Camcorder for transfering 8mm Sound film

I transfer just about everything for my clients including 8mm film. A long time ago I could transfer 8mm Sound film but I no longer have the camcorder to achieve this. The kind of camcorder I need must have:

S-Video out
Audio in
Shutter speed to 1/60 and 1/30

Can anyone recommend such a camera and where I can possibly get one?

Thanks, Tom

I am in doubt that you are here one more victim of the non un-common mix-up between 8mm (Standard / Regular 8 and later Super8) FILM and the VIDEO format video8 and later Hi8.

If you actually want to transfer from FILM formats, you need in the simple version an 8mm / Super8 PROJECTOR, if necessary with sound, and ANY VIDEO camera to shoot the picture from the screen (or a lightbox) - in both cases there might occur some flicker. A more advanced solution is to get a specially adapted transfer projector with some optical device to project directly into a camera. Facility houses offer the best quality using a flying spot transfer etc.

If you mean to transfer video8 / Hi8 TAPE to a contemporary format, you need as a PLAYBACK device either a video8 / better Hi8 CAMERA or TAPE DECK, connected to any desired RECORDING machine - either CAMERA with inputs for video and audio or any other device suitable to record from you source (computer, deck, ...).

HTH

_Regards!

Gypaetus,

I have plenty of projectors and camcorders but if I want to transfer 8mm sound film, the projector I have does not have a varible speed knob and my cameras do not have the right shutter speed to eliminate flicker.

Tom

Ok, I got it - sorry for including you in into the fully digitized group of the after-film generation.

The best results for projection-based transfer I got using an old Siemens Projector with an alternating current synchronized motor (Papst; on 16mm), as it's speed is firmly linked with the recording device's speed.
All my Super8 / Standard 8 transfers via variable speed controls required fuzzy mingling but nevertheless changed slightly speed after some time, causing flicker or banding again.
This effects are mainly caused by the incompatibility between the film picture hacked into three portions by the rotating 3-wing blade (the human eye needs about 50 flashes per second to overcome luminance flicker - i.e. 3x the 16 fps film recording (48 flickers per sec.) - to melt just the movement alone we are not so particular, 16 fps would enough in most cases) and frame-by-frame recording of the camera. Transfer-adapted projectors have this 3-wing blade therefore replaced by a 1-wing blade, just to cover up the short film transport phase.

To what extend the shutter speed of the recording device can reduce a flicker I myself have not enough experience.

Some problem can occur with sound using a variable speed control, as the human ear is quite sensitive to changes in acoustic frequency.

I hope you can get a suitable camera; I still use my prosumer HDVs, where my Canon HV30 has actually the possibility to select the shutter speed. Nearly identical was their last comparable model, HV40. They made also an HDV successor of the legendary XL-1 (XL-1 H1). Sony had a similar item, the HVR-HD1000U, this should include manual shutter speed control as well.

But most of the better SD-card based camcorders should have a manual shutter speed regulation, even for a rather reasonable prize. So I think the right projector is here the far bigger problem.

_Regards