Family Home Movies Through the Years

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• For almost as long as movie technology has
  existed, people have been using it to record
  themselves and their families. The exact tools
  that people use to make their home movies have
  changed many times, but the intent is always the
  same to preserve precious memories for years to
  come.

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If your family is one of the many that has been
making home movies for generations, then you
probably have videos and photos in a variety of
formats ranging from film to VHS tape to digital
file. 8mmtoDVD.com can help you modernize your
home video collection and preserve your old
films, tapes, and photographs in convenient,
long-lasting digital form. Now heres a look back
on the generations prior and the technology they
used to capture priceless family memories.
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The history of home movies goes back further than
most people realize. As early as 1898, 17.5mm
Birtac film for hobbyist filmmakers was available
on the market. Birtac film was half as wide as a
standard roll of 35mm film, and its frames were
only half as tall, meaning that Birtac film used
only 25 the length of film as 35mm.
The camera also doubled as a printer and a
projector, allowing the owner to save money on
expensive development and projection equipment.
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In the early decades of filmmaking, manufacturers
introduced many different competing film formats.
But in 1923, Eastman Kodak introduced 16mm film,
which other manufacturers also began producing
not long after. While it was cheaper than 35mm,
16mm film was still too expensive for the average
consumer of the time period to afford. It wasnt
until the introduction of 8mm film that middle
and working class Americans could truly afford to
make their own home movies.
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8mm film, sometimes called Standard 8 or Regular
8, was introduced to the market by Kodak in 1932.
In addition to being smaller and more portable
than larger types of film, 8mm contained 4 frames
in the same area where 16mm would have contained
just one. As such, 8mm cameras used 75 less film
than their predecessors, making them much more
affordable to the average American.
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The first major innovation to 8mm film came not
long after its initial introduction. In 1936,
Kodak introduced Kodachrome color reversal for
8mm movie cameras, which allowed the cameras to
record in color. And in 1965, Kodak introduced
the Super 8 camera. Film for the Super 8 was
packaged in easy-to-load cartridges, and also had
larger frames than standard 8mm film, resulting
in a clearer picture.
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In the mid 70s, VHS and Betamax were introduced,
and the two of them changed the home video market
forever. VHS and Betamax were much more
affordable than even the comparatively cheap 8mm,
and had the added advantage of being reusable. By
the end of the 80s, most Americans had video
playback equipment in their homes, and many of
them had captured hours and hours of family video
on VHS.
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Nowadays, a familys home movie collection is
likely to be scattered across the many formats
that have been available to consumers over the
last 50 years. But thanks to modern computer
technology, everything from old VHS tapes to
slide photos to 8mm film can be transferred to
DVD and preserved in digital format.
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Since 2002, 8mmtoDVD.com has been helping
families preserve their generations of home
movies. 8mmtoDVD.coms service is quick,
professional, and provides great results. Learn
more at www.8mmtoDVD.com.