Aaton 35

Joe Walker · November 6, 2006

A director friend of mine is looking into possibly buying an Aaton 35-3. I believe it's a 4 perf camera and I was curious is it possible to have a 4 perf camera body converted to 3 perf. Hope its not a dumb question, but I see so much literature on various web sites specifying one or the other. Let me know if you know. Thanks.

Joe W.

Nate Downes · November 7, 2006

A director friend of mine is looking into possibly buying an Aaton 35-3. I believe it's a 4 perf camera and I was curious is it possible to have a 4 perf camera body converted to 3 perf. Hope its not a dumb question, but I see so much literature on various web sites specifying one or the other. Let me know if you know. Thanks.

Joe W.

No, the 35-3 is a 3-perf camera.

How much do they cost, I have no idea.

Nathan Milford · November 7, 2006

Yes you can have a 4-perf 35-III converted to a 3-perf 35-III. The movement needs to be switched out at the factory. So it could be a few weeks and I think it is somewhere between 10-15 grand.. but I'm not at my work computer so I can't give a real quote.

We just had a client (and lurker on this forum) purchase one of our rental bodies and have it converted. You might want to talk to someone here at Abel and seee if they could work a similar deal.

- nathan

Paul Bruening · November 7, 2006

Check with Bruce McNaughton at Aranda Group. He might be able to machine you some works for cheaper than a factory job. Bruce can make a good MP camera from a refridgerator- it is my belief. Google Aranda Group then shoot him an email. Consider 2-perf. When the film real estate actually manifests onto the big screen, sometimes, you'll only use about 2 perfs worth of a frame, anyway

Just a thought.

Paul

Nate Downes · November 7, 2006

Neat, learn something new. The only ones I've seen from Aaton were 3-perf. Didn't even know they made a 4-perf.

Nathan Milford · November 7, 2006

Yeah, by default they ship from the factory in 4-perf unless you order a 3-perf model.

They even made a 2-perf movement for it, in house... I doubt it is for sale unless you can sweet talk it out of Jean-Pierre.

Joe Walker · November 7, 2006

Thanks guys, just out of curiosity, who can process/xfer 2 perf? Our local guys Cinefilm don't do it.

Stephen Williams · November 7, 2006

Thanks guys, just out of curiosity, who can process/xfer 2 perf? Our local guys Cinefilm don't do it.

Hi,

Processing is no problem, any Spirit or Shadow for telecine.

Stephen

Will Montgomery · November 8, 2006

Are there any cheap 2-perf 35mm cameras available or that can be modified? i.e. Eyemo or something under $3000 (yes, this is for a hobbyist, not a pro)?

Seems as though 2-perf 35mm would only be slightly higher in costs than Super 16 and look much better...

Nathan Milford · November 8, 2006

Are there any cheap 2-perf 35mm cameras available or that can be modified? i.e. Eyemo or something under $3000 (yes, this is for a hobbyist, not a pro)?

Seems as though 2-perf 35mm would only be slightly higher in costs than Super 16 and look much better...

You can find a Kinor 35C Body for $2000-3000... but no mags or accessories...

And the conversion can run between $3000-5000 gnot to mention shipping to Bruce at Aranda in Australia.

Danny Lachman · November 17, 2006

Does anyone know of some other films shot on Aaton cameras besides emperor/march of the penguins -

The reason I'm curious is because I'd like rent the movies to see the footage, Aaton's seem to give me the general impression that they are for a lot of independent film making - but I have nothing to base that on other than my own intuition. And what's up with the cat on the shoulder thing? Are they really that ergonomic?

Edited November 17, 2006 by Danny Lachman

Nathan Milford · November 17, 2006

Does anyone know of some other films shot on Aaton cameras besides emperor/march of the penguins -

The reason I'm curious is because I'd like rent the movies to see the footage, Aaton's seem to give me the general impression that they are for a lot of independent film making - but I have nothing to base that on other than my own intuition. And what's up with the cat on the shoulder thing? Are they really that ergonomic?

Search IMDb.

Paul Bruening · November 17, 2006

"Cat on the shoulder" is their sales/reputation gimmick. Their product tends to target smaller productions and the assumption is that smaller productions will shoot off of the shoulder more than a big-big production. They are indeed more ergonomically designed for shoulder shots. I started out on CP16s and they were designed to be shoulder cameras for television news gathering. But, the Aatons are way more comfortable and pratical on the shoulder. It's a matter of camera operator comfort. If he gets tired because he has a camera the size of a buffalo on his shoulder, then the smoothness of his shots are going to suffer. Even as important is weight distribution. The Aatons put the minumum weight squarely on the balance point of the shoulder and keeps it low, hanging the film weight down and over the back. I think I could work an eight hour day with an Aaton on my shoulder. I remember that G-D, enormouse CP16 and its high mounted mags wearing my ace out.