Pixmonix — Our 16mm and 8mm Film Digitization Services

We can convert a variety of film types, including:

• 8mm (silent and magnetic sound)
• Super8 (silent or magnetic sound)
• 16mm (silent or optical sound)

If you don't know what type of film you have, there are pictures below to help you identify it or contact us with any questions.

Step 1: Preparing 8mm and 16mm Films for Digitization

We start by inspecting your film for damage, repairing any breaks and adding leader, if necessary. We then clean and lubricate the film using a fast drying film cleaner. The result is film in better viewing condition than it has been in years.

Step 2: Digitizing Your Film

Each frame of film is captured individually using professional digital cameras. The light source used during this capture process is a low temperature light that can in no way damage your film. The film is evenly illuminated, assuring that there won't be any "hot spots" visible in the captured images. After capture, software is used to stitch the images together to produce a digital video file. This frame-by-frame process has fantastic results: vibrant, flicker free images with excellent detail, contrast and color. As part of the processing, we will remove some color casts and adjust for under- or over-exposed film.

Step 3: Digital Video Options

We provide your digital video in a number of different forms.

• Standard video DVD. These DVDs are playable on any standard DVD player. We include a standard basic menu on each DVD. Chapter breaks between film reels can be added for a small fee. A single DVD can store about 2 hours of video. This is about 1500 feet of 8mm film or 3000 feet of 16mm film. If you have more film than this, we will create multiple video DVDs to hold all the resulting video. We can provide custom editing services; please ask. If you plan to edit your video, you should consider receiving it in uncompressed form either as a miniDV archive tape or on external hard drive. Please see below.
• miniDV Tape Archive. These tapes hold the uncompressed video generated from your films. This video is used to create the standard video DVDs. The video on these tapes can be extracted onto a PC or Mac using a standard miniDV video camera attached to the computer through a 1394 (Firewire) or USB cable.
• Hard Drive. If you plan to edit your digital video, getting the data back on a hard drive can save considerable time and effort. We can use USB or Firewire drives formatted for Mac or PC. We can purchase these drives on your behalf or you are welcome to send a drive to us.

Step 3: Returning your Film and Video

We return your film and digital video using a reliable, trackable carrier. Your film is treated with utmost care while in our hands.

Frequently Asked Questions:

Ordering/sequencing of Film Reels

We are happy to put the digitized film onto DVD in whatever sequence you desire. You can indicate your desired ordering by numbering each reel.

Return of Film to Original Reels

After digitization, your film is returned to the original reels.

How Much Video Fits On One DVD?

Approximately 2 hours of video fits on one DVD. See the tables below to determine approximately how many minutes of film you have. If more than 2 hours of footage are digitized, we will put the resulting video on more than one DVD.

Do You Work with Customers Outside the USA?

Yes! We regularly work with customers from Canada. We have also worked with customers from Europe, New Zealand, Taiwan and other locations. Shipping outside of the USA is a bit more expense. We can use UPS, FedEx or the United States Postal Service Priority Mail services (your choice). We will reflect our actual shipping charges to you. You are responsible for customs/duty/brokerage charges on the shipments (both inbound and outbound). We try to minimize these fees/taxes by appropriately declaring the materials being shipped.

8mm and 16mm Film Conversion Prices

8mm
Film Width: 8mm
Frame Size: 4.37 mm x 3.28 mm
Sprocket hole separation: 3.81mm

This is what most people recognize as home movie film.

Super8
Film Width: 8mm
Frame Size: 5.36 mm x 4 mm
Sprocket hole separation: 4.23mm

Super8 film, a successor to standard 8mm film, came in an easy to load housing. The slightly larger frame area of the Super 8 format provides better image quality as well.

16mm
Film Width: 16mm
Frame Size: 10.4mm x 7.5mm
Sprocket spacing: 7.5mm

16mm film was introduced in 1923 by Kodak. It was used extensively prior to the introduction of 8mm films for home use.

Image is from the Wikimedia Commons.

16mm with sound
Film Width: 16mm
Frame Size: 10.4mm x 7.5mm
Sprocket spacing: 7.5mm

The film width is the same as standard 16mm, but sprocket holes are only on one side. A portion of the non-sprocketed side carries an optical soundtrack.

Variants of this format have larger frame areas without sound.

Image is pulic domain from the US Federal Government.