Film Conversion Prices

Super 8, 8mm & 16mm Film to DVD Conversion Information and Pricing

General Information

The various formats of 8mm, Super 8 & 16mm film varied in length and ‘Frames per Second’ (FPS) depending on the year of manufacture and also the individual cameras. As most people would have no idea of when the camera was manufactured and exactly what speed their films are, we have provided the following information as a guide.

As a general guide

Older cameras captured film at between 14 to 16 frames per second,

Between 1955 and 1966, the newer cameras filmed at 18 frames per second,

Later cameras and Professional formats were constant at 24 frames per second,

Most of your Regular and Super 8mm film would have been recorded 18 frames per second.

Below is a guide to show the actual running time of your film compared to the size of the reel. The times will vary depending on the FPS of your original filming.

Please note:

We have come across some 3″ films from the Continent and New Zealand that contain between 60 > 75 feet.

Some Fuji film was released on ultra thin film which contains 50% more on a 50 ft reel, i.e. 75 feet.

Films marked 25 ft, are actually 50 ft when developed. They were double width and split into 2 single strips when developed

Having worked with various film transfer processes over the years, we have reached the conclusion that frame by Frame film scanning is the best method of film transfer currently available for the domestic market.

For this reason, we only offer frame by frame transfer, however offer the option for both standard definition DVD or high definition Blu-Ray.

It’s worth noting that some firm are offering HD film transfer, however the capture process is still limited by the redundant process of using a camcorder to record the film playback in real time.

The inherent frame rate conflict, lost contrast and resolution mean that while the output might be HD, the captured footage is far from it. We recommend asking to see a sample before committing to any HD transfer.

HD and SD film transfer prices

Our captures are transferred to DVD or Blu-Ray which includes your disc, on disc printing and a DVD case a with printed slick insert showing your titles.

There after, conversion is charged at 42c per foot for Standard Definition or 62c per foot for High Definition

If the films have sound, add an extra 20 cents per foot.

There is a minimum charge of $50.00

Frame by Frame capture is the ultimate conversion process which gives you latest technology and that extra dedicated attention to detail, making the most of the best scanning technology and giving your Treasured Memories the superior quality, care and attention they deserve.

The quality of these transfers is awesome. When you see your DVD or BD, you’ll find it hard to believe that it was filmed on an old Standard 8, Super 8mm or 16mm camera. No flicker, no jittering, no hot spots, no Burnt out frames and no Blacked Out and Fuzzy Edges around the perimeter. Looks like it was filmed with a video camera, while still retaining the warmth, look and feel of film and well worth the extra few dollars to preserve your precious film and Treasured Memories. As our frame by frame scanning device has a larger gate, you actually see 10% more of the film than you would ever see when viewing your films on a normal projector. This could be the difference between seeing a long lost relative standing at the edge of the film frame or not seeing them at all.

Our High Definition Transfers take this to the next level – full HD crystal clear resolution that has to be seen to be believed.

Your precious film is never subjected to high temperature projector light bulbs which can damage the film. Unfortunately, this cannot be avoided with any projected or telecine capture. Remember, if the film gets stuck, the film will burn through due to the excessive heat and those frames are then lost forever. Our scanner uses a harmless low wattage (40watt) cool white light that cannot damage the film.

Most projected and standard telecine systems can only attain 240 lines of horizontal resolution, while DVD supports over 500 lines of horizontal resolution. Standard telecine systems only show what your projector shows because the film gate crops your film by as much as 20%.

It really makes no sense to accept old technology when the most advanced technology is now available.

Our Frame by Frame capture actually measures the exact amount of footage captured so there are no arguments about how much film is on each reel. You may have a 400ft reel, but there may only be 330ft on it. You only pay for the footage you have.

Remember, you should only ever need to do this conversion to DVD once, so it’s worth getting the best you can afford.

Want extra copies for the rest of the family…

Why not get some extra copies for the rest of the family. We can provide extra copies of your DVD for only $10.00 each.

Edit Your Own Movies and Make Your Own DVD’s

If you want to edit your own Movies/DVD’s, Windows XP includes a basic consumer editing package called Movie Maker while Macs have iMovie. We can provide your captured footage as AVI or Quicktime files on DVD that will allow you to copy the data files onto your computer and edit them yourselves.

We can fit approx 20 minutes of full quality native DV AVI or Quicktime data onto a standard 4.7gb DVD for editing @ $15.00 per 20 minute/DVD. ie $45.00 per hour of real time footage on 3 x DVD’s.

If all this info sounds too complicated to comprehend, contact us via email or give us a ring on 9388 0800 to discuss your requirements.

Want Background Music, Titles and Special Effects?

Give us a ring to discuss some of the extra bells and whistles we can provide to make your precious memories more enjoyable.

Backups, Reliability and Provision for Future Technologies….

Many people are under the misunderstanding that DVD’s last forever. It’s true they don’t wear out and can be played over and over without any wear or degradation. But, recent tests by PC Magazine and admissions by many industry experts and manufacturers, show that some of the cheaper DVD’s can fail within a few years. We do our part by only using high quality Industry Certified Blue Azo coated discs which are amongst the best DVD’s you can get. You then need to store them in a cool, dry, dark place at normal room temperature and away from any magnetic forces such as speakers etc.

Don’t be fooled by Manufacturer’s Lifetime Warranties on cheaper discs. It sounds good, but in reality, it’s worth absolutely nothing. Check out the fine print, they give a Limited Lifetime Warranty on discs. In other words, they will replace that disc if it fails, but what happens about the contents and your precious memories or data, there’s no compensation for that.

We also offer upgrade options to either Premium Master DVD’s (TY recognised as the World’s best duplication DVD) for an extra $1.00 per disc, or the ultimate Premium Archival DVD (24 Karat Gold reflective layer and rated at 100 years plus) for an extra $5.00 per disc.

Master Digital backups on MiniDV are recognised as one of the safest possible long term backup media. At $25.00 per hour of backup, it’s definitely worth the small investment, plus it has many advantages as a digital master for future technologies.

High definition, dual layer and Blue Ray are now a reality and are the latest technology which will replace the current DVD’s. Who knows what technology we will be watching on our TV’s in 5 years time. Your digital master on MiniDV can be converted to any of the new emerging technologies of the future. MiniDV will store your footage at full quality native Digital format. Due to current technology, your current DVD’s are not nearly as good a quality as raw native DV and as such, cannot be upgraded to the future quality and technology just around the corner., whereas, raw native DV on MiniDV can. It’s definitely worth considering and could save you a fortune in the future.

Confused by the technical jargon and all the available options, give us a ring and we’ll explain the advantages and disadvantages and give you our recommendations.