Why did I get into it? I guess I'm a sucker for great cinematography, and in general great film. I have always felt a desire to be creative with movies, but I never thought about S8.
I bought my first S8 camera ( a really cheap Halina with *only* zoom. Seperate viewfinder, all of that great stuff. There isn't even a daylight filter. I started it in Spain (lived there for 6 months) and am trying to continue it now. If you don't read my story, I do actually have questions later! I was really supprised with the quality of the film! I had no idea that it was so much more asthetically pleasing! I can't describe why, film has this magical quality to it, but I am a film addict now. In my opinion, making movies is an artform (well sometimes) and the tools offered by film are so much more diverse. The subtleties of the medium are so useful, and I think, in the right hands could allow a person to be much more creative. I think it would be similar to the insistence of guitarists on vacuum tubes over solid-state technology.
When I got my first film back, I decided I needed a better camera, so I went to the Salvation Army, and got a B&H cheapo for 5$. It was smaller and had the daylight filter plus shutter remote trigger too. Nothing spetacular. Later I went to visit a friend in NYC, and he (from my ravings about S8) Purchased a much more sophisticated camera. I loved it! It had a very long zoom (around 70mm I think). Well it was long for me. It also had 24 and 12 fps settings. I was jealous! I am currently looking for a better model on ebay. I'm looking for something with a long zoom lens and slow and fast film speeds. Also a very slow time-lapse feature would be a plus. Anyone want to help me out
Anyway, to the questions: My first film is really scratchy. Is there a good way to avoid these? It looks much scratchier than films I have seen from DIY video transfers. I wish I could post an example, but I'll get to that problem later? Could it be that the compression and lower resolution over the web hides this some? For reference, the film was in the camera for about a week and then laying around for another couple of weeks. Also passed through airport security x-rays despite much pleading.
Also, there were some places where it was overexposed when I didn't expect it. One was shot in the direction of the sun (no clouds). That doesn't surprise me, but the sun wasn't in the picture. Secondly, the other shot that really concerns me is a shot in a car. It was sunny out, but it didn't seem to really be a problem. Could it be that my camera had a problem with exposure control? Or maybe it doesn't have it? Another is a shot overlooking a lake, and it is almost completely white too. Well-lit indoor shots seem to be a little dim too. I am beginning to think it is the camera, but any help would be appreciated.
On to the Wal Mart question. Am I correct in assuming that Wal Mart does S8 processing and transfer to video? At this stage, quality is good, but price is more important, since I am only a student (not a film student either!) at 5$ a roll, it seems very cheap. I've read the info about this here, and I think I'll give it a try.
Finally, on the conversion to a digital format. I tried a webcam the other night. Obviously not a good solution. I'm thinking of using a scanner and 8mm2avi. Any advice?
Oh, I've been shooting K40 and I sent the first roll to Dwaynes. That's all for now. Looking forward to the responses.
