Pro8mm disaster I recently brought in several videotapes to be digitized at Pro8mm. Because one of the tapes had a tear, I asked if they had experience repairing 8mm videotapes, but they refused any questions about their repair process over the phone because they said that it was "proprietary" information, and they made it sound like they had a special system for repairing the tape. Sadly, this was the furthest thing from the truth. When I got the tape back, the splice material they used to repair the hi8 tape was clearly the wrong, and it became clear very fast that they had done a severely hack job. The material they used was what is customarily used for 16mm film (celluloid film), and not for the magnetic tape, which is inside videocassettes. The tape wasn't ready when they said it would be, and when I finally received it, and tried to play it in my digital8 tape deck, not only did it jammed, and ultimately broke the device. Pro8mm denied any responsibility, and when I asked to speak to the technician who had performed the repair, they told me they would have him call me back. I called the next day, and they told me the same thing. Again, I never heard back. When I called the 3rd time, Rhonda changed her story, and said that it goes against their policy for customers to speak directly with technicians. Because it was evident that they were not concerned, it became clear that I should find a more professional and reputable vendor. When I took the tape to "Digital Video & Film Lab, LLC", they told me that the tape wasn't playing because the splice tape was not put on the right way! After playing the footage, it was clear that Pro8 had cut out a huge segment, which was also the most important segment we needed for the documentary film project we were working on. At the end of this whole ordeal, I called to express how disappointed we had been with the entire experience, and that we were planning on posting a review, which would not be favorable to say the least. At which point, Rhonda started back peddling, and offered to reimburse us for the full amount if we would promise to not post anything negative. It's important to note that she only started to express concern when she realized that Pro8mm's lack of professionalism could be exposed. Clearly my production company is one of many dissatisfied customers. I would recommend avoiding Pro8mm at all cost, and encourage you to take your tapes to somewhere like "Digital Video & Film Lab, LLC". They really took the time to repair my tape, and their customer service is outstanding. Their reviews on yelp accurately represent the high level of service they provide. read more

I love these guys! If you want to use Super 8 film for any project they are the place to go. I bought an all-inclusive film package with the processing and scanning. The quality of film scan in 1080p 24 HD was outstanding and my client was blown away that Super 8 film looked so sharp. After I edited my project I emailed them the Vimeo link and they posted in on their Facebook page and newsletter. They really care about what you are creating and want to see you and your projects succeed. The sales staff was super helpful and knowledgeable, and I would recommend them to anyone who wants to shoot Super 8 today read more

Fast turnaround and my boss was happy with his finished product.

Pro8mm is so legit! My fiance and I discovered them during our search for a 8mm camera (we're professional photographers). As soon as we walked in to Pro8, we knew that we found the right place. The staff, Jaclyn and Mike, are incredibly knowledgeable and helpful. And the owners, Rhonda and Phil, are very friendly and experienced. We ended up purchasing one of their new 'Classic' 8mm cameras as well as a few rolls of film. We've since developed quite a few rolls with their HD conversion and they turned out amazingly! I cannot recommend them enough. read more

Did some screen test on a few fight sequences in their green screen set. The facility had everything we needed! basically COLD WATER and AC on a freaking hot day! They get for simply leaving us alone and getting us what we needed. They even offered to grab another camera to shoot different angles for us, which greatly appreciated. I'd give a longer review, but what les can I say? We went in there, did our job and they provided! :) read more

Incredibly helpful staff. Good prices. Thank you pro 8mm!!! First time shooting super 8 and I'm glad I chose to buy from them. They offer a ton of services. Looking forward to coming back. read more

So far I have nothing but positive experiences when working with this place, I've been writing a lot of emails and asking questions as I'm new to this format and they have been VERY patient and helpful so 5 stars for the customer service team read more

I've used Pro8mm for 16mm stock purchase and processing. Excellent service...thank you! read more

I see a lot of negative reviews here and wanted to chime in with my experience - I don't shoot a lot of Super 8, so I cannot speak for that side of their service, but I have had scans done there a few times and been happy with the results. They seem to want to crop the 4:3 frame for HD, which I would prefer they did not do, but they have always been helpful and friendly in person and on the phone. read more

Used Pro8mm services this year and was so impressed with their top notch camera condition and look of the film stock!! Very happy with Pro8mm!! Highly recommend! read more

I paid almost $1500 to have family 8mm film transferred to dvd. At the time of inquiring about the process used and before I signed the contract and paid their fee, I inquired of the sales person if I would be able to make copies of the dvd and was emphatically told yes. I waited a few weeks for them to do the job. Once I got the dvds home, I began to attempt to make copies to send to other family members. I couldn't do it. I called Pro8 and was told that, no, I couldn't make copies because they encrypt their copyright in MY family film dvds. They told me I could pay them to make copies for me for approximately $850 a piece. I was stunned and livid. I told them that this film was NOT their copyright, but mine, and that they had assured me that I could make my own copies at the signing of the contract, at which point they blew me off. I checked with friends of mine in the entertainment industry and was told that what they did was, in fact, legal, but was NOT ETHICAL. I view it as much more than not ethical, however, in that I was assured I could make my own copies when I first came to them to inquire about the job. This company is either dishonest or have people working for them that are ignorant of the facts of the services they offer, or both. In any event, I will never return and often steer other friends seeking that type of service elsewhere. read more

I wish I had read these reviews before I went over to them and gave them my business. I purchased a 12-Roll Super 16mm All-In packages which includes the film, clean & prep, developing and a scene to scene color correction on their 'state-of-the-art Millennium II 2K Scanner into HD. After reviewing the footage we see that the footage looks very off. The look of the footage was a 70's film. Unfortunately this was not the look that we neither shot nor wanted. Also the footage has what looks like light blue blotchy-grain all over the footage. At first I thought it was just grain. So I went into their office and spoke with Phil, who brought the footage up for me on their system. First he tried to say that he couldn't see it. Then I pointed him to a shot that there was no way he can claim otherwise. He proceeds to tell me that its grain and that the footage looks great. He is used to seeing Super8mm footage so seeing this was not a big deal because the footage was so great. Shockingly, he tells me that the 'grain' issue is a 'limitation of our system', and 'if I want a better scan, then you'd better go somewhere else where they use a Spirit scanner as our quality is limited due to our system".!? What? So the 'state-of-the-art Millenium II 2K scanner is not 'State-of-the-art" as they claim on their website? Seems like false advertising to me. So I take Phil's advice go to FotoKem with my 8 reels and do a telecine using the proper gear. The quality of scan that I was able to get from FotoKem was NIGHT AND DAY compared to the scan that Pro8mm gave me. That 70's look that I was talking about earlier is now gone. However, what remains on the negative are the light blue blotchy-grain movement all over the 8 reels. FotoKem's lab techs take a look at the footage and determine that it is actual damage to the negative that was caused in the development process, most likely pressure applied to the emulsion side of the film. They said that the negative has been permanently damaged and there is no way to get rid of it, other then RE-SHOOTING ALL OF IT ON NEW FILM AND NOT LETTING PRO8MM DO THE WORK! I drive back to Pro8mm to confront them on what I just learned. I speak with Phil again; whom I learned is one of the owners of the place. I tell him what FotoKem says, and he actually (1) doesn't deny it and (2) admits that its on the footage! He knew that the negative was damaged and he knew that a few days earlier when he was calling it grain and blaming it on the limitations of their system! His tone changes and asks me, "ok, so what do you want?" I want compensation for the damage that they did to my footage. Footage that was almost impossible to shoot the 1st time. He says he would call me the next morning. Rhonda, Phil's partner, calls me the next day asking me for my side of the story. She actually says that they didn't damage the negative, but she had yet to have screened the footage, so how could she know that? And Phil had already admitted that they had damaged the film. She says she would look at the footage and let me know her thoughts, and if there were a refund, it would be in the form of MORE FILM AND TELECINE TIME! I tell her that that is unacceptable, as money is what I demand in return for their negligence and if this what she is going to offer, then we will be litigating this. She then throws her 'terms and conditions' at me. These terms and conditions are given to you AFTER you've paid for your product, at which point all sales are final. Their terms and conditions state that they are not responsible for their own negligence!! WTF? They couldn't even do the job right the first time, why would I trust them to do more work for me? They damaged my negative, then completely screwed up my telecine scan. I receive an email the next day with an offer of a refund for 50% of my costs. I accepted the offer and got 50% of my money back. Just because they have terms and conditions, doesn't mean that its legal and that you are not protected. Do some legal research! It's easier then you think, and learn about consumer laws. I found multiple statutes that destroy their terms and conditions. No one can avoid his or her responsibility for gross negligence. If they screw you over and refuse to give you your money back, then go to small claims court after you've hopefully found the statutes that I already found. Consumers are protected, no matter what some business wants to tell you in their terms and conditions. Buyer beware!! I learned the hard way with this company. Take it from me; there are better companies out there to trust with your hard work on film. Yale is one of them....Fotokem is another....Just stay away from Pro8mm if you value your, hard work, time and footage. Their terms and conditions on their website clearly indicates that they do not care about you, the consumer. read more

They processed my film, and it seems they did a fine job at that. The customer service skills of the woman working at the counter today, though, are sorely lacking. She was condescending and snippy. And when I asked if she knew of any other good places that repair super 8 cameras (since she said they couldn't help me), she told me to "go google it". I don't mind that she didn't know of any (though I find it hard to believe that she doesn't know of any other super 8 places around LA), but I did mind how she told me that. I don't think I'll be heading back here in the future. I called Spectra with questions, and the man there was wonderful and helpful. Think I'll be going there from here on out. read more

I used Pro8mm's cameras, socks, processing and scanning for a short student film I produced and are very happy with the results. The film looks better than imagined and the staff made things very easy for us. A great ten and a great service. Use Pro8mm! read more

I am the marketing director for the Greenwich Warriors Lacrosse club in Greenwich, CT. My job is to promote our organization and generate as much publicity as possible without spending too much money. So I was a little surprised with how expensive it was, when trying to hire a company, to shoot a promotional film for us to distribute. After realizing the price was far too expensive, I looked into buying a quality digital camera which also turned out to be extremely expensive. We then came across Pro8mm.com and read through all the testimonials etc. I showed it to my boss, showed him some of the demos and read through the testimonials. A week later he began shooting our promotional film, "The Warriors". The staff at Pro8mm was extremely helpful to both my boss and I, and took the time to explain everything. The manuals and online tutorials are always helpful, but sometimes it really helps to have a human being available. I have never written a yelp review before however I did feel that this would be a good time to start. Our promotional film would never have been completed on time and under budget had we gone with someone else. Our company has benefited enormously by getting in contact with Pro8mm. The book that the owner wrote, "The Power of Super 8 film" and their website pretty much says it all. These guys know the business of small format filmmaking as well as anyone and they are a pleasure to work with. Highly recommend for anyone getting involved in any type of super 8 or 16mm film projects!!!! Alexandra Fritz Greenwich Warriors Greenwich, CT read more

Scott is the most helpful! He's always available for answers and is very friendly to deal with. We just shot a music video on 8mm and it looks fantastic! Really hope to have another chance to work with these guys again. Thank you! read more

This company ruined my film. They admitted it, and offered replacement film and a free transfer. Three weeks of 12 hour a day hard work down the tubes. Stay away. read more

Poor and condescending customer service. I called with an issue and got passed around to 3 people. The boss is a notorious beast so the employees seem to feel justified in being rude too. They all insist they couldn't have made the mistake they made. Well, that simply ends any conversation. read more

this place is horrible! the people there are incredibly condescending and they are way overpriced. when they screwed up and transfered my film at 24fps when it was shot at 18fps like i told them, they acted like they were doing me a huge favor by doing it again. they totally rushed the second transfer and the color correction is sloppy at best. 10 frame handles at the front and tail of each shot are unusable because you can see where they change the levels for the next shot. i know they have the ability to do better because this is not the case on the original 24fps version they gave me. this was not the first problem i've had with them. they also once incorrectly processed my film and gave me back a blank roll and another time they "lost" my roll. i dont even know how to respond to such incompetence. i only continued going to them because i thought they were the only ones in town for super8 processing and transfer. turns out yale film and video and spectra do just as good a job at less than half the price. read more