I know how many reels I have, but how does
that translate into feet?
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Use this chart to help you calculate the number of feet of film you have.
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Reel Diameter
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Feet of Film
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3"
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50 feet
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4"
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100 feet
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5"
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200 feet
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6"
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300 feet
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7"
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400 feet
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8"
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600 feet
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10"
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800 feet
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12"
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1200 feet
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14"
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1400 feet
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How many minutes of footage are on my film
reels?
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50ft Reels are 3-4 Minutes. You can use this as a base guide for your larger reels.
For Example: a 400ft Reel would be 24-32 minutes in length. You can also reference
our Reel Conversion Chart.
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Why does my film box say I have 25ft reels when
the smallest reel you list is 50ft?
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Most "Double Roll" film was originally sold as 25 feet of 16mm film. The
cameraman would shoot one edge of the film, flip-over the spool in the camera (in
the dark) and then shoot the other edge of the film. After the film was developed,
it was split down the center and two ends were glued together to form one 50 foot
reel. You'll notice the box containing the reel is twice as thick as the small
plastic reel inside.
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How can I tell the difference between Regular
8mm and Super 8mm film?
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8mm
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Super 8mm
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Super 8mm perforations (holes) are SMALLER than those for Regular 8mm. Correspondingly,
the actual film area for Super 8mm film is larger than that for Regular 8mm - a
full 50 percent larger! Hence the industry term of "Super" is added to
the name.
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What if the film appears to "jump"
or "chatter":
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If the film is not lubricated, some projectors can damage the film perforations.
(Kodak film is automatically lubricated during processing by Kodak.) Once the perforations
are damaged, lubrication will not solve the problem of unsteadiness. Such damaged
areas must then be either spliced out or duplicated. Lubrication also helps prevent
drying and warping of film. For protection and long life, film should periodically
be cleaned and lubricated.
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My film is really old, how do I know it's
still good?
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Most old film can be restored using the cleaning and lubricating agent we carry.
If your film is too brittle, we won't risk damaging it. We will keep you informed
on every step of the way.
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My film is broken, can it be transferred?
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The most extreme cases of damage are from the vinegar syndrome where the film smells
like vinegar and has curled and become dry and brittle. Only in some cases have
we been able to transfer this type of film. Since it is a case by case basis. The
best way for us to tell you is if we can see your film ourselves.
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How much does it cost?
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We charge by the foot. We have a no minimum charge.
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Footage
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Per Foot Price
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Less than 1000 feet
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$0.30 / foot
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1000 - 3000 feet
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$0.21 / foot
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More than 3000 feet
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$0.15 / foot
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Pricing includes 1 DVD set, film cleaning, digital film conversion and splicing.
Our optional Color Correction / Image Enhancement service is
10 cents per foot.
Add 10 cents per foot if your film contains a sound track. Most home movie film
is silent.
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Are you the cheapest?
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Our goal was to offer the most affordable and quality product possible. We are not
the cheapest but we are the best value. Rather than automating everything to cut
costs and produce an impersonal product we have set up our process to incorporate
manual quality control. We want you to know that you are not going to need this
done again. Do it once, do it right, do it DigMyPics!
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What about return shipping charges?
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We only charge the posted shipping rates on the FedEx and USPS websites.
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What type of films do you convert?
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We specialize in all 8mm and Super 8mm film types with the ability to transfer sound
if present.
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Can you transfer sound film?
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Yes. The charge is 10 cents per foot in addition to the original transfer costs.
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Can you make my films look better?
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Through our Color Correction / Image Enhancement service most films will indeed
look better. Possibly better than they have ever looked.
*Note: We cannot improve film that is blurry, flickering or strobing on original
film, shot out of frame, damaged due to humidity and mildew or double exposed.
If we find that it doesn’t improve the quality of the image we will not enhance
that footage and only charge for the footage that the enhancement benefited.
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What customer service do you provide?
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We have a direct phone number to our customer service representatives during regular
business hours. You won't be forced onto a hold line. When you call 1-866-364-5952
our phones start ringing and we answer with a hearty hello!
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Do you offer Rush Service?
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Yes. The additional cost for this service is 50% of the services price with a $50 minimun. We do this
in order to pay an employee to work overtime in order to move a customer ahead in
the Queue to be processed.
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Where are you located?
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We are located in the beautiful Grand Canyon State of Arizona. We do all of our
business from our 1 location in AZ.
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Can I try you out before I send all my reels?
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Sure! We have no minimum so you will just pay for what you send. We are confident
you will be satisfied with the quality of our service and when you send the rest
of your reels, we'll add your first sample order to your new DVD free of charge.
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Can I get my film back in an editable form?
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Yes! We will transfer full quality uncompressed AVI files from your 8mm and Super8
reels to a 120 GB USB 2.0 External Hard Drive. This hard drive does not require
a "wall plug" to power it up. You only need your computer and the USB
cable that comes with it. Alternatively you can use a ripping and converting software
such as AVS Video Converter to convert the playable DVDs we make into editable files.
The resulting files will not look as crisp as the uncompressed AVI files we provide
and conversion time may be lengthy depending on the speed of your computer.
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How many feet of film will fit on the
hard drive I order?
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Every 1000 FT of Film takes up about 20 GB of Hard Drive Space in an uncompressed
AVI format. Most orders will fit on 1 hard drive. We will let you know if your order
requires 2 or more hard drives.
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Will the DVDs you create be compatible
with my DVD player?
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We use the best of the best TAIYO YUDEN Recordable DVD Media. Made by the inventor
of the CD-R disc, Taiyo Yuden is used by professionals for mastering around the
world. Taiyo Yuden has the widest playback compatibility, the lowest error rates
in recording, and comes with a 100-year data integrity guarantee.
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How much film will fit on DVD and Hard Drive?
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We can fit 800-1000 ft of film on a DVD and about 6,000 ft of uncompressed AVI files
on the 120GB External Hard Drives.
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Can I order extra copies? How much do
they cost?
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We keep all the files we need to make additional copies for 30 days after your order
is completed. Simply call us and we'll send more copies your way or even deliver
them to a friend or relative as a gift. The cost is $6 per disc. For example: If
a set consists of 3 discs to fulfill the total footage then it will be $18 per set.
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Can I make copies of the DVD myself?
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Yes. These DVDs are yours to do with what you like. You must have the proper burning
software and DVD Burner Drive installed on your computer.
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How exactly do you transfer my film? What
is the process involved?
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We begin by cleaning and lubricating your film with a specially designed machine
and solution. The film passes under a microfiber cloth that removes dust and debris
from the film. Secondly, a cleaning and lubricating agent is applied. This cleaner
helps keep the film hydrated and pliable, as well as filling in small scratches
and giving the film a light protective coating, which gives the capture a "wet
gate" like appearance. During this process, we inspect the film, add leader
if necessary, and repair tears or bad splices. Also, at no extra cost we will combine
up to 8 small 50ft reels together onto one large 400ft archival reel(s) for more
compact and safe storage. The second stage is the actual transfer. Our transfer
equipment has an enlarged gate and specialized light source. The enlarged gate allows
us to capture the entirety of the frame. We do not project the image; our camera
looks directly into the gate and as each frame passes through a picture is taken.
These individual frames are put into specialized software that interpolates the
frames into a movie, resulting in a solid, smooth, flicker-free capture. Unlike
super bright projector bulbs that tend to blow out a picture, our specialized light
source provides a softer and more realistic light. We also have the ability to control
the brightness of each scene during capture of your film so that your darker scenes
are brighter and your brighter scenes aren't blown out. The bulb also puts out
much less heat than a projector bulb to eliminate the chance of film burn or hot
spots on the movie. Unlike an automated setup, we monitor your film as it is captured
to be sure no dust or hairs get into the transfer. We watch the transfer on an LCD
TV Monitor and keep a high pressure air hose ready in case any debris gets into
the film gate. Because this transfer process is Frame by Frame we are able to stop
our machine at any point in case an adjustment needs to be made and then resume
capture without causing any interruption in your video. This is a huge advantage
over non Frame by Frame methods. We then take your film into our professional editing
consoles and prepare the captured footage for the DVD. We will delete any blank
footage and only bill you for actual frames containing information. Here we will
review your film to see if it may benefit from our optional Color Correction / Image
Enhancement service. If your film looks like it can be improved by this service
we will notify you. If you decide to add this service to your order, the cost is
10 cents per foot. Finally, we take the digitized film image and output it onto
an easy to use DVD with animated thumbnails of each of your reels for viewing with
family and friends.
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How long will it take?
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We keep our turn status up to date and posted on the left hand side of every page
on the website. Please call or email for larger projects.
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Will you return my originals?
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Yes most definitely! It is important to always have a backup copy of your DVDs and
keeping the original film is one of the best ways.
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How should I label and package my film for
shipment?
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To prepare your reels for transfer, group and organize them by film type. 8mm and
Super8 film reels should be grouped together by type of film. Number each reel in
the order they should appear on the DVD. Provide a Title for the DVD (this will
be printed on the physical disc itself) and names for each reel (be sure to note
the reel# and name up to 80 characters per reel).
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Sounds great! How do I proceed?
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Simply fill out our online order form. When you click the Submit Info button you
will be given the option to schedule a FedEx pickup, drop off or you can print a
generic label and ship via the courier of your choice.
Here is the order page.
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