STEP 01
Hand-over
Drop the reels off or post them insured. Everything is logged, numbered and photographed on arrival.
Film scanning lab · Hungary
Old film in.
Real detail out.
We scan 8mm, 9.5mm and 16mm one frame at a time on a global-shutter sensor, then stabilise, clean and grade the result. You pay per frame — nothing rounded up, nothing hidden.
6
film gauges handled
5328px
raw capture width
2160p
delivered master
01 Workflow
What happens to a reel
Four stages, and you hear from us at each one. Reels never leave the bench unlogged.
STEP 02
Check & clean
Splices are re-taped, shrinkage and warping assessed, dust and residue lifted before anything touches the gate.
STEP 03
Frame capture
Each frame is exposed individually as raw sensor data with overscan — no video camera pointed at a projector.
STEP 04
Finish & return
Stabilising, crop and grade are done by eye, then files and originals go back to you together.
02 Capabilities
The film sets the limit — not the scanner
The sensor out-resolves the grain, so whatever the emulsion holds ends up in the file.
True frame-by-frame
The film is advanced and held still for every single exposure. No motion blur, no skipped or doubled frames.
Colour brought back
Faded dyes, magenta shift and heavy casts corrected scene by scene. Negative stock inverted properly.
Steady picture
Perforation-referenced alignment plus overscan margin removes the weave and jump that shrunken film picks up.
Masters, not previews
ProRes, DNxHR or a TIFF sequence at 2160 lines — usable as a real archive source, not just a phone-friendly clip.
Apochromatic macro optics
A Basler global-shutter camera with a Schneider-Kreuznach apochromatic macro lens: flat field, no colour fringing.
Your film, handled once
Small batches, handled in-house from start to finish, with no subcontracting. Originals come home in the same condition or better.
03 Formats & rates
Priced per frame, not per guess
Every gauge costs the same per frame. Because pitch and frame rate differ, the per-minute figure differs too — the table shows the typical case.
Scanning
Frame-by-frame capture, stabilising, crop and exposure balancing are part of every job — not extras.
Format
Resolution
Typical rate
The invoice follows the delivered files: actual frame count and frame rate, measured after the scan.
A floor of 6 000 HUF per reel covers set-up, cleaning and calibration for short reels.
Add-ons
Only pay for what your film actually needs — pick these per reel in the estimator below.
Service
What it covers
Price
Basic clean
Loose dust and debris removed before the gate
Included
Deep clean
Mould, vinegar residue and stubborn surface contamination
+ 200 HUF / m
Colour work
Scene-by-scene correction of age fade, or negative inversion
+ 300 HUF / min
Splice repair
Torn film re-joined, brittle old tape and glue removed
1 000 HUF / splice
Drive
USB stick or SSD, delivered with the masters on it
from 4 000 HUF
Splices can only be counted once the reel is on the bench, so repair costs are confirmed after inspection.
04 Estimator
Work out the price yourself
Set the gauge, speed and length of a reel, add it to the list, repeat. Send the whole list to us in one click.
Estimator · live
Film gauge
Frame rate 18 fps
Measured in
Reel length 50 ft
Add-ons
Scanning
—
Add-ons
—
Frames
—
Per reel
—
Short reel — the per-reel minimum applies.
05 Technical
How the scan is actually made
For anyone who wants the details before handing over a shoebox of film.
01 Capture
A Basler a2A5320-23ucBAS global-shutter camera records 5328 × 3040 Bayer raw, one exposure per film frame, on a Schneider-Kreuznach Makro-Iris Apo Componon 4/45 macro lens.
02 Processing
Raw frames are demosaiced into a full-colour RGB sequence, which becomes the working source for stabilising, grading and any later post-production.
03 Overscan
The gate is wider than the picture, so each frame is captured with margin around it. That spare area is what makes accurate stabilising possible.
04 Framing & output size
Aspect ratio and usable crop are judged by eye during stabilising. The export is therefore slightly tighter than the raw scan, delivered 2160 lines high with width following the real frame.
05 Colour
Correction is available for faded or shifted stock. LOG delivery is not offered yet, but a flatter, more neutral grade can be prepared on request for your own post workflow.
06 Sound
16mm optical tracks are captured in the same pass as the picture, so the soundtrack area is preserved in the scan and can be delivered with it.
What you get back
Pick whichever fits what you plan to do with the footage — say the word when you place the order.
- MP4 (H.264 / H.265) — ready to watch, share and back up
- Apple ProRes or DNxHR masters for editing and further grading
- TIFF sequence in RGB, one file per film frame, for archival storage
- Wider overscan crops on request, keeping perforations or the optical track in shot
- Inspection notes and basic cleaning with every order, at no charge
06 Contact
Tell us what you've found
Not sure what gauge it is, or whether it's worth scanning? Send a photo of the reel and we'll tell you straight.