Konvas 1KCP-1M Replacement Shutter

[Will Jacobs]

I own a Konvas 1KCP-1M (hammered grey finish) from 1964 (serial no. 1135).

I am noticing that the shutter does not completely cover the film gate (notice the slit at the top in my linked videos). The shutter also looks a bit beaten. . .

https://youtube.com/shorts/zln3Nj7C_1A?feature=share
https://youtube.com/shorts/sUZpWMfURK8?feature=share

It has been recommended for me to replace the shutter. Some have expressed this can be done by simply swapping it out with a donor blade. There is a Konvas.org forum that proposes the idea of using CDs glued to washers as a strange DIY alternative (huh?).

How do I proceed? Is it incredibly difficult to attempt the replacement myself, the blade being the only known issue?

Some people have remarked that replacing the blade is tremendously difficult, others have suggested that it is relatively straightforward.

With this all said—I am currently seeking a replacement shutter or donor camera.

Any guidance or help is appreciated. Thank you!

[Dom Jaeger]

Only people who have never worked on movie cameras would think it's a simple process to swap a mirror shutter. 

There are several aspects - mirror flatness, mirror height, balance, ground glass depth as reflected off the mirror and shutter timing - that all may need to be calibrated if you replace a mirror shutter. I'm not a Konvas specialist, but doing this on an Arriflex or Panaflex is far from trivial. Tolerances are in the range of microns or tens of microns.

I think I commented on a FB post you made that this sort of mirror damage makes it very likely that other parts of this camera have also been mistreated.  So unless you really want to take this on as a fun, longterm learning project rather than getting a working camera, I would suggest looking for another camera body and keeping this one for parts. If you want to learn to be a camera tech or how cameras work, then go for it. If you want to be a filmmaker, this will suck up time and money you should spend on filmmaking.

I don't know if Olex Kalynychenko from Olex Service is still working, but he is a Konvas expert. He used to post on here. 

 

[Will Jacobs]

Dom,

I am always grateful for your grounded responses and sound advice. Thank you for sharing your thoughts.

I do recognize there may be additional problems with the Konvas given the status of the shutter. This, however, does not deter me from slowly learning how to conduct the required repairs properly. I have been garnering experience repairing still and movie cameras and would like to take this opportunity to grow in my knowledge of camera repair. Restoring the Konvas is not necessarily an urgent matter and I have the patience to go through with it. Any counsel on proceeding is welcomed and most appreciated.

I will see if I can contact Olex for his advice. Thanks again!

 

[Aapo Lettinen]

the most practical solution would be to buy another Konvas body and either use it if it is better condition, or take the necessary parts from it. In this case taking the whole mirror-movement-groundglass-gate block and moving it to the other camera. 

the whole block can be moved as is with minimal adjustments needed but if trying to remove and replace critical parts within it one very quickly runs into serious problems which are very difficult and time consuming to correct especially diy with inadequate tools. 

I would just get another Konvas and either use the current one as spare parts body or if most practical move the whole block from the other camera to this one. It is the only practical diy way to get it reasonably well working. the other possibilities require a konvas expert like Olex who can really work on the tiny details on the movement and mirror calibration.

it is the same with Krasnogorsk cameras, if the mirror-movement-groundglass block has issues it is easiest to just swap the whole thing to another one than to try to diy repair it and expect to get it working well again without devastating trial and error nightmare and ridiculous amount of time. They are not arris, the second camera is cheap so it is the best way to get to shooting again

[Will Jacobs]

On 9/22/2026 at 6:29 PM, Aapo Lettinen said:

the most practical solution would be to buy another Konvas body and either use it if it is better condition, or take the necessary parts from it. In this case taking the whole mirror-movement-groundglass-gate block and moving it to the other camera. 

the whole block can be moved as is with minimal adjustments needed but if trying to remove and replace critical parts within it one very quickly runs into serious problems which are very difficult and time consuming to correct especially diy with inadequate tools. 

I would just get another Konvas and either use the current one as spare parts body or if most practical move the whole block from the other camera to this one. It is the only practical diy way to get it reasonably well working. the other possibilities require a konvas expert like Olex who can really work on the tiny details on the movement and mirror calibration.

it is the same with Krasnogorsk cameras, if the mirror-movement-groundglass block has issues it is easiest to just swap the whole thing to another one than to try to diy repair it and expect to get it working well again without devastating trial and error nightmare and ridiculous amount of time. They are not arris, the second camera is cheap so it is the best way to get to shooting again

An update: A second Konvas-1 is on its way—thanks to the offer from another user—with an intact shutter. The movement needs some work (cleaning and lubrication), but this seems more feasible than the shutter issue, yes?

I also contacted Olex, who kindly responded and alluded to the same solution (moving on to another camera). He indicated that the shutter axis might be missing its bearings when determining why the disk is not covering the entire gate.

Thank you dearly for your response, Aapo. I will be following your advice upon my repair efforts. I appreciate everyone's support on this forum.

[M Joel W]

I have a few Konvas bodies (two working, one for parts) and a set of old OCT-18 lenses from the 1960s that I found difficult to convert to PL mount that I'd like to sell. Is there a best place to sell these?