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Review on Konvas


Leon Rodriguez

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Has anyone out there ever shot the Russian Konvas camera before? I've seen them on E-bay for super reasonable money. I'm always tempted to buy one instead of renting on projects. Then I'd have another camera at the end of the project. I know they're cheap to buy. so there's got to be a reason. Could you list the downside on performance, reliablity etc. if this was the only camera on the shoot? Anything an extra layer of camera tape won't fix?

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Greetings Leon,

 

There is a good mail list on the Konvas camera on the Topica website. There is also the excellent www.commiecam.com site which if I am correct is the also the founder of the Topica Konvas mailing list.

There is a small but very active and passionate community of Konvas users out there.

That is the place to go and get the advice you are looking for.

 

Regards

Emmanuel from Munich

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Search the forum - this topic has been discussed at lenght.

 

I used to own one, but sold it since todays production needs ask for a more

modern camera. Videotap is a must these days. I did love it, though. And it

was very reliable and sturdy.

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There was a discussion about this in the 2003 forum, if I'm right. Maybe the 2002 if I'm mistaken on the first one.

 

The Konvas is the cheapest reflex 35mm camera out there, the only thing cheaper than that is the clunky Eyemo, which is non reflex (save for the few reflex conversions out there, which put the camera at an above $1000 range).

 

There are several Konvasses out there. The 2M is considered the more flexible one I think. You're limited to the glass available to the Konvas's mount (or mounts). I have filmed with a Konvas once this summer, it was a nice camera. I wish I had more time to play with it. I hear the mags are a bitch to load (someone did this for me). There are a lot of anamorphic lenses and accessories for it, don't know what quality it is. I think follow focus attachments may exist as well, but I haven't seen any with it thusfar.

 

- G.

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If one wishes to make a mountain out of a molehill, Les Bosher offers a nice PL mount conversion of even the cheapest, oldest Kovas cameras and Slow-Motion in Burbank offers a major conversion upgrade of the camera with an electronics base and other options to really trick it out.

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It is a GREAT 35mm motion picture camera for the price but is far from a silent camera.

 

2 words...

 

"Andrei Rublyov" by Andrei Tarkovsky shot on Konvas.

 

That is one the best looking films ever made.

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Mitch, Do you happen to have the web sites of those two places? { Andrei Rublyov" by Andrei Tarkovsky shot on Konvas.} I love Tarkovsky, very visual storytelling. But can't recall which film is which. Is "Andrei Rubliov" the one with the re-occuring shot of the flies in the window trying to get out, and the fences on the beach? That film has left those imprints on my mind for many years now. Yes, looked great.

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Leon,

Andrei Rubylov is the film with the great opening sequence of a hot air balloon, and the climactic finish with the bell...and then the montage of colour ;the paintings of andrei rubylov

 

I didn't find a site on andrei rubylov and the konvas but here's an interesting interview with Vadim Yusov the cinematographer for all of tarkovskys films beginning with The Steamroller and the Violin all the way through Solaris

 

http://www.ucalgary.ca/~tstronds/nostalghi...pics/yusov.html

 

Manu

New Delhi

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i've shot a bunch of commercials with the konvas 2M & 8M, and they have never let me down. my 2M has a decent video tap installed as well.

 

the cameras easy to work on, very reliable. if the electronics die, they (along with the motor) can be replaced in about two seconds.

 

they are easy to convert to PL mount, but the LOMO optics are quite good.

 

the cameras is super light (about 16 lbs with film.) it has a nice small form factor, which means you can get it in places other cameras wouldn't fit.

 

good stuff, plus cyrillic is cool.

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Has anyone had experience with a Krasnogorsk camera?

You must be referring to the Krasnogorsk 3, or the K-3 as it is so called.

 

That's a 16mm camera (the Konvas is 35). I never enjoyed mine too much, I shot a bit with it and got some decent footage, but 1) the spring was very hard to wind, 2) the lens wasn't good, and 3) the camera jammed (I didn't have mine modified yet). Fun for experimentation and filmmaking 101, that's about it.

 

- G.

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My K-3 became a time-lapse camera with the addition of a homemade solenoid plunger in single frame mode. I also use it for a second cam on fast action shots. But I generally agree with George. Not a good "A" camera. George, Where did you get yours modified? and what was the mod?

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Hi Leon,

 

Internal mods to the K-3 can easily be made to prevent jamming and more importantly scratching of your film. You can do it easily yourself.

 

The mods consist of removing everything related to the autoload film path. These cameras are made to automatically feed the film though the gate. I never could get mine to load like that anyway and its just a lot of rubish that is going to scratch your film. I will atempt to explain it here and if you have the camera in front of you, you will easily understand what I'm talking about.

 

You need to remove the loop formers by removing the interior baffle plate and cutting the rope (yes it has rope inside of it) that connects them to the plunger that moves them out of the way when you put the cover on. At the same time discard of the plunger and its springs and the rope all the way back to the footage indicator dial but leave its spring hooked up.

 

Then with a hot cutting knife remove the plastic where the film emerges from the top side of the drive sprocket pinch roller nearest the gate. You only need to remove enough plastic so it doesn't come into contact with the film. Do this same procedure on the lower side of the drive sprocket where the film returns to it.

 

You can also remove the metal guards that are between the two pinch rollers on both sides of the drive sprocket. Only remove the part that's near the surface of the film, don't remove its frame because it holds both of the pinch rollers together.

 

It also helps to remove the front beauty plate that says "Krasnogorsk-3" in cyrilic by gently prying it up with a pocket knife. Drill holes in this plate to correspond with the recesses where the screw holes are that hold the front cover of the camera on. Then super glue the plate back on and you will have easy screwdriver access to the front of the camera if you need it.

 

All of my gates are smooth and they don't scratch, but the channel plate above and below the pressure plate is a bit brief. I think Reel Trading installs a longer gate channel. It's not a major problem just make sure you or your assistant forms the feed side loop small enough that the film doesn't rub against the painted area of the interior of the camera before it goes into the gate chanel. After these mods I have never had a jam or a scratch in a few thousand feet of film so far.

 

Make sure to load the camera in subdued light, you'll never do it without looking at it. Then tape off the entire camera cover mine have leaked light under full sun. Then you can unload in complete darkness. Hope this helps.

 

I think there is a website called k3camera.com or something that has sometips on it.

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George, Where did you get yours modified? and what was the mod?

I never did get mine modded, it was an out of the box camera. I bought mine in Russia when the currency exchange was very efficient, back in the soviet days still. I paid $50 for the whole thing new. Then I took it apart like an idiot and never could reassemble it again.

 

- G.

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Thanx Lamar. I sent your message to my AC and we're already going ... "HHmmm! let's pull that thing out again and look at it." We once attatched it to a radio shack remote control car and drove it through a grocery store and got some "Coen-esque clips" before we were ousted from store by the dairy department.

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  • 2 years later...
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0060107/technical

 

There is the technical specs for Andrei Rublyov.

 

They called it a Convas camera instead of a Konvas.

 

I've seen at least one production still in which they were using a Rodina, which can take 1000' loads.

 

They were using more than one type of camera.

 

IMDB is IaMDouBious.

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