K-3 Light Meter & Film Stock

January 19, 2005

Can anyone that's used/owns a K-3 and has used the onboard light meter (with necessary battery adapter of course) please tell me how reliable it is?

I'm just starting to get into film and I am hoping to shoot a short film on b+w. So really I am wondering if it's necessary to buy a light meter or can I just rely on the on board k-3 one. If so, can anyone please recommend a light meter that is good for people on a budget?

Also, can anyone please recommend cheap sources of 16mm b+w 100' film stock? I seem to find that Fuji is the best at the moment. Also, I am based in the UK, so overseas import is probably going to cost more for me.

Thanks for your time :)

Edited January 19, 2005 by Dan Thompson

January 19, 2005

I own a K3 and have actually used it for a lot of professional shooting.

Believe it or not I filmed the Statue Of Liberty with it from a helicopter and that shot was used to open the 2002 Super Bowl! True story.

Do not use the K3's built in light meter it is un-reliable and a real pain. Plus it only gives you reflective light readings and not incident. Incident is of course much more reliable.

Use an inexpensive hand held light meter, try a "Lunasix 3" by Gossen. It has a cine scale and is easy to use and read. Any camera store in the UK should have one.

I used one with great success with my K3 for years.

There must be 100' loads of B+W available retail in the UK? Call kodak in the UK.

Here's a quick reference to make sure you are reading the light meter correctly. If you are shooting outside with full sun using 50ASA film. Your aperature should be f16 or 22. I always use one extra stop with 16mm to help combat grain when I transfer to video. If you're shooting print then make it bang on.

If your light meter shows you some thing else under the above scenario you're not reading it right.

Watch how you load that k3! The film must be well clear of the loop guides or it will be scratched to heck. As you thread each loop pull out the film guides over the roller and bring it down one perf. This will make sure the film doesn't scratch the loop guide in the "up" position. Do the reverse for the lower loop. Run it at 8 FPS with the cover off to make sure the film is not hitting those loop guides. This is very important.

Frank

andrewbuchanan · January 19, 2005

Frank,

Love the story about your K3... and glad to see someone with the balls to use it professionally.

I disagree about the meter though. I have the NCS adapter in mine and it's SPOT ON with my Sekonic 508 Cine everytime. That is not to say it is up to use on a commercial, and you can't use a incidental/spot system to get that perfect exposure... but I think it is very good meter for many purposes. Especially for a student film, or a short that will be shot mainly in daylight, or some b-roll. Just make sure you're using a grey card and following the rules to get a proper reading.

And at $25 for the adapter and $5 for some hearing aid batteries, it's about $600 less than a new meter of any salt.

January 20, 2005

Andrew,

Well in a democracy we all have the right to disagree :D

I don't know what the NCS adapter is or what it does?

Please elaborate.

In any event it appears you've added some thing that is not factory standard on the K3? So that would make your camera a little different?

I paid only a small amount of money for the Lunasix 3 meter, no where near $600.00!

Additionally on the other note...there are a lot of times TV shows have used material I shot with a K3. I just never told them what camera I used :D

"You used a top of the line Arri for this shot right Frank?", "Yes yes Mr. Producer Arri 435 all the way."

Frank

January 20, 2005

Thanks for your replies guys.

Frank, it's great to know that K3 footage opened the number one most anticipated TV event of the season! (in the USA anyway!)

Andrew mentioned the NCS adapter, which is a battery adapter that allows you to use normal zinc power cells, as the original batteries are no longer available I believe. http://www.k3camera.com/k3/k3batt.stm

My short will be completely shot outside in daylight on b+w fuji film stock. So I am tempted to just rely on the built-in meter. But I may invest in a Lunasix 3, if I can find one priced within my budget.

Edited January 20, 2005 by Dan Thompson

January 20, 2005

Also, whilst we're on the subject of K-3's, are there any lens types that you would recommend? I've read in previous threads that a Pentax Takumar M42 is good for the K-3.

Thanks for your help guys.

andrewbuchanan · January 20, 2005

Additionally on the other note...there are a lot of times TV shows have used material I shot with a K3. I just never told them what camera I used :D

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LOL. I've done the same thing. I even passed some EXR 50D K3 footage that was dumped to BetaSP off as 35mm shot on my Arri (shhhhhh!). It was with the stock lens too.

I agree you don't have to pay $600 for a meter, and I guess knowing how to use a meter pretty well before I started with the K3 helped, but I still get good results for the old meter (the NCS adpater just allows you to use hearing aid batteries from the local battery shop.

B&W Outside? I'd try the built-in meter.