8mm Film to Digital in the US: Compare Scan5 vs Legacy Digital on Scanning, Price and Delivery

To choose an 8mm film to digital service, compare how each one scans the film, what resolution it captures, how it prices the work and what it delivers. Scan5 in Chicago, Illinois, and Legacy Digital in Orange, California, both publish frame-by-frame scanning and clear starting prices, but they price differently: Scan5 per reel and Legacy Digital per foot.[1][2] Both prices and terms below are as published on their sites when this was written.

Check the formats each service accepts

List your reels before asking for quotes: format (Regular 8, Super 8 or 16mm), reel size, and whether the film may have a soundtrack. Mark anything you are unsure of as unknown.

• Scan5: digitizes 8mm, 16mm, Super 8 and most films with soundtracks, and asks you to contact it to confirm your soundtrack format is compatible with its machine.[1]
• Legacy Digital: converts 8mm, Super 8 and 16mm film, charges a flat $5 handling fee for each Technicolor cartridge, and says you can send a mixed box and it will identify each reel and measure the footage.[2]

Compare the scanning method and resolution

Ask whether each frame is scanned individually and what resolution is captured, not only what file size is delivered.

• Scan5: scans frame by frame on Lasergraphics equipment at up to 5K. It offers standard and archival resolutions and recommends 2K for 8mm.[1]
• Legacy Digital: scans frame by frame in HD 1080p or 2K on touchless, cold-LED equipment, and says it keeps the full frame without cropping.[2]

Higher resolution increases file size and storage. Contributors to a 2022 Kinograph forum discussion disagreed on how much real detail 8mm film holds at higher scan resolutions, so ask each service for a sample before paying for the top tier.[3] Legacy Digital offers a downloadable raw sample clip on its page.[2]

Compare cleaning, colour correction and repairs

• Scan5: offers colour correction with scratch and grain reduction, and stores reels in a climate-controlled environment during the work.[1]
• Legacy Digital: cleans, reconditions and lubricates every reel before scanning, repairs splices as needed, and includes scene-by-scene colour correction and grain reduction in its Platinum HD and Professional 2K tiers.[2]

Ask both whether repairs beyond routine splicing need your approval first, and what happens to a reel they decide not to scan.

Compare the price on the same collection

The two services use different billing units, so convert both to an estimate for your actual reels.

• Scan5: starts at $22 per reel for a 3-inch silent reel, has a $100 minimum for its Lasergraphics film transfers, and offers bulk discounts.[1]
• Legacy Digital: bills per foot actually converted. Its listed per-foot prices are $0.28 for Gold HD, $0.35 for Platinum HD and $0.45 for Professional 2K, with sound film 10 cents more per foot, and a $50 order minimum. These are shown as discounted from higher list prices.[2]

Legacy Digital says a 3-inch reel holds up to 50 feet and estimates about $14 for a full 3-inch reel at Gold HD.[2] Scan5’s starting price is for the same reel size, so for small reels the two are close. For larger reels and sound film, ask each service for a written quote using your reel list, since Scan5 does not publish per-reel prices for larger sizes on the cited page.[1]

Compare delivery, turnaround and drop-off

• Scan5: delivers through cloud hosting, a USB drive or a portable hard drive. It says most film projects take 1 to 3 weeks, with rush service available.[1]
• Legacy Digital: delivers MP4 files on a flash drive or hard drive, lets you bring your own drive to avoid that cost, and offers DVD or Blu-ray at $15 per disc. You can drop off at its Orange studio, ship reels yourself, or use a prepaid kit for reels under 600 feet.[2]

Scan5 also offers editing, such as trimming sections and combining reels into one video.[1] If you want one file per reel, say so in writing.

What to confirm before you send reels

• Scan5: the price for each of your reel sizes, whether your soundtrack format is compatible, the resolution you are paying for, and its return shipping method.[1]
• Legacy Digital: the total for your measured footage at your chosen tier, the drive cost if you do not supply one, and how originals are returned if you ship them.[2]
• Both: a reel-by-reel inventory on arrival, file naming that matches your reel list, how long you have to report problems, and their liability terms for damaged or lost film.

When the files arrive, match every reel to its file, check the start and end of each, and count the returned originals against your list before approving the order.

References

1. Film Digitizing Services in Chicago | Scan5 (scan5.com)
2. 8mm Film to Digital: Convert 8mm, Super 8 and 16mm Film | Legacy Digital (legacydigital.net)
3. 8mm / Super 8 / 16mm – Scanning Resolution | Kinograph Forums (kinograph.cc)