35mm KONVAS Russian camera

[Guest lumisphere]

Hey Everyone.....What can you all tell me about this camera....Is this a good camera at all....I noticed you can get anamorphic rig really cheap......Has anyone have any experience or doe some tests how this camera shoots and as well as the lenses you can get for it with anamorphic conversion?

[Nate Downes]

I've seen one of these in action. They're pretty dependable from what I've seen. It wasn't an anamorphic rig tho that I saw.

[Christian Appelt]

All the answers are here:

 

Commiecam Website

 

and there is a great forum on Konvas and other Russian M.P. equipment here:

 

Smartgroups Konvas Forum

 

Please read the Commiecam FAQ before proceeding...

 

:)

[Guest DEMUTIGER]

Hi,

 

I have a Konvas 2m package and I'm very pleased with it. It has been very reliable and easy to use. I've found the footage to match perfectly with Arri III material I had shot earlier for a feature. Mine has been modified with a registration pin, but even ones without have good image stability.

I think the biggest advantages to the Konvas 2m system is the light weight (relative) and the quick reloading which is very much like the Aaton 35. You will have to get used to loading the mags which like the Aaton 35 is a little tricky.

 

Of course, this is not an Arri and you have to know a bit about them before you take the plunge and purchase. I recommend the Commiecam.com site as well for general info. You should be willing to get your hands dirty to keep it running, but it's like an old tractor and you can do some of the maintenance yourself.

 

If you want any more specific detailed info, you can email me directly.

 

Ian

 

iandudley@hotmail.com

[Fulgencio Martinez]

Can you pull focus with konvas 2m?

I´ve seen focus pulling devices for kinor, but never for a konvas.

Even if this is not posible it seems like a very low priced camera for what you get.

I´ve also heard about 2 or 3perf adaptations.

does this make it less noisy? Enough to be used with a barney?

having a cheap techniscope camera could be a good use with digital intermediate technology

[Guest dpforum1968]

I have the 1M with new lenses mounted on it. I got an adapter to allow me to put any C-mount lenses on the camera, then I bought some new Arsat 35mm lenses and stuck them on the 1M.

 

The camera now produces a gorgeous image, after all I'm using new lens technology and the same 35mm film stock the big boys use and the same film to tape transfer suite.

 

The 1M may look a little weird with its three lens turret, some people think this makes it look old fashioned and cheap. BUT, when shooting wild life subject for instance the turret system is great!

 

You don't have to stop and change lenses like you do on an Arri or 2M, just spin the turret, and presto! New lens. Animals don't wait around for you to change lenses, so the quick change is actually a really great feature of the 1M.

 

I just mount up the three best lenses and away I go, I can fire off three shots with different lenses in the same amount of time it takes a single lens camera to get one.

 

DC

[mattuhry]

I've owned a konvas 2m for 4 years and shot about 150,000 feet of film with it on all kinds of shoots. It's a cool camera, but it usually does not make an appearance on larger budget projects.

 

The camera is strictly MOS. People who design blimps or barneys for it are silly and totally miss the point.

 

It's a great camera for shooting hand held run and gun footage, the ergonomics are good, it's very light, the viewfinder is decent, bright, sharp, orientable. ( much better than any arri IIc )

 

The cameras are very rugged and cheap enough that if it gets destroyed it's not that big a deal and you can just get another. Putting the camera in harms way gets you some really great shots!

 

The instant change magazines are really cool. I've reloaded standing out on the skid of a hovering helicopter and you can just snap the mag on, try that with any arri!

 

Minuses would be that the mags are a bit hard to load at first, and the motors have sucky electronics and are notoriously unreliable. ( but they are really easy to swap out. I have 2. )

 

As an anamorphic camera it works fine, you are really talking about how good the Lomo and CKBK lenses are and I think that has been covered in this forum. The Konvas anamorphic viewfinder is of good quality.

 

 

Matt

DP LA www.fuzby.com

[Marcel Zyskind]

Hi

 

I've just purchased one recently and all I can say is if you have a chance seeing it before buying it, do it.

 

I overpaid for mine which I bought from the states, ebay, and it was a bit poop, to be honest.

 

The lens mount is in an abysmal condition, the screw threads are ruined.

When the camera is running the image in the viewfinder is jumping or juttering, which I supppose is the mirror being bent.

The colomation on the lenses are way off.

The gate has been randomly filed...

I'm just not happy with the state of the camera for the price paid. $2500. I was expecting a much healtier camera.

And that was for camera, lenses and mags only. No batts, cases or mattebox.

I'm dissapointed.

 

But as a camera I think it is beautiful, and very compact. I'm hoping to pick one up in better condition when time (money) allows it.

 

Good luck and all the best.

Marcel

 

P.s Matt, have you had any modifications done to your 2M? The motor has a strange power plug. I wonder if you could modify it to xlr power, which is more rugged.

[Adam Frisch FSF]

Marcel - try to get a new lightweight PL hard front for it. That usually makes a big difference.

The original construction of the solid cast aluminium front is horrible - to heavy and to imprecise and a frequent source for Flange Focal troubles.

 

When I owned my Konvas, I had lot's of improvements I wanted to do. Because the movement and the core construction is very sound, they just "russified" it with everything else.

 

For instance - the optical system is made out of prisms instead of mirrors. This not only adds weight, it makes the image dark. It would be the easiest thing in the world to replace it with mirrors and stick a proper ground glass in there - even as a DIY project. I just never got round to it.

 

I wanted to redo the front in a lightweight carbon fibre housing with a PL mount on - I later found out some dude in germany does just this. Think he's called Fromm.

 

I also never liked the whole clamp-on motor thing. I wanted to add a motor where the tach- or speedometer is today, that drove the whole assembly. Or stick the motor under the mirror and let it drive the main shaft through a silent belt (cogs are noisy). But I simply couldn't find anyone who did crystal control engineering of DC motors and I lost interest.

 

I sold it some years ago. I miss it sometimes and sure miss my set of Lomo anamorphics. I would have kept them if I could have done them in to PL-mounts, but the cost was just too prohibitive. But they are very rugged cameras that rarely break down - they deserve a to be taken care of. And they are perfect cameras for those who have a bit of engineering skills or like to modify at home - for very little money they can be turned in to brilliant shooting cameras, much more versatile than any Arri 2C.

[Christian Appelt]

I wanted to redo the front in a lightweight carbon fibre housing with a PL mount on - I later found out some dude in germany does just this. Think he's called Fromm.

 

Gerhard Fromm offered a camera called UL35 (for ultra lightweight / ultra-leicht) which is IIRC based on a Konvas 2M. It was designed to shoot aerial footage from miniature helicopters.If anybody wants to contact him:

 

 

Gerhard Fromm

Wardeinstr.10

D-81825 München

Germany

 

phone 0049 89 - 688 11 66

fax 0049 89 - 688 12 64

 

 

But don't expect prices in the usual Konvas range, Mr. Fromm runs a small specialized company and has a lot of duties. He does a lot of writing on film technique history and for the BVK (something like the German ASC). He also designed a special image stabilizer for DAS BOOT and other unusual equipment like a special 8-perf VistaVision camera for front projection use.

 

You can contact him by mail through the BVK at:

 

medien@bvkamera.org

[Marcel Zyskind]

Hi Adam

 

Yeah, I was wondering about getting an PL mount for the camera.

But who can afford a set of 35mm PL mount primes?

 

I wonder if a switchable mount would work. Use the lomo lenses for personal work and hire some PL lenses in when needed.

 

I see what you mean with the clamp on motor, it just doesn't feel to secure on there.

 

I need to find a good mattebox as well. But the trouble is different lens diameters on the lomos.

 

I'll see. It's sort of a hobby project.

 

It would be cool with a lightweight carbon fibre PL mount Super 35 3perf 2M.

All the best.

 

Marcel

[Jian Cyrus Farhoumand]

Hi there,

 

I too have just bought a 1M turret Konvas but mine only has its original OCT-18 mounts (or at least I presume they're OCT-18). Please can you let me know where you bought your C-Mount converter? It sounds awesome! - Otherwise I'm stuck with some v old and bashed-around lenses. (We're talking circa 1966!)

 

Thankyou.

 

Jian.

[Olex Kalynychenko]

At first, The any cine camera - high precission system of mechanical and opical parts and this system must be serviced, tested correctly.

 

The lens mount is in an abysmal condition, the screw threads are ruined.

When the camera is running the image in the viewfinder is jumping or juttering, which I supppose is the mirror being bent.

The colomation on the lenses are way off.

 

The K-2 OST-19 lens mount have bad condition of screw ?

A some strange, i serviced many K-2 cameras and don't had problem with screws of lens mount.

About " running the image ".

I think, you have mechanism with plastic mirror disk with 6 screws.

Yes, The plastic mirror disk can have a some swash, but, the position of mirror disk can be adjusted by thin metal foil and " running the image " can be reduced.

This is procedure must do with special tool, i use special microscope.

The better idea, to choose of Konvas with glass mirror disk, with one big screew inside of disk.

 

 

 

Hi

 

The gate has been randomly filed...

I'm just not happy with the state of the camera for the price paid. $2500. I was expecting a much healtier camera.

And that was for camera, lenses and mags only. No batts, cases or mattebox.

I'm dissapointed.

 

Who seller ? ebuy item ?

Any case, you can tell me name of any west 35 mm professional cine camera with price $2500 ?

The price of ground glass of modern Arri have $650

The 7 pcs of 400 ft rolls of film have equivalent value of camera ( $2500 ), this is near 30 minutes of footages only.

 

But, not need be disappointed too much, you can send me detailed information about camera with pictures and i hope to help you.

The battery , charger available for sell.

The upgrade of motor electronics possible too .

 

About C-mount.

C-mount - standard of 16 mm cine cameras and what you think to use of lenses from 16 mm cine cameras

with 35 mm cine camera i can't understand.

From technical side, C-mount have short flange focal distance and not compatible with any 16 mm, 35 mm cine cameras with mirror shutter disk.

 

About PL mount.

Yes, Konvas-1M, 2M cameras can be modify on version with Arri PL lens mount.

2M need special version of lens mount with PL .

1M need front disk with PL.

But, idea to replace of lens mount at any time not good, because, the any operations with optical parts of cine camera must be make at service lab with full procedure of test and adjust of flange focal distance.

I think, the better, if you will have two bodies with OST-19 and Arri PL.

 

About design of body.

The idea about " The original construction of the solid cast aluminium front is horrible - to heavy and to imprecise and a frequent source for Flange Focal troubles." not correct from my opinion.

The original body have hard design and flange focal distance can be adjust with high precision +/- 0.01 mm.

This real and i do this.

From other side, The film gate have " weak spot" and if you press on film gate too much, the flange focal distance can change on 0.01..0.02 mm.

But, the film or film magazine not press on film gate too much.

The pressure plate have clamping effort 50 gramme only.

This is paymant for small weight and compact design of camera and we must understand this.

 

About mattebox.

I recommend use of base plate with rods and mattebox of Kinor-35 H camera, if you not love of original

mattebox of Konvas camera.

 

 

The idea about the front in a lightweight carbon fibre housing with a PL mount can be good result, if you

change of design of camera.

Not need forget about precision value of flange focal distance.

The carbon fibre have high value of thermal movement and you can lost of flange focal distance and optical axis of camera.

That's why, the camera must have special hard cone with lens mount from one side and

set on mechanism plate from other side.

This is design can have carbon fibre front part of body.

We had experiments with design of body with similar idea. But, the economy of weight not too much.

 

The drive the main shaft through a silent belt good idea and this idea use at next project of russian cine cameras Kinor-35 H ( direct mirror disk rottation ) Kinor-35R and other.

But, not need forget, The base idea of Konvas - simply design and reliability.

The any belts have problem too.

That's why, we lost of low volume of noise, but, receive the high reliability camera.

 

From other side, the multi speed crystal sync motors not problem now and you can ask me about upgrade of motors.

[Thomas Worth]

For instance - the optical system is made out of prisms instead of mirrors. This not only adds weight, it makes the image dark. It would be the easiest thing in the world to replace it with mirrors and stick a proper ground glass in there - even as a DIY project. I just never got round to it.

In my Konvas, there is one prism/ground glass. The rest of the optical system uses mirrors. The image is quite bright. This could be a newer design, though.

[James Steven Beverly]

Does anyone make an an OCT-18 camera mount to OCT-19 lens mount adapter so that I could use on my OCT-19 Lomo lenses on my Konvas KSR-1? B)

[Olex Kalynychenko]

Does anyone make an an OCT-18 camera mount to OCT-19 lens mount adapter so that I could use on my OCT-19 Lomo lenses on my Konvas KSR-1? B)

 

If i understand correct, you have OST-19 lenses and wish use with KSR-1 camera ( OST-18 ).

Sorry, but, this is not possible.

OST-19 lenses have diameter of lens mount 68 mm and flange focal distance 61 mm.

Konvas-1, KSR-1, KSR-1M, 1KSR-1M, (OST-18 ) lenses have diameter 47 mm and flange focal distance 57 mm.

 

If we will told about reversal adapter. The use of Konvas-1/1M lenses with Konvas-2M, Kinor-35 possible and this adapters available for sell.

 

If you need more prime lenses, I recommend to use photo lenses from medium format photo cameras Pentacon Six, Kiev-6, Kiev-60.

This can be russian lenses and Carl Zeiss lenses.

The shift-tilt lenses available too.

We discuss of idea to use of photo shift-tilt lenses with cine cameras on forum a some time ago.