K3 - likeness to still camera?

Patrick Cooper · November 1, 2006

When I took my K3 to the Victorian ski fields a few years ago, I got more than a few interested looks from observers. What I found really bizarre was that a few people thought that my 16mm cine camera was a still camera. There was even one guy who asked: That's a still camera, isn't it?" And other people remarked about my 'big camera' and the 'photos' that they assume that I take with it. To me, the K3 looks like a classic movie camera design. You could almost partly forgive people for mistaking super 8 cameras for video cameras (which has happened to me a number of times.) Though I'm confused why anyone would think that the K3 resembles a still camera. Have other K3 users here experienced the same type of assumptions from observers?

Joe Gioielli · November 2, 2006

I think sometimes people go through a mental "process of elimination." If a person sees something the don't recognize, they "run through the list" of things it 'could' be. People know that video cameras as square, silver, and have little red lights so they 'know' it isn't a video camera.

The K3 is big, covered in leatherette, and has a huge lense. If youthing about a typical "spy" movie, the cameras are often big, black, and have huge lenses. So I guess in thier minds, "professional still camera" is the best answer they can come to.

Remember, to most people, a camera is something they use three times a year. We are really more into this than most people.

Joe

Patrick Cooper · November 2, 2006

Very good points - especially about people going through a mental process of "elimination" of things they know. Although most people aren't too familiar with movie cameras, I would think that the rectangular shape of the K3, the black colour and the rounded curves on the top which contain the film spools would appear reminiscent of movie cameras with 'mickey mouse' film mags as seen on tv and the cinema. Additionally, still cameras are usually not as rectangular or as large as movie cameras seen on the screen. Once I was filming with my K3 at a harbour and a photographer there mistook it for a 35mm movie camera....at least he was closer with his guess!

Kenny N Suleimanagich · November 3, 2006

yeah i was shooting something near my school with mine when people began asking me to film them(it was an old roll i was messing around in the first place), and they started making up lines to say when i shot them. i laughed, some people really dont know that not all cameras record sound etc.

Patrick Cooper · November 3, 2006

That reminds me of the time I was about to get a Bolex and one guy I knew was quite interested and was wondering if he could make a short film with it. I think he was assuming that it could record both vision and sound. This same person refers to spring driven cameras as 'wind up video cameras.'

Kenny N Suleimanagich · November 4, 2006

I've heard of some places that will put a magnetic stripe on the film for you and develop it, i really dont know why production of pre-striped film stocks ended. Anybody know exactly when too? Remember any stocks? That's way before my time man.

Edited November 4, 2006 by KennySule

Matthew Buick · November 4, 2006

It seems that the adhesive that stuck the stripe to the film was enviromentally dangerous.

Brian Drysdale · November 4, 2006

I had an Aaton XTR being mistaken for a video camera by a media studies student. I informed him that it was even better, it was a film camera.

Sam Wells · November 4, 2006

There was even one guy who asked: That's a still camera, isn't it?"

This can be an asset in some situations.

I have shot with a Bolex for just this reason.

-Sam

Scott Fritzshall · November 4, 2006

Some guy once asked me if my Bolex was "that thing that tells you where the buildings are going to be," I guess referring to surveying equipment. I explained to him that it was actually a camera, and that I was a film student making a movie, but he kept asking me about what buildings we were going to put up. :blink:

Sam Wells · November 4, 2006

THAT'S pretty funny !

I never thought of trying to pass myself off as a surveyor ;)

I'm not sure if I did if I'd get in less trouble - or more !

-Sam

Alessandro Malfatti · November 10, 2006

Wow, what weird places do you guys go to? :D I was on holiday last weekend with my K3, and got a remark about it twice, by people actually recognizing it as movie camera. Bit loud for a still or video one too... :D

Patrick Cooper · November 13, 2006

Scott, that is hilarious.

That actually reminds me of a slightly similar incident which occured a few years ago. I had my Canon 1014E super 8 camera mounted to a tripod near a carpark. I was a doing time lapse study of the movement of shadows on a building across the road. A car was about to exit the carpark and pulled up beside me. The driver was an old man was asked me in a very concerned voice: "Is that a speed camera?" He sounded quite worried.

Edited November 13, 2006 by Patrick Cooper