Our pricing for old film reels depends on the amount of footage on your reels. Film footage correlates directly with how much video you will get back after the transfer to digital.
Home movies come in different sizes of reels, and how many feet of film a reel holds is approximate. Fortunately, it’s not very complicated to get an idea of how much old film reel footage you have from the diameter of your reel. We want to show you how to get a better idea of the size of your film collection.
Visual learners: watch our video on measuring the diameter of film reels below!
- Simply use a ruler or measuring tape to measure the size of your reel at its widest point.
- If your reel has markings on it, they’re a guide to how many feet of film are on that reel. Round up to the nearest number wherever your film stops.
- If your reel isn’t full and has no markings, measure the diameter of the spooled film within the reel.
16mm film reel sizes & 8mm film reel sizes by diameter
| Reel Diameter | Film Length | Run time 18fps |
|---|---|---|
| 3 in | 50 ft | 3-4 min |
| 4 in | 100 ft | 7-8 min |
| 5 in | 200 ft | 14-16 min |
| 6 in | 300 ft | 21-24 min |
| 7 in | 400 ft | 28-32 min |
| 8 in | 600 ft | 42-48 min |
| 10 in | 800 ft | 56-62 min |
This chart contains approximate running times, lengths and sizes for common film reel diameters.
These measurements are true for 8mm, Super 8 and 16mm film reel sizes. For example, if you have three full reels, each of which is 5 inches in diameter, that’s 600 feet of film total.
Sizing for film is standardized by diameter, which can help you easily determine the footage. 16mm film reel sizes are slightly different than 8mm and Super8. You’ll usually find 16mm film on the largest reels.
Watch our 1-minute video on measuring your film
That’s all there is to it! If you have any questions about the length of your old home movies, give us a call.
Digitizing your film reels
to keep them safe
Are you converting your home movies to digital? We couldn’t agree more with your decision! We are happy to help you with your film reel size estimate and we only charge you for the exact amount of footage that contains video during our home movie to digital process.
If you’re not quite ready to digitize, it’s important to keep your old film reels safe until you want to make them digital. One of our expert technicians has some great tips for the care and preservation of old home movies.
If you’d like more information about the specific type of film reels you have, you can visit our 16mm home movie page, our 8mm home movies page or our Super8 home movies page page.
Let us know if you have any questions,
or want to digitize your home movies with EverPresent!
