Filmshooting

Is there a risk in projecting a film that is affected by the vinegar syndrom? Can the projector then 'contaminate' the films projected in it afterwards? It's not like mildew contamination, that leaves spores behind to scratch and embed into other film rolls. The film may be weakened, and has become...

Around what year did Kodak switch to a polyester base? --Derrick Most camera stocks are still acetate base. Acetate's advantage is you can make cement splices; polyester stocks must be tape spliced. Polyester is a tougher base, less prone to scratching, and is mainly used for projection, intermedia...

Polyester has its own problems. Most of the polyester studio master audio tapes of the 70's and 80 suffer from "sticking", where either the binder or the tape backing partially depolymerize - think split ends on a molecular level - and attract water molecules, creating a sticky gummy mess ...

Don't put all your eggs in the digital basket. Nope, put them in several baskets. One DVD at home, one DVD stored safely in a bank or a family member or something. If one go bad you have another copy. And of course keep the film-originals too, IF the DVD´s go bad you have the originals left, it ...

If it's a newer motel, count on one or two, 20-amp circuits per room; if an older building, it could be a single 15-amp circuit shared between adjacent rooms. One 2000w lamp pulls a bit less than 20 amps. Do you really need all that light? Talk to the motel manager; perhaps he can give you an additi...

Vinegar syndrome is the result of the acetate film base breaking down; it is progressive and irreversible. It can be slowed down temporarily, but not stopped. <unsubstantiated opinion ON> You might consider washing the stock in a mild alkaline solution such as sodium sulfite, the buffer used in deve...

I'm an amateur 16mm shooter working on improving my skills and upgrading my equipment, and am wondering about the contribution of lenses in the final film image. Several times I've read the experienced members of this forum talk about good lenses versus merely adequate lenses. What's the difference?...

I don't think I'd even consider a Super 8 camera for desert island use; too complicated, too much electronics, need batteries & rubber parts, mechanics too small and fine for sand particles. I'd use what the military used on real desert islands - a B&H Filmo or Cine Kodak windup 16mm camera....

Hello, I've got a couple of B&H 200 cameras (no electric eye). They are small, light, rugged, and cheap enough to take ice-skating without fear of damaging a valuable camera. The images are as good as a Filmo or Bolex 16mm, which is to say much cleaner than any Super 8. I own about 10 magazines ...

I regularly scan film stills with an Epson Photo 2400 scanner. It's a couple years old, I think the modern equivalent is the Photo 4800 or thereabouts. I scan Super 8, 16 and 35mm transparencies, both negative and reversal, then adjust image to taste in Photoshop. I find that having stills of film s...