Q: I am looking to buy the least expensive high resolution digital video camera to convert/record 8mm video tapes.

In your heading, you mention 8mm video tapes.  If you can find a used Sony Digital8 camcorder to use, it will playback the 8mm (and Hi8) tapes and ouput via Firewire cable which can be captured in FCE.  For the older tape reels, you can connect normal analog video and audio cables from the reel-to-reel player to the Digtital8 camcorder's analog inputs (or use any qualified DV device), then connect a Firewire cable to your Mac for capturing in FCE.

-DH

Thanks for clearing that up ... you have 8mm FILM - not 8mm video tapes as your heading states.

Yes, you will need a projector.  If you have both Super8 and regular 8mm film, a Super8 projector should be able to handle both.  A regular 8mm film projector will not play Super8 film.

-DH

Hello Lance,

Transferring film to digital video is a complex, challenging process.  To cut to the chase, the best way to do this is to engage a firm that specializes in film-to-digital transfer services.  There are quite a few around.  Costs for 8mm transfer range anywhere from about $0.15 - $0.40 per foot and there are usually significant discounts for bulk projects.  Plus, depending on the cost of the video camera you would otherwise consider buying, you may find it costs less overall to use a service than do it yourself.

You also mentioned that you "want the highest resolution format" ...  Once you project 8mm/Super8 film onto a screen the effective resolution will not even be what we might consider "standard-def" in digital video.  And the larger the projected image the lower & lower the effective resolution regardless of what kind of video camera you might use.

A transfer service, however, directly scans each frame to digitize them and depending on the math the resulting digital image may technically be as "good" as 720p ... but the overall image quality will still be limited by the quality of the original film ... and still probably not up the level of "standard-def" digital video ... but way better than anything you could obtain with a homebrew projector-screen-videocam setup.

Why DIY?  Well, it sounds inexpensive and simple.  But in reality it is a very time consuming way to get relatively low quality transfers no matter how high-end or expensive a video camera you use.  I can share more details if necessary, but DIY film-to-video transfer is not the way to go if you are really interested in quality results.

Sounds like a shoot it off the wall approach is what you want:

http://www.wikihow.com/Transfer-8mm-Films-to-Video

I'd suggest a 3mos Panasonic or similar type HD camera for the job that stores the video on SD cards.

Just remember to have another backup once your stuff is on a card in case of failure.

Imagine 20 hours lost then having to re-do the job. 

You did not mention if you wish to do a straight transfer or ingest it to a computer for editing?

SD cards or similar can do both.

It would be wise to determine what you want to do with the final result as the modern camera can be set to record various codecs.

Codecs have specific uses and vary greatly for use.

eg. got your work done only to find the codec is wrong for your NLE work flow. Answer= re-do or transcode, either way you are double handling.

Getting it right the first time saves a lot of grief.

Al

Nearly ANY current model highdef videocam will do; so would a standard def videocam.   The real quality limitations are your film, screen & projected image, not a late model videocam.   Al suggested a 3MOS camera.  While I appreciate his sentiment and recommendation, I think that for this purpose (homebrew 8mm->digital video transfer via projection) a 3MOS or 3CCD videocam is expensive overkill.

And since you are apparently using Final Cut Express, make sure your videocam can record AVCHD 1080i60  (or 1080i50 if you are in the UK or any other PAL country).   An alternate choice would be DV, which imho would be quite sufficient in your case, but you will find DV videocams mostly on the used market these days.    Final Cut Express can ingest standard AVCHD 1080i50/60 and DV video directly from your camcorder; if you shoot any other format/codec you will have to convert the recordings yourself to QuickTime/Apple Intermediate Codec or QuickTime/DV before manually importing the converted video clips into FCE (yet more steps in your workflow).

Since 8mm film is very close to a 4:3 aspect ratio, you could use just about any DV camcorder to record the images or capture directly in FCP using a Firewire cable.  The key to maintaining quality is to keep the projected image as small as possible ... use a piece of white poster board as a screen (normal projection screens will reflect too much uneven light into the camera's lens).  Keep the camera as closely aligned with the projector and both should be as close to your screen as focusing will allow (about 3 feet will usually work best).

If the camera has a manual iris, be prepared to use it as scenes may suddenly change from front lit to back lit.  It will help greatly if the projector you use has a variable speed motor -  adjust the speed until you see no flicker on a TV monitor connected to the camera.  Also, five bladed projectors will make a better/smoother video than three bladed models.

Purchase a small bottle of film cleaner and a soft, microfiber cloth.  If the film has been stored in dry conditions, it will help keep the film from cracking.  If it's been stored in damp conditions, it will help clean any mold or mildew from the film's emulsion.  It will also help reduce static electricity from building up on the film which can attract dust and hair.  Too use the cleaner, set up the projector to rewind (not routed through the film gate) and use the cloth damped with cleaner solution to clean and condition the film prior to projection.

-DH