Posted by Rick Rieger on 04/25/06 03:28

<chris@groupinfo.com> wrote in message
news:1145901915.117353.289940@u72g2000cwu.googlegroups.com...
> Thank you very much for the reply and the information. I did come
> across MovieStuff as being recommended in these groups from before. I
> initially skipped over them as their equipment did not handle the
> sound, however your thoughts on capturing the sound and synchronizing
> with the movie are very helpful.
>
> I also came across some very interesting information regarding using
> VirtualDub (the free AVI editing program for Windows) to capture old
> film movies. An Antiflicker filter was developed for it and their
> sample video on the homepage that was tested with the filter is
> amazing. The URL is http://neuron2.net/flick.html . They also used an
> unsharp mask filter. Using this filter would allow capturing of the
> original video with sound and removing the flicker all with software.
>
> I will definitely post our results!!
>
> Are there any other digital video cameras that are recommended and good
> in low light for this kind of capture?
>
> Thanks again for all feedback!!
> --
> Chris
>

Chris,

I suspect any digital video camera would work well with the MovieStuff gear
as long as it had a zoom that went well into the telephoto range.
MovieStuff replaces the projector lamp with a very low wattage and kind of
yellowish lamp. By adjusting the camera white balance the yellowish color
temperature can be corrected. Exposure-wise, with the Canon GL2 I've been
using f/4 at 1/60sec. Therefore, low light capability in the camera is not
required even though the projector lamp is relatively dim. That reminds me,
you have to be able to set the exposure (f-stop and shutter speed) manually.
Also, you cannot use autofocus. Your camera must offer manual focus. The
GL2 is a 3CCD camera. I'm not sure that this feature helps all that much.
I don't think one of the new HD cameras would offer much better quality,
since the limiting factor would be the detail in the S8 movie frame.

I found that using an Unsharp Mask in Adobe Premiere improved the clarity of
the transfers, especially on the R8 and S8. 16mm didn't need it as much.

Roger Evans (owner of MovieStuff) does another thing that improves the
transfers. He files out the projector film gate which lets you capture ALL
of the movie frame. This is not necessarily the case with other transfer
systems.

Let us know how you make out.

Rick

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