How To EASILY Film in RED RAW With The Nikon ZR

I’m about to show you how to easily film in RED RAW with the Nikon ZR. To save you some time, check out my RAW filmmaking cheat sheet that shows all of the best settings in one easy place, so you can reference it whenever you need.

And if you want help getting amazing-looking colors from your RED RAW footage, I also have a set of color presets that work fantastically with RED RAW. I’ll link those as well so you can check them out.

Why Settings Still Matter When Shooting RAW

When it comes to filming in RED RAW, you might think the settings you choose on the Nikon ZR aren’t that important. After all, you’re shooting RAW, right? You can just fix everything in post.

Unfortunately, that’s not true.

RAW video is very forgiving, and RED RAW in particular is one of the easiest RAW formats to work with. It gives you incredible control over exposure and color. But that doesn’t mean you can just switch the camera to RAW, hit record, and magically get gorgeous footage.

There are still several key settings you need to dial in to make your footage look its best, and I’m going to walk you through how to do that quickly and easily.

Enabling RED RAW on the Nikon ZR

Let’s start with the basics.

Grab your Nikon ZR, open the menu, go to the video camera icon, and set the video file type to R3D NE 12-bit in LOG3G10. This enables RED RAW recording in log, which gives you a very flat and desaturated image.

That flat image is exactly what we want for maximum flexibility in post.

Making RED RAW Easier to Work With Using View Assist

Next, we want to make filming in RED RAW as easy as possible. The Nikon ZR gives you some excellent tools to help with this.

The first thing you should enable is View Assist. This removes the super flat log preview and applies a 3D LUT so you see a more saturated and contrasty image on the camera screen.

Important reminder: this LUT is only for monitoring. Your footage is still recorded in flat log and will need to be color graded later.

Turning on View Assist also affects how some of the exposure tools behave, which is why I strongly recommend enabling it. That said, if you don’t want to use it, that’s okay. I’ll explain how exposure works without it as well.

To quickly enable View Assist, press the Assist Display button in the bottom right of the screen, then tap the Assist button in the bottom middle. Instantly, your footage becomes much easier to judge.

Choosing the Correct Base ISO

Now that the image looks better, you might think you’re ready to hit record. But before you do, we need to talk about exposure tools.

First, some ground rules.

When filming in R3D, I recommend always starting by setting your ISO to one of the camera’s two base ISOs: ISO 800 or ISO 6400.

The Nikon ZR makes this easy. Press the ISO button in the bottom left of the screen, and you can toggle between the low and high base ISOs.

If you’re filming in bright conditions, like outdoors in daylight, use ISO 800. If you’re filming in darker environments, like an evening wedding reception, use ISO 6400.

Using these base ISOs gives you the cleanest image with the least amount of noise.

You might be thinking, “Matt, why does ISO matter if I’m filming RAW and can change it later?”

Great question. The answer has everything to do with zebras.

Setting Up Zebras Correctly

Zebras are those black-and-white lines that appear on overexposed areas of your image. If you see them, it means parts of your image are too bright and unrecoverable.

You want zebras enabled almost all the time when filming.

To set them up properly, open the menu, go to the pencil icon, Video, G16, and select Zebra Pattern.

Set the highlight threshold to 245, which is where highlights start to clip when using View Assist.

For midtone range, set the value to 130 with a range of plus or minus 15. Shoutout to Calen Rhome from Gamut for testing the camera and figuring this out.

Once set, press OK and exit the menu.

To toggle zebras on and off, tap the Assist Display button again and then tap the Zebra Pattern button. The first tap enables midtone zebras, and the second tap enables highlight zebras.

Why Base ISO Matters for Zebras

Here’s why sticking to base ISO is so important.

If you change the ISO away from the base values, the zebra levels also change. That means the camera can no longer accurately tell you when highlights are clipping unless you manually adjust zebra values.

Nikon even provides a PDF chart showing the correct zebra values for every ISO. You can download it from Nikon or from a mirror I’ve uploaded.

With View Assist enabled and ISO set to 800 or 6400, your zebras at 245 will be accurate. If you don’t use View Assist, you’ll want to lower zebras to around 180.

This is why I recommend base ISO whenever possible. It makes exposure faster and far less confusing.

Using Zebras to Expose Correctly

Now let’s tie everything together.

Set your Nikon ZR to RED RAW, choose one of the base ISOs, and enable highlight zebras. Adjust exposure using your aperture or an ND filter until highlight zebras just begin to appear, then back off slightly until they disappear.

This ensures you retain highlight detail while keeping shadows clean and noise-free. This is how you capture the maximum dynamic range the camera can offer.

Next, switch to midtone zebras and check skin tones. You want to see zebras appear on the side of the face where light is hitting. If you don’t, your image is either underexposed or overexposed.

This is a balancing act. You want properly exposed skin tones without blowing out bright backgrounds, so you’ll often toggle between highlight and midtone zebras to find the sweet spot.

Using the Waveform Monitor for Extra Accuracy

If you want even more confidence in your exposure, Nikon gives you another excellent tool: the waveform monitor.

To enable it, go to the menu, pencil icon, Video, G19, and set Brightness Information Display to WFM. Press right on the joystick to adjust size and position.

I recommend setting the waveform size to large and transparency to 3. The small version is just too tiny to be useful.

Back out of the menu, tap the Assist Display button, and enable the brightness info icon to turn on the waveform.

The waveform shows brightness values across the entire image. Dark areas sit lower, bright areas higher, and the image is mapped horizontally across the display.

The Firmware 1.10 Waveform Upgrade

Make sure your Nikon ZR is updated to firmware 1.10 or newer. This update added a crucial feature to the waveform monitor: a red clipping line.

If any part of the waveform goes above this red line, that area is clipped and unrecoverable. Even better, this clipping line automatically adjusts based on ISO, so it’s always accurate.

When filming RED RAW, keep in mind that exposure values are compressed downward. Properly exposed skin tones should sit about ⅓ to ½ of the way above the shadow line on the waveform.

If you hit that range, your footage will look fantastic.

The Complete RED RAW Workflow

Here’s the full workflow from start to finish.

Set ISO to 800 or 6400. Enable highlight zebras. Adjust exposure until zebras just appear, then back off slightly. Switch to midtone zebras and confirm they appear on skin tones. Use the waveform to double check skin tones sit about ⅓ to ½ above the shadow line. Finally, return to highlight zebras to make sure clipping is minimal.

This is the sweet spot of the Nikon ZR and where you’ll get the highest image quality and flexibility in color grading.

Final Thoughts

And that’s how you easily film RED RAW with the Nikon ZR!

Huge shoutout to Brandon Talbot for his helpful ZR videos that helped me confirm these settings.

If you want more videos about filmmaking, make sure to subscribe. Thanks so much for reading, and have a great day.

The Best Sony Video Format Settings (And When You Should Not Use Them)

Matt Johnson holding a Sony camera with the video format menu open

You just bought a Sony a7V, or another recent Sony camera, and now you’re staring at the video format menu wondering what on earth you’re supposed to choose.

Totally fair question!

Sony gives you a lot of options, and while that flexibility is great, it can also be confusing if you just want to know what setting will give you the best results without wasting time.

So let’s start with the short answer, and then I’ll explain why I recommend it, plus the specific situations where you should actually do something different.

Here’s The Short Answer:

For most situations, I recommend filming in XAVC HS, selecting the highest bit rate available, and making sure it says 4:2:2 10-bit if your computer can handle it.

That’s it.

If you want a quick reference you can come back to later, I’ve also put together a Sony Video Formats Cheat Sheet that shows you exactly which settings to use. It’s completely free!

Now let’s talk about why these settings make sense, and when they don’t.

A Quick Note on Testing and Hardware

Before we get into the menu breakdown, you should know that while this video and article are not sponsored by MSI, they did provide me with the RTX 5080 graphics card I used for all of the testing discussed here. Thanks to MSI for that.

I’ll also link to this card, along with other MSI GPUs I recommend for video editing, since they currently offer the fastest performance for modern codecs.

This hardware context matters a lot for what we’re about to talk about.

Understanding Sony’s Video Format Options

When you open the Sony menu and go to Shooting → Video Format, you’ll see several options, including:

  • XAVC HS
  • XAVC S
  • XAVC S-I
  • XAVC S HD

If you’re using a cinema-line camera like the FX3, FX30, or FX2, you’ll also see a DCI 4K option.

For the vast majority of your filmmaking, I recommend XAVC HS, and the reason is simple: XAVC HS uses H.265 compression, which is the most advanced and efficient codec your camera can record internally.

That means higher image quality and smaller file sizes at the same time, which is exactly what we want.

Choosing Frame Rate and Bit Rate

Once you select XAVC HS, you’ll need to back out and head into the video settings to choose your frame rate and bit rate.

You’ll typically see options like 24p, 60p, and 120p.

If instead you’re seeing 25p, 50p, or 100p, that means your camera is currently set to PAL mode, which is used in many countries outside the United States. This has to do with electrical frequency and broadcast standards, and we don’t need to go down that rabbit hole here.

What you need to know is that if you want access to frame rates like 120p, go into the yellow toolbox menu and switch your camera to NTSC.

From here, let’s assume we’re choosing 24 frames per second, and now Sony throws a bunch of other options at you, like 50M, 100M, 4:2:0, 4:2:2, 8-bit, 10-bit, and it suddenly feels overwhelming.

Let’s break it down quickly.

Bit Rate, Bit Depth, and Chroma Subsampling Explained

The number followed by an “M” represents the bit rate, measured in megabits per second. Higher numbers mean more data, which means higher quality video, so I recommend choosing the highest bit rate available.

Next comes 8-bit vs 10-bit, and this one is easy. Always choose 10-bit.

10-bit video records dramatically more color information, enabling your camera to capture billions of colors instead of millions, which results in smoother gradients, better skin tones, and far more flexibility when color grading.

The last option, and the one that causes the most confusion, is 4:2:2 vs 4:2:0, which refers to chroma subsampling, or how much color data is stored per pixel.

4:2:2 records more color information than 4:2:0, so on paper it sounds like something you’d always want to use. And in a perfect world, that would be true.

But here’s where your computer matters.

Why Your GPU Determines Whether You Should Use 4:2:2

This entire topic is the reason I reached out to MSI and asked for an RTX 5080 to test with.

Older computers, including Macs from before Apple’s M-series chips, older NVIDIA GPUs, and essentially all AMD GPUs at this point, do not offer hardware acceleration for H.265 video encoded in 4:2:2 color.

What that means in practice is that editing 4:2:2 footage on those systems is noticeably slower, with choppy playback, laggy scrubbing, and longer render times, because your computer has to decode everything in software.

Newer hardware changes that completely.

Apple’s M-series Macs and NVIDIA’s 5000-series GPUs support hardware encoding and decoding of 4:2:2 video, which makes editing dramatically faster.

To show you what that looks like, I tested the same DaVinci Resolve project on the same desktop computer, first using an RTX 3080 and then swapping in the RTX 5080.

With the 3080, playback wasn’t terrible, but scrubbing wasn’t smooth, and rendering a 10-minute project took 4 minutes and 6 seconds.

With the 5080 installed, playback was dramatically smoother, scrubbing felt instant, and the same render finished in 1 minute and 23 seconds, making it roughly 66% faster.

That’s a massive difference.

So Which Settings Should You Use?

If you’re editing on:

  • A Mac with an M-series chip, or
  • A Windows PC with an NVIDIA 5000-series GPU

You can safely shoot XAVC HS, highest bit rate, 4:2:2, 10-bit and enjoy both great image quality and fast editing performance.

If you’re using:

  • An AMD GPU
  • An older NVIDIA card
  • An older Intel-based Mac

Then I recommend choosing 4:2:0, 10-bit instead. The image quality is still excellent, and your editing experience will be significantly smoother.

The One Big Limitation of XAVC HS

There is one annoying limitation of XAVC HS that I was really hoping Sony would fix with the a7V, but unfortunately it’s still here.

You cannot record 4K at 30 frames per second using XAVC HS.

Yes, it’s weird, and yes, it’s been weird for years.

If you need 4K 30p, the workaround is to switch your video format to XAVC S, then select 4K 30p, 140M, 4:2:2, 10-bit.

XAVC S uses the older H.264 codec, which is less efficient than H.265, but the image quality is still very similar, so don’t stress about that.

The good news is that now that Apple and NVIDIA support hardware acceleration for 4:2:2, using XAVC S no longer comes with the editing penalties it used to.

Final Thoughts

Sony video formats can get complicated quickly, but once you understand what the camera is doing and how your computer factors into the equation, the right settings become pretty straightforward.

For most situations:

  • XAVC HS
  • Highest bit rate
  • 10-bit
  • 4:2:2 if your hardware supports it

And remember, if you want a quick reference you don’t have to think about, you can download my Sony Video Formats Cheat Sheet completely free.

If you want to learn more about cameras and filmmaking, consider subscribing, and as always, thanks for reading.

How To Build The ULTIMATE YouTube Desk For $500! (Complete Guide)

I just built the ULTIMATE YouTube desk!

It works for talking head videos, overhead product shots, horizontal content, and vertical video. Best of all, the entire setup cost right around $500.

In this post, I will walk you through exactly how I built it, the parts I used, and how you can build the same desk yourself.

Choosing the Standing Desk Frame

Every desk starts with two things: legs and a desktop.

For the legs, I wanted a standing desk frame that could support a very wide surface. My goal was a desktop at least 39 inches deep, which ruled out many budget frames.

After researching several options, I chose a VIVO standing desk frame from Amazon (FYI some of the links in this article are affiliate links to Amazon and I earn a commission from them). At the time, it retailed for around $200, but I picked it up during Prime Day for about $150. Pricing fluctuates, so be sure to confirm current pricing before purchasing.

The frame supports wide desktops and provides electronic height adjustment, which is essential for my workflow.

Why I Did Not Use a Prebuilt Desk

I have owned several standing desks over the years.

One of them is an Uplift Desk L desk that I use for video editing. It is excellent and very well built, and I have a full video dedicated to that setup.

The other desks I own are Husky work tables from Home Depot. These use a manual crank instead of electronics. They are extremely sturdy and significantly cheaper than motorized desks.

All of these desks use solid butcher block tops made from hevea or rubberwood. This material is durable, heavy, and far superior to particleboard.

The problem was depth.

Most desks are around 72 inches wide but only 24 inches deep. That works fine for typing, but it is limiting for overhead product shots, especially for vertical video.

The Kitchen Island Desktop Solution

My friend and fellow YouTuber Chris Brockhurst introduced me to a better solution.

Instead of using a standard desktop, he recommended using a kitchen island countertop. These are typically 72 inches wide and 39 inches deep, which is perfect for overhead filming.

Chris used an IKEA Karlby countertop, which is very popular. I tried one myself and ended up returning it.

While it looks great, it only has a thin layer of real wood on top. Underneath is particleboard, which does not hold up well to drilling, modifications, or long term use.

Why I Chose a Butcher Block Countertop

After more research, I purchased a butcher block kitchen island countertop from Lowe’s.

Both Lowe’s and Home Depot sell similar countertops in various wood types like oak, acacia, and rubberwood. Some are very expensive. The most affordable option is hevea or rubberwood, which I already had great experience with.

The Lowe’s countertop cost $310. Home Depot had a similar version under their house brand for about $50 less, but it was not available in store.

I strongly recommend buying in person if possible. You want to inspect the wood for dents, chips, discoloration, and excessive knots. What looks good on camera matters.

I had four slabs to choose from and picked one with minimal knots on one side, which became the tabletop surface.

One important note is that Lowe’s will not price match Home Depot on store brand countertops, even if they are nearly identical.

Also bring help. This countertop weighs about 100 pounds and is awkward to move.

Finishing the Butcher Block

Unlike IKEA countertops, this butcher block comes unfinished. That means you need to seal it.

I used Watco butcher block finishing oil in clear because lighter wood looks better on camera and helps products stand out.

You will also want staining rags or sponge applicators, rubber gloves, and sandpaper in 80 grit and 400 grit.

Sanding and Prepping the Wood

The countertop comes pre-sanded, but the edges are very sharp. You will want to sand those down.

I set the slab on sawhorses in my parents’ garage. You want a space that is relatively dust free and well ventilated because the oil smell is strong.

Using 80 grit sandpaper, round the edges and corners. Focus on the top and bottom edges. You do not need to sand the surface yet unless there is damage.

Next, lightly sand the surface with 400 grit sandpaper following the grain. This helps the oil soak in evenly.

Wipe everything down with a lightly damp cloth to remove dust.

Applying the First Coat of Oil

Stir the oil thoroughly and put on gloves.

Using the staining rag, apply oil with the grain across the top and sides. Go slowly and do not overload the wood.

Once applied, go back over the surface with a dry rag to remove excess oil. Pay close attention to drips along the edges, as these can darken if left alone.

Using a light source helps you spot bubbles or uneven areas.

After about 20 minutes, check again and wipe away any oil that has pooled. Let the first coat dry for at least six hours.

Second Coat and Final Sanding

Before applying the second coat, the surface may feel slightly sticky.

Lightly sand the top and sides with fine grit sandpaper, following the grain, until everything feels smooth.

Apply the second coat of oil the same way as the first. Wipe away excess oil and allow it to dry for another six hours.

If you find rough spots, lightly sand again. If sanding removes too much color, add another light coat of oil. The process is forgiving.

Once complete, the desktop is finished and ready to mount.

Attaching the Standing Desk Legs

Most standing desk frames are designed for one inch thick desktops. This butcher block is 1.5 inches thick.

The included screws will work, but you can buy longer ones if you want extra stability.

Place the desktop face down on a soft surface like carpet or a blanket.

Fully assemble the desk frame upside down on the slab before drilling. This makes alignment easier.

Measure carefully and mark all screw holes with a pencil. Drill pilot holes to prevent cracking, then screw the frame into place.

When flipping the desk upright, lift from the wood, not the legs. This prevents stress on the screws.

Final Thoughts on the Desk Build

I love how this desk turned out!

The matte finish reduces glare, the extra depth makes overhead filming easy, and the desk feels incredibly solid.

Thanks for reading and happy building.

How To Shoot Super 8 – Cameras, Film, Processing, & Scanning Guide for Beginners

So you’re thinking about getting into Super 8 filmmaking!

First of all, welcome. It’s a ton of fun, it looks incredible, and it will absolutely make you think differently about how you shoot video.

My name is Matt Johnson, and in this post I want to walk you through everything you actually need to know to get started filming in Super 8. Not the romanticized version, the practical version.

We’ll cover:

  • What Super 8 cameras you should consider
  • The single most important feature to look for in a camera
  • Which film stocks to use, and when
  • Where to send your film for processing and scanning
  • And how much all of this realistically costs

This is a lot to cover, but by the end of this post, you’ll have a clear game plan.

And if you want an even faster overview, I’ve put together a free Super 8 Filming Cheat Sheet that walks you through recommended cameras, film stocks, and where to send everything.

Alright, let’s get into it.

The Tools You Need to Film in Super 8

First Things First: The Camera

Obviously, you need a Super 8 camera.

The good news is there’s a decent chance you already have access to one without realizing it. Super 8 cameras were wildly popular in the 60s, 70s, and 80s. Millions were sold, and once digital took over, most of them ended up sitting in attics and storage closets.

So ask around. Parents, grandparents, relatives. There’s a strong chance someone knows where one is. Or you’ll end up like me, with an uncle who swears he has one somewhere but can never actually find it.

If you can get a camera this way, it’s obviously the cheapest option. Free is hard to beat.

Buying a Camera Secondhand

If the family route doesn’t work out, your next option is the secondhand market. Think eBay, Craigslist, flea markets, or antique stores.

Super 8 cameras can be surprisingly cheap, but there’s a catch. Just because someone is selling a camera doesn’t mean it actually works.

Batteries could be corroded. The motor might be dead. Any number of things could be wrong. Buying this way is a gamble.

If you go this route, look for listings that say the camera has been tested and is working. Even then, be aware that “tested” usually means the seller put batteries in it and pressed the trigger. It does not mean they shot film and had it processed.

If possible, message the seller and ask how it was tested.

Refurbished Cameras (The Safe but Expensive Option)

If you want to guarantee that your camera works, you have a couple of better options.

The first is buying a refurbished Super 8 camera from Pro8mm. They’re one of the biggest names in the Super 8 space, and they sell refurbished cameras ranging from about $700 up to $3,600.

That’s significantly more than eBay prices, but what you’re paying for is reliability. The camera works. Period.

Etsy (Yes, Really)

The final option, and the one I personally chose, is Etsy.

Yes, the same Etsy that sells handmade sweaters and mugs also sells Super 8 cameras.

There are quite a few sellers refurbishing cameras there. I bought mine from MonsterFlips USA for about $450. He refurbishes a wide range of Super 8 cameras at different price points, which makes it much easier to find something within your budget.

So why did I choose Etsy over Pro8mm?

It comes down to one very important technical feature.

The Most Important Feature in a Super 8 Camera

While all Super 8 cameras use the same film, the biggest difference between them is whether or not they have a built-in light meter.

This matters a lot.

The light meter tells the camera how bright your scene is and automatically adjusts the aperture to compensate. If there is one thing you want in a Super 8 camera, it’s this.

Think about shooting digitally. You look at your screen, see the image is overexposed, and adjust your aperture. Now imagine doing that without a screen or a reliable viewfinder.

That’s what shooting Super 8 without a light meter is like.

If your camera doesn’t have one, you’ll need to carry a separate handheld light meter, measure the light, and manually set your aperture every time. That’s slow, clunky, and honestly the opposite of what Super 8 was designed for.

Super 8 was meant to be simple. Anyone could pick it up and shoot. Hand your grandma a Super 8 camera and she can figure it out. Hand her a light meter and… not so much.

This is why I recommend buying a camera with a built-in light meter. From Pro8mm, that starts around $700. On Etsy, you can often find one for much less.

Which Camera Should You Buy?

You may have noticed I still haven’t told you which Super 8 camera to buy.

That’s intentional.

As long as the camera works and has a built-in light meter, you’re good to go. Brand and model really don’t matter as much as collectors would have you believe.

Yes, cameras like the Braun Nizo are beautiful. But at the end of the day, they’re all shooting the same Super 8 film.

Which brings us to film.

Understanding Super 8 Film Stocks (Without the Confusion)

Film can feel overwhelming at first. You’ll hear terms like Ektachrome, Vision, and Tri-X, and it’s easy to overthink it.

Here’s the good news. If you just want to have fun shooting Super 8, there are really only three film stocks you need to care about.

They’re all made by Kodak:

  • 50D
  • 200T
  • 500T

What the Numbers Mean

Think of ISO on a digital camera. Higher ISO means more sensitivity to light.

On Super 8 cameras, there is no ISO button. The ISO is determined entirely by the film.

  • 50D = ISO 50
  • 200T = ISO 200
  • 500T = ISO 500

That’s what you’re working with.

What the D and T Mean

Just like ISO, white balance is also baked into the film.

  • D stands for Daylight
  • T stands for Tungsten

50D is balanced for bright daylight. It’s perfect for shooting outdoors in the sun.

200T and 500T are balanced for tungsten lighting, which is typical warm indoor light. Because indoor lighting is darker than sunlight, these films also have higher ISO values.

Which Film Should You Use?

Here’s the simplest way to think about it.

If you’re outdoors, use 50D.

If you’re indoors, use a tungsten stock. Between 200T and 500T, I usually recommend 500T. Indoor spaces are almost always darker than you think, and 500T gives you more flexibility.

What If You Go Indoors and Outdoors?

Some Super 8 cameras have a switch with a sun icon and a lightbulb icon. This toggles an internal filter.

If your camera has this, you can shoot tungsten film outdoors by flipping the switch to daylight. It engages a filter that corrects the color so things don’t look weird.

This makes life much easier.

One Big Difference Between Film and Digital

Unlike memory cards, film is a one-time use.

Each Super 8 cartridge is 50 feet long. At 18 frames per second, that gives you about three minutes of recording time.

That’s it.

No letting the camera roll and hoping something cool happens. You need to be intentional. Plan your shots. Think before you press record.

Where to Buy Film

Film has a shelf life, like milk. You want fresh film whenever possible.

I usually buy mine from B&H. Once it arrives, I keep it in the refrigerator until I’m ready to shoot. Keeping it cold helps slow deterioration.

You can experiment with expired film later, but when you’re starting out, buy new.

Processing and Scanning Your Film

Once you shoot your film, you still can’t watch it yet.

First, it needs to be processed. This is where a lab uses chemicals to develop the film.

Companies like Pro8mm and Spectra Film and Video offer processing. Pro8mm even sells film with processing included, which is convenient.

I personally use Spectra Film and Video because it’s cheaper. You fill out a form on their website, print it, box it up with your film, and ship it to California.

After processing, the film looks like an old reel. To actually edit it, you need it scanned.

Why I Use a Separate Scanning Company

Instead of scanning with Pro8mm or Spectra, I use a company called The Negative Space, run by Nicki Coyle in Colorado.

Two reasons:

  1. She’s incredibly knowledgeable and helpful.
  2. She owns a high-end scanner that can scan Super 8 up to 6.5K.

Spectra sends the processed film directly to Nicki. She scans it and sends me a download link to a massive, high-quality ProRes file. We’re talking 50GB for three minutes of footage.

It looks incredible!

Compared to other options, her pricing is also wildly better. A 5K scan with a download link costs $20.

Yes, really.

UPDATE: NICKI NOW OFFERS PROCESSING & SCANNING! REACH OUT TO HER FOR CURRENT PRICING AND AVAILABILITY.

How I Like My Film Scanned

I choose:

  • High-resolution scans (5120×3840)
  • Flat scans so I can color grade myself
  • Overscan, not cropped

Overscan shows the edges of the film and sprocket holes. It looks amazing and gives you that unmistakable Super 8 feel.

How Much Does Super 8 Cost?

Short answer: it’s not cheap.

Every step costs money.

Film: ~$40
Shipping: ~$10
Processing: $25
Scanning: $20

All in, you’re looking at about $100 per roll, for roughly three minutes of footage.

Retro isn’t cheap.

Ways to Save Money

  • Ship multiple rolls at once to save on shipping
  • Buy film directly from Spectra for slightly cheaper prices
  • Take advantage of film + processing bundles when they make sense

Final Thoughts

Super 8 filmmaking isn’t cheap, but it’s incredibly rewarding.

It forces you to slow down, be intentional, and actually think before you shoot. And the results have a character that’s almost impossible to replicate digitally.

If you want a condensed version of everything in this post, grab the free Super 8 Filming Cheat Sheet.

And most importantly, have fun with it. Super 8 is supposed to be fun.

Thanks for reading, and enjoy filming with film!

Destination Wedding Videography Gear Guide

Destination wedding videography can be incredibly stressful due to needing to pack up all your gear and fly with it across the country or around the world. Here’s everything I brought for a destination wedding I recently filmed in California!