We are presenting a continuing series to explain what effects, phenomenon, and peculiarities one should look for in evaluating the quality of a home movie film conversion and transfer to DVD. These considerations are applicable to regular 8mm, Super 8mm, as well as 16mm film conversion and transfers. The consumer does not have to be an expert but merely needs to know some key elements to be aware of. There are many service providers in the Greater Detroit area that will perform these services with varying degrees of excellent quality. However, it only makes sense to do some homework first so that you can avoid others which might give you disappointing results.
In this fourth installment we will examine viewability of dark areas.
One of the more common things we see in home movie film transfers by various service providers in the Greater Detroit area is shadowy areas that show little detail. Please view the two still frames below provided to us by one of our clients that gave sample film to us and another film transfer company for comparison purposes. The frames on the left are from a competitor’s 8mm home movie transfer and on the right are matching frames from W. Cardone Productions.
