Hi all, the telecine machine is coming along well. I'm just doing some rudimentary alignment at the moment.
I have hit a slight snag however and I was hoping you guys could offer up some help. I'm recording straight from the gate using my Canon HD cam which has a x15 optical zoom and I'm using the Raynox DCR-250 Super Macro Lens with a 43mm lens thread on the front as well. This is as close as I can get the camera:
Ideally I want the frame line to hit the top and bottom off the screen. Futhermore it would be great to zoom in even more if a customer wants a full 16:9 image with no black bars. I don't really want to splash out on another HD camera with a better optical zoom so I wondered if anyone could suggest some other macro lenses that might work? Failing that I'll need a new camera with a slim lens barrel (to slide in front workprinter body), a good optical zoom and a macro lens that will get me close enough.
Digital cameras aren't really my speciality so any help would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks! It's looking pretty swanky now. I've attached a 4way slider and sprayed it all black. Just on the look out for a cam and/ or lens that can do the job without using the digital zoom. I plan to have it all up and running by the 1st of April!
I don't know if you'll be able to zoom in enough without some modification of the projector chassis to get the camera closer. Roger may have some insight on this though, as he builds them on a regular basis.
You really should check with Roger. He has told me that with a good camera you can actually dip into the digital zoom just a bit without the resulting video suffering in quality. If I have understood this correctly, the reason is that the CMOS sensor gives you more resolution than you actually need.
I am also working on a similar WP XP to Sniper conversion so am very interested in how you make out with this. What camera are you using?
I'm sure a camera out there can indeed zoom in close enough with the optical zoom. The cam in the pictures is the Canon Legria HF200. It's 15x optical zoom just falls short. I've just purchased a Panasonic SD90 which has a 21x optical zoom. I know it has a wider lens though so I'll just have to wait and see if it'll do the job. The problem I've personally found is modern HD cameras sporting ridiculously impressive optical zooms are only HDMI out. I want to use both component out (to the BM card) and HDMI out to my computer screen. This allows me to switch signal on the monitor... I can have both a full screen image and easily switch to my desktop at a push of a button. The component out also seems to work way smoother with BM than the HDMI cable.
Indeed I have, it wouldn't last. I have had colleagues that have tried to use DLSR's, the shutter cannot handle the constant barrage of frames and they would have to be replaced every few months due to break down (if being used commercially it'll be snapping pretty much every day, very frequently).
DSLR's are great for the home user though, someone that just wants to digitize there own films.
Much better. The only thing I need now is a 41.5mm to 43mm step up ring for the macro lens (at the moment I'm using tape). Anyone know where I can get one from in the UK?
gaugefilm wrote:I'm sure a camera out there can indeed zoom in close enough with the optical zoom. The cam in the pictures is the Canon Legria HF200. It's 15x optical zoom just falls short. I've just purchased a Panasonic SD90 which has a 21x optical zoom. I know it has a wider lens though so I'll just have to wait and see if it'll do the job. The problem I've personally found is modern HD cameras sporting ridiculously impressive optical zooms are only HDMI out. I want to use both component out (to the BM card) and HDMI out to my computer screen. This allows me to switch signal on the monitor... I can have both a full screen image and easily switch to my desktop at a push of a button. The component out also seems to work way smoother with BM than the HDMI cable.
Hi Kevin,
Which camera/lens setup did you go with in the end?
I'm looking to finally upgrade my diy telecine machine to HD and I've seen a Canon HF200 I might buy for capturing. But what lens have you been using to fill the sensor with the Super8 frame? I see on your blog that you went with the Canon over the Panasonic for overheating and other issues....
hmm, or the other alternative is to use my hacked panasonic GH2 which can produce some really good HD video but I've not found the right lens set up to use with this camera yet.
I went for the Panny in the end. The image quality was just more detailed. The colour isn't as good though and I kept the Canon as a backup incase the panny fails.
It was so long ago I cannot actually remember the macro lens I went with. I think it was a Raynox but there is no indication of this on the lens now because I had to file the ends off to get it close enough to the film gate. I'm sure I found it on this forum though so you should be able to locate the type pretty easily.
I believe what most people are using for this purpose is the Raynox DCR-250. That's what I'm using with my Canon HF200 and modified Video Workprinter. It works well and allows me to zoom in to the top and bottom edges of the super 8 image, but not to the side edges. Also, I'm just able to focus. If you look at the start of this thread you will see that is what Kevin was saying he was using. Admittedly, I have not read carefully through the entire thread, so he may have changed to something else without my knowledge. If you search the forum for "Raynox" you will also find other threads where this lens is referenced.
