35mm camrea advice?!?

Cohen Phillips · March 12, 2005

Need some help here guys. I was looking at this page. The MITCHELL 35MM STANDARD NC caught my eye, for price and everything you get with it. Now here is my question....

I'm planning on shooting a feature film this summer, would this camera do it? I was planning on renting the 115V AC motor, sync (20 bucks) so I can shoot with a DAT or Reel to Reel for sound. I was just wondering if anyone has shot with this camera before? How noisy is it? Do you get good study images?

My film is about 60 percent dialogue this is why I ask about sound of the camera. Will that AC motor sync both camera and audio? I'm not sure if it's crystal, but I don't think it is. So I was just wondering if this camera could perform. If you need anymore info just let me know...Thanks in advance everyone! :)

March 12, 2005

I've never shot with a Mitchell, but it's such a well-known camera that I think I can answer some of your questions.

First of all, this is a very old camera, with a design dating back to before movies had sound. It is a noisy camera, and you will not be able to record dialogue with it. There is a blimped (a blimp is a special housing designed to muffle camera noise) version of the camera which has been used on countless classic movies and TV shows. However, it's huge and very heavy. You'll probably need two strong guys to move the camera. Hand-holding the camera is not even a possibility.

This camera also doesn't allow you to sight through the lens while shooting, and the lenses provided with it are probably old Baltars or something similar - that is to say, very old designs that won't give the sharpest images.

That being said, the camera is capable of VERY steady images, so that's not an issue. The AC sync motor would be a single-speed motor that "locks" onto the 60-cycle pulse of the usual North American current to provide a constant 24 frames per second. It's not crystal, but it should be speed accurate. Just don't get too far away from a wall outlet!

If I were in your shoes, rather than renting an older-than-dirt Mitchell, I'd consider buying a Konvas 2M or something similar. The Konvas has a mirror-reflex shutter arrangement (like an Arriflex), is hand-holdable, and you can get one with a crystal motor. The Lomo lenses are supposed to be very good - I would think much better than what you'd get on the Mitchell. The Konvas is noisy too, but because it's smaller you stand a better chance of building a workable blimp. Since your film is so dialogue-heavy, you might consider shooting from within a homemade sound booth. You can find lots of information on the Konvas on this site and also at www.commiecam.com. Alternatively, maybe you'd be better off shooting with a quiet-running 16mm camera. Hope this helps!

Cohen Phillips · March 14, 2005

I've never shot with a Mitchell, but it's such a well-known camera that I think I can answer some of your questions.

First of all, this is a very old camera, with a design dating back to before movies had sound. It is a noisy camera, and you will not be able to record dialogue with it. There is a blimped (a blimp is a special housing designed to muffle camera noise) version of the camera which has been used on countless classic movies and TV shows. However, it's huge and very heavy. You'll probably need two strong guys to move the camera. Hand-holding the camera is not even a possibility.

This camera also doesn't allow you to sight through the lens while shooting, and the lenses provided with it are probably old Baltars or something similar - that is to say, very old designs that won't give the sharpest images.

That being said, the camera is capable of VERY steady images, so that's not an issue. The AC sync motor would be a single-speed motor that "locks" onto the 60-cycle pulse of the usual North American current to provide a constant 24 frames per second. It's not crystal, but it should be speed accurate. Just don't get too far away from a wall outlet!

If I were in your shoes, rather than renting an older-than-dirt Mitchell, I'd consider buying a Konvas 2M or something similar. The Konvas has a mirror-reflex shutter arrangement (like an Arriflex), is hand-holdable, and you can get one with a crystal motor. The Lomo lenses are supposed to be very good - I would think much better than what you'd get on the Mitchell. The Konvas is noisy too, but because it's smaller you stand a better chance of building a workable blimp. Since your film is so dialogue-heavy, you might consider shooting from within a homemade sound booth. You can find lots of information on the Konvas on this site and also at www.commiecam.com. Alternatively, maybe you'd be better off shooting with a quiet-running 16mm camera. Hope this helps!

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Ian, Thanks for all the helpful info. Yeah I think I might shoot this 16. Just some of the investors wanted to know what it would take to shoot 35 and I saw this camera for really cheap. So I didn't know. Thanks for all the great info on the Konvas 2M. I'll look into it for sure. ;) Thanks again for all your help.