How to Convert 8mm to CD

1). Set up your 8mm projector on a table. The table should be about seven feet from the wall and you should be able to completely darken the room.

If the machine hasn't been used recently you will want to dust it off and make sure it is working properly. You can use a clean, soft paint brush to dust of the lens. Replace the bulb if necessary. Be sure not to handle the bulb directly. Use a soft cloth as finger oil can cause the bulb to explode.
2). Tape a large pieces of thick, white poster board to the wall. This will serve as your projection screen. Make sure the poster board is at a height that corresponds with your projector. Make any necessary adjustments with the projector to make sure the image fits onto the poster board.
3). Mount your camera on its tripod and set it up just ahead of the projector. You want the camera and the projector to be as close to each other as possible. The camera lens should be centered with the projector lens. Raise the camera as high as possible without blocking the projection. This will help keep the image from getting skewed.
4). Set up you computer on the table behind the projector. You will need a power source for the computer if you are using a laptop since this process can take some time. Connect your computer to your camera so that the video is saved directly onto the computer. You can also check your work from the computer as you progress.
5). Set your camera's shutter speed to 1/60 second and set the projector to 20 frames per second. When you start filming you may see a flicker on the digital film. This means you need to play with the parameters on your specific equipment to reduce or eliminate the flicker. Try setting the projector to 10 frames per second.
6). Set the white balance by running the projector without any film in. Zoom in on the poster board with your digital camera and go to your white balance settings. Tell the camera that what you are focused on is white and save the setting.

If you are not able to do this, set your auto white balance control to indoors/incandescent.
7). Allow the camera to set the exposure automatically but manually focus the lens on the the screen so it doesn't zoom in and out searching for something to focus on as the image changes.
8). Record the 8mm reel by shutting off the lights, setting the frame of the video so it covers the poster board but not any of the wall. Start recording on your video camera and then feed the first roll of film into the projector. On your computer monitor, watch for any necessary adjustments in white balance, film speed or focus.

Continue feeding the 8mm reels through the projector until you are all done.
9). Edit the film in a digital editing program once it has been completely uploaded. Once completed you can save it onto a CD or DVD. If you are using CDs, you will need to save it to a video CD (VCD) or a super video CD (SVCD), which can be played in DVD players.

Save the finished file onto the CD by selecting the CD drive from the drop-down menu when saving the file. You can also find the file on the hard-drive and drag it into the CD folder. Whatever type of disk you choose make sure it has a large enough memory for your file.