www.filmshooting.com/scripts/gal ... m3?page=42

But the upload program has rotated some pics automatic, I could not do anything about that.
The last pic is a full resolution 1980 K40 film frame.


I also updated my website: the 'telecine' page has English translation, now. Please let me know if you find any mistakes, so I can correct it.
http://www.super-8.be

Resumed: this is realy the best I can get out of this specific machine vision camera. However, both units are ready to accept any camera. So I can upgrade very easy. The reflecting halogen backlight is the best backlight system I have made so far. It gives a very sharp image.

The aluminium camera supports with aligning bolts are very easy to use, too. On the Super-8 unit I used 3 bolts for rotating and up/down alignment. This works like a tripod: 3 points are always stable. It takes me just a few minutes to change and re-align the camera from the Super-8 to the R-8 unit. Of cource, the extention tube from the Sony macro lens must be screwed in or out, too.


Fred.

[Scotness]

Hi Fred - i'm still looking at all the film info - but just on the translation the following sentence

In contradiction with what you might think, these films - if well preserved- are still in very good condition

would probably sound more natural as:

Contrary to what you might think these films, if well preserved, can still be in very good condition

In contradiction --> contrary

and "can still be in very good condition" as if they are well preserved then they are logically in good condition, and there is no possibility of a contradiction.

Telecine set up looks cool

Also here http://www.super-8.be/s8_Eindex.htm you say there's no more english - but there is on at least one of the subsequent pages http://www.super-8.be/s8_telecine_imaging.htm - perhaps you need to update that message so some unadventurous people don't get put off!

Scot

[VideoFred]

Hi Scot,

As usual, thank you for your positive feedback!
My God you are fast, today :lol:

Update is done.


Fred.

[Rolle_B]

Very nice job Fred!
I really like the construction of your light.
Is the U-shaped alu embedded with white plastic inside? Hard to see on the photo...
Why is there posebilities to adjust the lenght of the light tube? Is it for the light intensity?

Could you please send me some Hi-Res photos. I would like to examine them.

For the moment I'm totally rebuilding my unit, preparing for the "mini-aquarium-wetgate". Really hope this will work.

Keep on the good work

[VideoFred]

Is the U-shaped alu embedded with white plastic inside? Hard to see on the photo...
Why is there posebilities to adjust the lenght of the light tube? Is it for the light intensity?

Hello Rolle,

The U-shape is embedded with ultra white matte inkjet paper.
The light tube is not adjustable... the extention tube from the lens is adjustable.


The hi-res pics are there... just follow the link I posted

Fred.

[Mitch Perkins]

Way to go Fred! Nice work on the units and impressive frame grabs.

One question and one suggestion:

Why low sharpness level? I have been experimenting with low sharpness with the negs to combat some grain issues, but with reversal I don't see the need.

Suggest you use a capture window on a computer program to enlarge the image until all frame lines are out of the picture. Certainly it is possible that a client might view the footage on a computer, and who knows what the future status of "TV safe" will be. I have found that the reg 8 image can be enlarged enough to get rid of frame lines while still looking great.

Mitch

[Rolle_B]

True Mitch

I have a LCD-TV set, and all these lines are visable on it. Might be better to skip them as the new flat TV's are phasing out all old CRT sets (sadly, but this is my own opinion).

Fred.
Could you please upload a uncompressed, untouched AVI file somewhere? I'm really curious...

Keep on the good work. I'm building a lamp right now, your idea is great!

[JL Inc.]

Beautiful work Fred! Those don't even look like DIY projects!

[paulcotto]

Nice job! I was wondering if you use A/C or D/C lamps? I have had better results with D/C lamps because A/C causes flicker at certain camera speeds. I currently use a lamp designed for interior accent lighting but I am looking for a better solution. Dimming the bulb by reducing current causes a color shift, and PWM dimmers cause flicker. I am looking for an LED lamp that is dimmable and does not suffer from color shift. Any ideas? I also considered a microscope illuminator and fiber optic light guide but the diameter of the light guides are too narrow. They do make a light guide with a flat end that would work, but I have not found one cheap yet.

Regards,

Paul Cotto

[VideoFred]

Why low sharpness level?
Mitch

Hi Mitch,

I do my sharpening in post. To much camera sharpness gives more digital noise, too.

Certainly it is possible that a client might view the footage on a computer, and who knows what the future status of "TV safe" will be. I have found that the

I have no clients This is a pure free time project for me.
But I always leave some borders, because I always stabilize, crop and resize to 720x576 afterwards.


Thank you for your feedback!

Fred.

[VideoFred]

Nice job! I was wondering if you use A/C or D/C lamps? I have had better results with D/C lamps because A/C causes flicker at certain camera speeds.

Hello Paul,
Thank you too for appreciating my work! 8)

These 12V halogen spots can be powered with an old DC 12V 4A computer power supply. A 50 watt spot is the limit, you need 4A for this. Then there is no flickering at all. Dimming can be done with a 3-5A electronic speed regulator for model motors. But then this regulator must be powered by the computer power supply. Because these computer power supplys are stabilized, there is no flickering any more. I tried this with a PWM regulator and it works fine. But the pulse frequence from the PWM must be very high, I think it was 2kHz.

A led setup would certainly be possible, but Christoph says they do not give the full color spectrum and I believe him. Maybe a mix of different colors -including cyan- would be possible. But good dimming of 4-5 power leds needs special electronics because a led is a diode, it must be dimmed by current, not by tension.

Fred.

[Patrick]

Fred, I really like your reflected backlight system - great idea using a cylinder to house the bulb. Have you found that the distance from the bulb to the 45 degree angle reflector to be critical at all? Is the whole of the inside of the cylinder lined with inkjet paper or just the 45 degree angle bottom? I wonder if continued exposure to the bulb would alter the reflective properties of this paper over time....

[MovieStuff]

PWM dimmers cause flicker.

But not if you use the video synch as the reference. ;)

That's how we do it on the auto exposure module of our Sniper Pro units. Or course we are using LEDs, which are hyper responsive, so I don't know if the same would hold true when using a tungsten bulb. But the LEDs work great with PWM. In fact, we are experimenting with the idea of modulating the LED during the scan to control contrast. The idea is that we change the PMW as the camera scans across the image, lowering the intensity of the exposure when the camera is crossing highlite areas and increasing it in darker areas. It would be automatic, of course, but initial experiments seem hopeful. It is amazing how responsive the LEDs can be.

Roger

[VideoFred]

Have you found that the distance from the bulb to the 45 degree angle reflector to be critical at all?

Yes. One must play both with the distance and the angle to find the perfect setup.

Is the whole of the inside of the cylinder lined with inkjet paper or just the 45 degree angle bottom?

The inside of the cylinder becomes very hot after a while...
There is nothing in it. Maybe a coat of white heat resistant paint would be a good idea, if this exists...

I wonder if continued exposure to the bulb would alter the reflective properties of this paper over time....

Me too.. I'm almost sure this will happen after a while. But it is very easy to refresh the paper.

Fred.

[VideoFred]

In fact, we are experimenting with the idea of modulating the LED during the scan to control contrast. The idea is that we change the PMW as the camera scans across the image, lowering the intensity of the exposure when the camera is crossing highlite areas and increasing it in darker areas. Roger

Will this not introduce flickering? Sometimes there is a big difference in intensity between frames from the same scene. Good scene detection would be useful, here.

Fred.