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16mm film ex Spitfire MK V

Transfer of negative 16mm film from Spitfire camera

It’s not often we get to work on something as historically significant as this – 16mm film circa 1940’s shot from the wing of a Spitfire MK V during air-to-air training.

This job was a bit of a challenge as all the film clips were not wound on reels and in some cases the film strips were very short, only a few seconds worth of images.
We added new acetate leaders between the short lengths and spliced the various short pieces together to form a single length of film. To prevent unnecessary handling of the film we scanned as is, in a single pass through our scanner. Once scanned we used our AVID Media Composer software to get the film back to the way it should be. In some cases we had to invert the image (L to R and top to bottom), reverse the direction and invert from negative to positive.

Below is the information provided by our customer.

This film was shot using a ‘G45’ 16mm film camera shooting B&W film at 20 frames/sec mounted in a Spitfire Mk V. The Spitfire was taking part in in an air-to-air gunnery course, Course 66, at the Central Gunnery School, RAF Catfoss, East Yorkshire, UK, in June 1945, prior to the pilot being sent to fight in the aerial war against Japan.
Air-to-air targets during the course included ‘drogues’ (large windsocks towed behind an aircraft), bombers e.g. Wellingtons and other Spitfire Mk V aircraft.

Customer feedback.

Thanks. Very well done indeed managing to get all those scraps copied. I have just gone through and watched them all, and the quality of the conversion, especially with 80 yr-old film, is much better than I anticipated. Really good. Before I found you at, I rang around a number of organisations big and small who said they couldn’t convert the film, offering various excuses like not having double sprocket film handling. Maybe they didn’t want the responsibility of dealing with old film?

The images are taken from the 16mm film.

A challenging and rewarding job, history preserved and above all – a very happy customer!

Film transfer

DVD Conversions Specialize in film transfer to digital files. We can scan 8mm film, Super 8 film, 9.5mm film and 16mm film at 2k resolution of full HD.

Visit our film Conversion to Digital File page

Tape cleaning

A brief insight into our tape cleaning process.

Video cassettes are prone to developing mold if not stored correctly. Moisture is video tape’s number 1 enemy. If you have cassettes that look something like this, it’s time to act quick and get them transferred to DVD or digital files.

A badly damaged 8mm video tape.

After baking and cleaning we managed to recover everything from the tape.

VHS Tape is a lot more forgiving than 8mm video or Mini DV. The relative tape thickness is the difference. Once mold has developed on the edges of the tape it soon makes it’s way between the layers of tape which results in the layers sticking together. The edges of the tape also stick together and cause the tape to shred into pieces. So, what’s the fix for this problem. VHS cassette cleaners where available in the day, however, their success rate was less than desirable as the mold was removed from the tape but for the most part remained in the casing. A more intense cleaning method is required to remove dirt and mold from the tape and cassette casing.

8mm Cassette cleaning jig custom built for 8mm and hi8 tape cleaning and repair

We use a range of cassette cleaning tools, jigs and techniques developed over 30 years of experience.

Panasonic half inch tape splicing block

Panasonic half inch splicer NV-B45 tape splicing block

Tape being baked

Tape cleaning method

Our methods involve opening the cassette and removing the take up or supply reel and manually winding the tape under tension to gently unwind each layer. Soft cleaning pads gently remove excess mold and dirt. We then clean the inside of the casing and reassemble. We do not use any solvents or chemicals in our cleaning process, we use a dry cleaning technique.

Tape baking

In severe cases we bake the cassette under constant temperature and humidity levels, removing excess moisture. Damaged sections of the tape are removed and the tape spliced. Magnetic tape can be spliced contrary to popular belief, provided you use the correct splicing films.

Below is a sample of a typical before and after.

8mm cassette before cleaning with mould builup on reels

Before treatment

8mm tape after a clean mould removed from reels

After Treatment

Success rates

Our success rate across all formats is in excess of 95%. In the worst cases some tape may be lost. We do our best to recover as much as possible.

We’ve recovered video footage from damaged tapes such as

VHS / VHSC / SVHS
Betamax
Video 8 / Hi8 / Digital 8
Betacam
Umatic
DV
DVCPRO
Audio cassette
DAT – Digital Audio Tape

Some tips on tape storage.

Store upright, on the short or long edge of the tape.
Always rewind the tapes.
Always keep the cassette in it’s protective case. If you don’t have cases, use a paper envelope.
Store in a cool, dry place.
Store with silica gel sachets to remove moisture.

Go to this page for more information and a gallery of damaged tapes we’ve recovered.

Contact DVD Conversions today to arrange your cassette transfer.

Video to Digital for conversion of tape to digital files

Convert Video to DVD – Why?

The days of video tape are long gone. It’s time to convert to DVD. The problem is most people are left with archives of magnetic tape that is useless unless you have a machine to play them. It is important to store tape correctly, always upright or vertical so the tape hangs on the reels and in a cool, dry environment. Tape is very prone to mold and will deteriorate rapidly if not stored correctly. VHS and Betamax are probably the most robust of the domestic formats, but the camcorder formats such as Hi8, DV and digital 8 and very fragile and the slightest bit of moisture or mold can cause severe damage. DVD Conversions specialize in tape transfers and can convert video to DVD. We offer tape restoration and have a process of baking and cleaning tapes that are in poor condition prior to them going into our machinery. Tape gradually deteriorates over time and before long the coatings that protect the metal particles are lost, in this case the tape is rendered useless. It is important to get the material converted to DVD long before the process of oxide shed begins. Sooner rather than later!

There are pro’s and con’s to converting video to DVD. On the one hand DVD is cheap and fairly reliable, on the other it’s highly compressed and easily damaged. MPEG 2 is a compression format which is an in between format in terms of size and quality. The disadvantage is that DVD is prone to scratches and the long term storage of data is questionable. Some manufacturers are claiming 25 years and more, but then what? The tapes are long gone and the DVD goes faulty, you’re stuck. We suggest that any data copied onto any optical media be backed up onto flash or hard drives, and multiple copies of this data be stored in different locations. Cloud is an option, but with a 4.7 GB disc it does not take long to use up your allocated space. If you intend editing from the MPEG2 files we suggest looking at converting to another digital file such as AVI, QuickTime or at the very least MP4. All of the above applies generally to SD formats such as analogue video and digital video in the DV codec.
In the next blog, we will discuss the advantages of converting to digital file types.

DVD Conversions Limited t/a Kodak Express Botany

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16mm film ex Spitfire MK V

Transfer of negative 16mm film from Spitfire camera

Film transfer

Tape cleaning

Tape cleaning

Tape cleaning method

Tape baking

Success rates

Some tips on tape storage.

Convert Video to DVD – Why?

Format Identification

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