So, new studio and new equipment and new (dreaded) learning curve. The Scanbox 4K telecine machine is made by the same company that I had been with since 2009. CTM Debrie of Paris. The software has the same name. Kolibri.
But that is where the similarities end. It’s rather like thinking that because I bought and had been using Adobe Premiere Pro CS5 since 2010 that it will be easy to go to Adobe CC2021 because it has the same name. More on the “domino effect” later.

I had got used to a particular way of working over the last 11 years with the Memory HD and was hoping that things would not change too much. Boy, was I in for a shock. The Scanbox 4K is a Ferrari and I had been used to a lovely non-threatening Mondeo, no direspect to Ford or the Memory HD! Better does not mean easier….

For a start my key fear was that 8mm film would not sustain a high quality 2K transfer. The grain or noise would be an issue. Well those fears are entirely unfounded. The Scanbox 4K is producing fabulous 2K (2048 x 1500) images from 8mm and the best response was from one of my customers avionvideo.com whom I had been producing HD images for for a decade. They remarked that the 8mm images produced could easily pass for 16mm cine film such is the sharpness, clarity and lack of “graininess”.

So, it has been a tough 9 months with upgrades, changes expected and unexpected, and a learning curve steeper than I had anticipated. But the results have been worth it. The images are better than I had expected and better than I have ever seen.

If you have 8mm, 9.5mm or 16mm cine film that you want saving for future generations please do get in touch. The Scanbox 4K and I will make it look better than ever.