Blackmagic Cintel Scanner User Manual Getting Started
After unpacking and mounting your scanner, getting started is as simple as plugging in power, connecting your computer via Thunderbolt, launching Blackmagic DaVinci Resolve, and lacing your film. If you want to immediately see your scan on an external monitor, you can load film, manually tension it, and output it to an HDMI monitor. To learn more about this, refer to the ‘lacing film,’ and ‘playback controls’ section of this manual.
Installing the Software
Capture controls for your scanner are located in DaVinci Resolve’s film scanner panel, therefore, the first thing you’ll need to do when you’re ready to capture your scan is download and install DaVinci Resolve Studio. Your scanner comes with a dongle for DaVinci Resolve to allow you to use the full version of DaVinci Resolve.
Download the latest version of the Cintel Scanner software from the Blackmagic Design support center at: www.blackmagicdesign.com/support
Once your download has completed, unzip the file and double click on it. This will open a setup folder. Now simply run the installer files contained within the setup folder and follow the prompts to install the software on your computer.
You can also use the Cintel Scanner SDK to develop your own software to control Cintel Scanner and integrate it with your workflow. For more information, see the ‘Software Development Kit’ section.
Plugging in Power
Now that all the required software is installed on your computer, you’ll need to plug power into your scanner so that you can lace up your film.
Power your scanner by connecting a standard IEC cable to the AC power socket on the lower right side of the back panel. Your scanner’s power indicator LED will glow green when power is connected.
Connecting to a Computer
There are two ways to connect your Cintel Scanner to a host computer. The Thunderbolt 3 port can be used by Windows and Mac computers, while the PCIe external port can be used by Windows and Linux computers when used with the PCIe cable kit from Blackmagic Design. You can also connect to an external monitor via your scanner’s HDMI port for focusing or preview purposes. The Thunderbolt 3, PCIe, and HDMI ports are located on the lower right side of your scanner.
Launching DaVinci Resolve
Launch DaVinci Resolve and select the Media page. Open DaVinci Resolve’s film scanner panel by clicking on the ‘capture’ button at the top right of the screen and selecting ‘film scanner’.
The scanner will capture a large amount of image data, so you’ll need to set the folder you want DaVinci Resolve to record the captured files to.
To do this:
Launch DaVinci Resolve.
Click on ‘preferences’ in the DaVinci Resolve menu bar.
Click on the ‘plus’ icon in the ‘media storage’ tab. Browse to and select a drive or folder path.
Click ‘save’, and restart DaVinci Resolve.
For detailed information on how to use all the control features in DaVinci Resolve’s film scanner panel, refer to the section in this manual called “Capturing from Cintel using DaVinci Resolve”.
DaVinci Resolve’s film scanner panel controls all capture settings.
Firmware Updates
Cintel Scanner and Audio and KeyKode Reader both have internal firmware that may need an update after you install the Cintel Scanner software on your computer.
Cintel Scanner
After you install the Cintel Scanner software on your computer and connect the Cintel Scanner, it will determine whether your scanner’s firmware needs an update.
DaVinci Resolve shows a message when the Cintel Scanner is locked
Audio and KeyKode Reader
When the KeyKode Reader requires a firmware update, the reader is locked and DaVinci Resolve shows a message to remind you to update the Reader’s firmware, similarly to firmware updates as shown in the previous image.
Performing a Firmware Update
Software updates for the firmware on your Cintel Scanner and Audio and KeyKode Reader are managed through the Cintel Setup utility.
To update firmware for Cintel Scanner or Audio and KeyKode Reader:
Connect your Cintel Scanner to power and to your computer’s Thunderbolt 3 or PCIe port.
If you are updating the Audio and KeyKode Reader, connect it to your computer with a USB-C cable.
Run the Cintel Setup utility and select the scanner or audio device.
Click the settings button, go to the ‘about’ tab, and if an update is available click the ‘update now’ button.
The ‘about’ tab shows you if a new version of firmware is available for Cintel Film Scanner or Cintel Reader.
The firmware is now up to date, giving you the latest settings, features and compatibility.
Software Development Kit
Blackmagic Design provides a free software development kit for your scanner. The SDK is cross platform so your software can run on Mac, Windows or Linux. The SDK provides example applications that let you control your scanner like in DaVinci Resolve, but from a command line.
You can use the Cintel Scanner SDK to develop software to control your scanner, change settings, initiate scans, and process clips. DaVinci Resolve Studio is included with your scanner, however, you can use the SDK to develop software to run your scanner on computers that may not match recommended specification for DaVinci Resolve. For more information, see the Developer page at www.blackmagicdesign.com/developer.
What is HDR?
High Dynamic Range, or HDR, is a technique of combining multiple images at different exposures to extend the overall dynamic range of an image as well as to improve the noise performance. The scanner performs HDR scanning in a two pass process. The first pass is a scan at the normal exposure. The second pass is at a significantly higher exposure to give more detail in the lowlights for prints or highlights for negatives. When the normal and high exposures are blended, the result is a higher bit depth image.
Normal exposure pass on the left with the high exposure pass on the right.
These images are scanned from the same frame and zoomed in to demonstrate the difference between an HDR scan, shown on the left, and a standard scan shown on the right. The HDR scan exhibits less noise, more accurate colors and better shadow and highlight detail.
The high precision HDR gates and the image stabilizer align the initial scan and high exposure scan with sub pixel accuracy using a high quality resize filter, which creates an HDR clip free of alignment artifacts.
Drive Wheel Types
Cintel Scanner comes equipped with capstans or sprocket wheels depending on the model of scanner. Both types of drive wheels rotate to advance or rewind the film, and then stop to align each frame accurately within the gate of the image sensor. Drive wheels are integral to the scanner and cannot be exchanged for a different type of drive wheel.
Capstans grip the film with a moderate amount of friction and are gentle on film with fragile or damaged perforations.
Sprocket wheels have a series of teeth to engage with perforations in the film without making contact with the area of film containing the image frame.
The leading drive wheel drags the film, while the secondary drive wheel acts as a tensioner wheel to make sure the film is traveling smoothly over the skid plate. The symmetrical arrangement of drive wheels in Cintel Scanner means it can transport film forward or backward with equal care and precision at a wide range of speeds.
Lacing Film
Now that your scanner and DaVinci Resolve are communicating with each other, you can lace up your film.
Accessing the Scanner
Open your scanner’s sliding doors.
On the internal front panel you’ll see a feeding spool on the left, and a taking spool on the right. The feeding spool holds the film to be scanned, and the taking spool collects the scanned film.
Setting Film Wind
Set the ‘wind type’ so the spools turn in the appropriate direction. Go to DaVinci Resolve’s film scanner panel and set the ‘wind type’ to B/A by clicking ’B’ and ‘A’ on the ‘supply spool’ and ‘take up spool’ buttons, respectively.
B/A is your scanner’s default wind type which has the feeding spool traveling in a clockwise direction and the taking spool traveling counter clockwise. Refer to the ‘wind types’ section in this manual for more information.
This is also a good time to make sure that your settings are appropriate for your film type and size.
You can select from positive, negative, interpositive and internegative in DaVinci Resolve’s film scanner panel, as well as 16mm, 35mm and various perforation layouts.
Preparing the Take up Spool
Slide the supplied 75mm spool core and core clamp onto your scanner’s taking spindle. To apply the core clamp, hold in the clamp’s button and push it onto the spindle until you feel resistance, then release the button and push the clamp on the rest of the way until you hear a ‘click.’
Loading Film
Load your film reel or core onto the feeder spindle following the same procedure in step 3. Note that the procedure differs slightly depending on whether your film is on a core or a reel, and whether it is 35 or 16mm. For example, when loading a core, you’ll need to insert the provided backing plate, whereas loading a reel only requires the use of spacers.
When loading film reels, the backing plate is not required and you can simply use the spacers provided. When loading film on a core, the supplied backing plate is required.
Lacing Film
Gently lace several feet of the film leader through your scanner’s rollers using the following illustration as a guide.
Your scanner’s default B/A wind loads from the bottom of the feeding spool and onto the top of the taking spool.
Tensioning Film
To secure your film to the taking spool, insert the end of your film into the small notch provided in the spool, then gently hand wind the spool a few times to hold the film in place.
If you don’t want to bend the end of the film inside the notch, you can easily use the friction of the film winding onto itself to secure your film to the spool. You can also use very light adhesive tape.
Begin tensioning by pressing the ‘load button,’ or by manually turning the feeding and taking spools simultaneously.
📘Manual Tensioning
For manual tensioning, turn the feeding spool and taking spool counter clockwise for a B/A wind.
You’ll notice the compliance arms below each spool begin to move as you manually introduce tension as in the diagram below. Once these are about a third of the way through their range of motion, hold the spools in place for a second or two. Your scanner will detect secured film on the taking spool, and its tensioning feature will automatically activate, taking up the rest of the slack.
If at any point in a manual or automatic load you notice a problem, you can cancel the load procedure by pressing the ‘load’ button again or firmly holding the feeding or taking spool.
Your scanner will recognise either action and abort the load.
When manually tensioning film, you only need to apply enough tension to move the compliance arms into the ‘sweet spot’ of their movement range - a little under half way. Your scanner will automatically take up any additional slack.
Inspecting your Film
Check that the film is laced properly by pressing the ‘play’ button on your scanner or clicking the ‘play’ button in DaVinci Resolve’s film scanner panel. If you see your film image playing in the viewer, or on an HDMI monitor if connected, you’ll know your scanner is working.
Depending on the wind type you’ve used, you may find that the image is flipped horizontally or vertically. You can fix this by selecting the appropriate film type. For instance, negative film may appear flipped left to right until the ‘negative’ setting is selected. If you can’t fix this by selecting your film type, you may need to reload your film using a different wind type.
To examine the condition of the film being scanned on Cintel Scanner G3 HDR+, press and hold the ‘stop’ or ‘play’ button for 2 seconds. This will engage ‘inspect mode’ which will lower the intensity of the light source on the film, allowing you to see any defects, dirt or scratches on the film. This will allow you to examine the film properly and consider the need for cleaning or fixing of the film reel.
Focusing
Just like focusing the lens on a camera, you’ll need to focus the projected film image on your scanner’s sensor. The focus dial is located on your scanner’s center column. The most accurate way to achieve perfect focus is to use the ‘focus assist’ feature in DaVinci Resolve’s film scanner panel. Similar to the focus peaking feature in Blackmagic cameras, focus assist displays a green edge around the sharpest points in your image. This lets you easily adjust focus until the green highlights are at their strongest.
Simply turn the focus assist feature on by enabling the checkbox in DaVinci Resolve’s film scanner panel, then watch the HDMI output from your Cintel scanner, or the viewer in the film scanner panel, as you adjust the focus dial. Film grain is a terrific indicator. When the grain in the film is registering the green edges at their strongest, your image is in perfect focus.
Film grain is perfect for setting accurate focus using the ‘focus assist’ feature. In the above example you can see the image out of focus on the left, and in focus on the right. The focus assist feature can be seen highlighting the grain, most visible inside the perforation area.
The focus assist feature works best when using negative film types, as negative is generally sharper with the most grain detail.
To get the most from the focus assist feature, set the viewer to full resolution. Simply click on the options settings at the top right corner of the viewer and select ‘Full Resolution Preview’ from the menu.
It’s worth mentioning that full resolution preview will remain set until you choose to disable it. The setting is very GPU intensive and can affect the performance of the viewer, for example there may be some frame lag, so it may be helpful to use full resolution for checking focus, then turning it off for better performance.
Closing the Scanner Doors
For the best quality scan we recommend closing your scanner’s sliding doors. The doors are designed to gently close when they are almost shut, so all you need to do is slide them towards each other until you feel the spring mechanism take over. When closed, the doors will block any light from entering the film gate.
Your scanner’s high quality light source eliminates light pollution in all but the most brightly lit workspaces. Because film is quite shiny it can reflect lights in the ceiling which may show up as blotches in your capture. You can avoid this by keeping the scanner doors shut while scanning.
Now that you have laced your film, set the tension, focused your image and closed the scanner doors, you can start capturing!
Please refer to the Cintel section of the DaVinci Resolve reference manual for details on calibrating the light source, setting the stabiliser, and the capture palette settings for capturing images. The DaVinci reference manual also details how to sync optical audio and shows how you can manage your capture files when scanning.
If you are looking for information on how to maintain and service your scanner, including detailed information about your scanner’s technical specifications, refer to the ‘Servicing’ and ‘Specifications’ sections near the end of this manual.
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