8mm Film to Digital: Convert 8mm, Super 8 and 16mm Film
Your family's home movies, saved before the color is gone.
True frame-by-frame HD and 2K scanning on touchless, cold-LED equipment, in our own studio in Orange, California. Every reel is cleaned and reconditioned first, and you pay only for the footage we actually convert.
Trusted with Steven Spielberg's early films for the Spielberg documentary.
8mm film to digital service, at a glance
- Price from
- $0.28 per foot
- Billed by
- The foot actually converted
- Scan
- Frame by frame, HD 1080p or 2K
- Delivery
- MP4 on a flash drive or hard drive; DVD or Blu-ray optional
- Turnaround
- Call (888) 405-2685 for current processing times and priority ordering
- Where
- In-house in Orange, California
8mm Film Transfer Pricing, Per Foot
Pick your quality. Pay by the foot.
No prepaid boxes, and no paying full price for half-full reels. Our estimator assumes full reels, so most families pay a little less than their quote, not more.
Gold HD
HD 1080p frame-by-frame scan.
- Touchless scanning under cold LED light
- Cleaned, reconditioned, and lubricated
- Sound film $0.38 per foot
Platinum HD
HD plus full color correction and grain reduction.
- Everything in Gold
- Color, contrast, and exposure corrected scene by scene
- Sound film $0.45 per foot
Professional 2K
2K scan with full color correction and grain reduction.
- Everything in Platinum, at 2K
- A popular choice for 16mm
- Sound film $0.55 per foot
How Much Does It Cost to Convert 8mm Film to Digital?
Measure the reel across and you are close. We bill the actual footage, so partly full reels cost less.
| Reel size | Up to | About this long | Gold HD | Platinum HD |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3 inch | 50 feet | 3 to 4 minutes | $14 | $17.50 |
| 5 inch | 200 feet | 14 to 18 minutes | $56 | $70 |
| 6 inch | 300 feet | 21 to 24 minutes | $84 | $105 |
| 7 inch | 400 feet | 28 to 33 minutes | $112 | $140 |
What Happens When You Transfer Film to Digital Here
Film is the most fragile thing families send us. It gets the most careful handling we have.
Clean and recondition
Every reel is cleaned and lubricated with the same solution studios use on archival prints. Never isopropyl alcohol, which dries and damages film over time.
Frame-by-frame scan
Touchless, sprocket-free capture under cold LED light. No hot bulbs, no projector. Gentle enough that we have run film from 1924.
Scene-by-scene review
A technician adjusts color, contrast, and brightness before delivery. We cannot always make old film perfect, but we make it look as good as it can.
Returned better than it arrived
Splices repaired as needed. One family's film in the studio area at a time, and no reel ever leaves the building.
8mm Film Transfer Quality: See the Difference
The same scene, captured two ways. Frame-by-frame scanning keeps the full frame, the detail, and the color that a lower-quality capture loses.
Scanned frame by frame by Legacy Digital.
The same scene from a lower-quality transfer.
Questions to Ask Before You Choose an 8mm Film to Digital Service
The scan is a one-time capture. What happens during it is what your family keeps.
| Question to ask | Legacy Digital | Typical mail-in or big-box service |
|---|---|---|
| What resolution? | Full HD 1080p or 2K, frame by frame | 480p standard definition |
| Is the whole frame kept? | Yes, nothing cropped | Running transfers cut the edges |
| Color restoration? | Scene by scene, with grain reduction | One-to-one, none |
| Charged for blank footage? | Never, billed per foot converted | Often priced per reel or box |
| Where is the work done? | In-house, in Orange, CA, since 2001 | Mailed to a bulk facility |
| Lost media? | Never lost an item, across more than a million | Loss reports online |
8mm, Super 8, 16mm or Technicolor: Which Film Do You Have?
Not sure? Send a mixed box. We identify every reel and measure the footage for you.
How to Transfer 8mm Film to Digital With Us
Three steps. We handle the hard one.
Gather your reels
Drop them off in Orange, ship them yourself, or use a prepaid kit for reels under 600 feet. Ask about local pick-up.
We scan them in-house
Each reel is logged, cleaned, reconditioned, and scanned frame by frame, then reviewed scene by scene.
Watch them together
MP4 files on a drive, or DVD or Blu-ray if you like, ready to share. Your original reels come home with them.
Every shipment is logged the day it arrives.
Your originals come home with the digital files.
8mm Film Transfer Reviews
What families say.
“I had old family films that my grandfather made back in the middle to late 1960s. 8 mm little rolls. I remember watching them as a kid. They had been stored in a box in the attic for decades. I figured they would just turn to crumble when someone tried to restore them. Legacy Digital did an amazing job of cleaning, color restoring, and digital storage of all the films.”
Randy Reardon · Google review
“I sent a lot of 16mm film I had shot in 1967, with scratches, splices falling apart, and dirt - to Legacy Digital. A project I had given up on. I got back a stunning, beautiful HD 1920 x 1080 file that was clean, sharp, with amazing detail. The result inspired me to edit the project … and it was nominated for the Cannes Shorts Festival , along with a few others. True story.”
Seth Hill · Google review
Our Satisfaction Guarantee
We stand behind every transfer we perform. If you're unhappy with the quality of our work, we'll make every reasonable effort to make it right, at no additional charge. And if another professional service can produce a visibly better transfer from the same originals, we'll match their quality or refund what you paid us for the affected transfer.
See Our Full Satisfaction Guarantee →8mm and 16mm Film to Digital Questions
Why might your drives cost more than other services'?
Higher quality means bigger files, and bigger files need a bigger drive. We scan film with far less compression than most high-volume labs, and we can deliver MOV or ProRes files that are larger still. We charge only what the drive costs for the storage your project needs, with no markup.
Do I pay for blank or unusable footage?
No. Film is billed per foot actually converted. Blank, unrunnable, or empty footage is never charged, so half-full reels cost half as much.
Can old, faded 8mm film still be converted?
Usually, yes, and often better than expected after color correction. Some film is degraded beyond a perfect image, but we deliver the best result the film can give, and limitations in the original are not defects in the transfer.
How much does it cost to convert 8mm film to digital?
It is priced by the foot actually converted: from $0.28 per foot at Gold HD, $0.35 at Platinum HD, and $0.45 at Professional 2K. A full 7 inch reel of about 400 feet comes to about $112 at Gold HD. There is a $50 order minimum.
Can you convert 8mm film to digital with sound?
Yes. Super 8 and 16mm sound film carry an audio track that we read in sync as we scan, so your video plays with its original sound. Sound film is 10 cents more per foot, from $0.38 at Gold HD.
Do you transfer 16mm film to digital, and should I choose 2K?
Yes, silent and sound 16mm. 16mm carries enough detail to reward the higher resolution, which is why Professional 2K is a popular choice for it.
How long does it take to transfer film to digital?
Processing times depend on our current queue and the size of your order, so call us at (888) 405-2685 for current processing times. Working toward a date? Ask about priority ordering, and we will tell you honestly what we can finish by then. The transfer itself takes hours to days, depending on the size of the job.
Can I convert 8mm film to digital myself?
For a few reels, you can. Our guide to three DIY methods walks through the options honestly. A professional frame-by-frame scan captures each frame on its own, under cold LED light, instead of filming a projected image, and that is the difference you see. Our step-by-step guide to film transfer covers what to expect either way.
How much does it cost to convert a Technicolor cartridge?
About $19 each: roughly $14 of footage at the Gold HD rate for about 50 feet, plus a flat $5 handling charge per cartridge, because each one has to be opened and loaded carefully. The handling charge is never discounted.
How do I get my film back?
MP4 by default, or MOV or ProRes on request, on a flash drive or hard drive, and optionally on DVD or Blu-ray. Your original reels come home too.
Can you handle large or institutional reels?
Yes. We handle reels from 3 inch to very large. Reels of 600 feet or more cannot travel in a prepaid shipping kit, so drop them off or ship them yourself.
Are my reels safe with you?
Every reel is logged and tracked, handled in-house in Orange, California, and returned to you. Across more than a million reels transferred, we have never lost one.
Other questions? Call us at (888) 405-2685. A real person answers, 7AM to 7PM, 7 days a week.
Converting More Than Film?
Tapes, photos, slides, and audio all go on one drive with your film, in organized folders.
Film does not wait. The color is fading now.
Get a free, itemized quote. We measure every reel, tell you the exact cost, and your originals always come home.
202 W. Lincoln Ave., Suite A, Orange, CA 92865
Walk-ins Mon to Fri, 8AM to 4PM
Evenings and weekends by appointment
Phones answered 7AM to 7PM, 7 days a week
