The KODAK REELS 8mm film digitizer can convert standard 8mm and Super 8 film into a digital MP4 file. The machine can load 3", 5", or 7" reels and will scan the film frame-by-frame to create the digital file - because it is working frame by frame, digitization can take a while. A 3" reel holds about 50 feet of film (approximately 3 minutes of footage) and takes about half an hour to scan. Larger reels will take proportionally more time - a 7" reel holds about 400 feet of film (approximately 30 minutes of footage) and takes about 5 hours to scan.
This machine only works with standard 8mm and Super 8 film - other formats will not work. If the film is damaged or curled, it may jam in the machine and not be able to scan. If your film is still in a cartridge, it has not been developed and will not work in this machine.
When using the digitizer, you are expected to stay with the machine in order to monitor it to make sure the film does not jam or get damaged.
The digitizer saves your video to an SD card, you can bring your own SD card with you. If you don't have one, we can provide one for the purpose of converting your film, but you'll have to transfer it to a USB drive or another storage device before leaving. File sizes are around 65 MB per minute of footage, so a 30 minute video would be about 2 GB.
Important booking information
Bookings for the KODAK REELS 8mm digitizer must first be approved by staff. A film reel must be digitized in its entirety in one session, so we need to know the size of the biggest size reel of film that you will be using in order to make ensure there is enough time to complete digitization. If you come in for a booking and there is not enough time available to digitize your film, your booking will be cancelled.
| Reel size | Footage length | Minutes of video | Min time to digitize | Booking time required |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3" | 50' | 2 to 3 | 30 minutes | 1 hour |
| 4" | 100' | 5 to 6 | 1 hour | 1.5 hours |
| 5" | 200' | 12 to 14 | 2 hours | 2.5 hours |
| 6" | 300' | 19 to 22 | 3 hours | 3.5 hours |
| 7" | 400' | 26 to 29 | 4 hours | 4.5 hours |