Animation with a K3

[Matthew Poliquin]

Hey Gang,

 

 

I've done some stop motion animation, and pixilation with my friend's relfex Bolex - and was quite happy with the results. I must sadly report that he has since moved back across the country, taking his Bolex with him. I remain, down one Bolex, and one friend - but I do have my K3. I've exposed probably 1000 feet of film on it, and been happy with all the results. I am now forced to turn to the K3 for my animation and pixilation. I read that the exposure time with the stop motion is 1/30th of a second, for the animation, and that this can only be done with a plunger in the back end (ok, so that's a little funny). It is still necessary to keep the eyepiece covered - but what about the lens, does that need to be covered in between shots, and while manipulating the subject? Also, when I depress the plunger, does that expose one frame at 1/30th of a second, or will the shutter stay open while the plunger is down? Are there any resources, or advice anyone has out there for working witth the K3 in this capacity.

 

Thank You

Matthew Poliquin

Los Angeles

[Michael Nash]

It should be easy enough to test if the shutter stays open when you depress the plunger. Simply remove the lens or open the camera and pull back the pressure plate and watch what happens with the shutter when you trigger it. But I'm unclear about what you read about the exposure being 1/30 during stop motion. Is that from the K3 manual? That sounds to me like the shutter automatically exposes for 1/30 when triggered remotely.

 

I doubt the K3 is designed with a true "capping" shutter, so you're probably better off playing it safe and keeping the lens covered bewteen exposures (maybe rig a tiny flap of duvetyne over the lens that you pull up during exposure, so you don't bump the camera too much). Does the K3 have reflex viewing (I seem to recall it does)? If so you'll need to cover the eyepiece during exposure, and possibly the rest of the time as well.

 

There used to be a couple websites dedicated to the K3, so try a search and you might find more info.

 

I remember doing stop motion on super8 years ago. The intermittent start/stop faked out the footage counter and I lost half my movie, because I ran out of film and didn't know it.

[J. Lamar King IMPOSTOR]

>>I read that the exposure time with the stop motion is 1/30th of a second, for the animation, and that this can only be done with a plunger in the back end (ok, so that's a little funny).

 

Yes, Attaching the cable release to the rear of the camera will allow 1 frame to be exposed per push of the release.

 

>>It is still necessary to keep the eyepiece covered - but what about the lens, does that need to be covered in between shots, and while manipulating the subject?

 

I would opt to keep the lens covered as Mr. Nash mentioned. BTW a lid from a Kodak 35mm still film can fits perfeclty onto the diopter adjustment ring of the K-3.

 

>>Also, when I depress the plunger, does that expose one frame at 1/30th of a second, or will the shutter stay open while the plunger is down?

 

When you depress the cable release the camera will pull down, hold and expose one frame of film at 1/30th of a second no matter where you set the speed dial. It will not hold the shutter in and "open" position. Releasing the cable will allow the pull down claw to return to its ready position

[Christian Appelt]

When I shot animation with a Krasnojarsk, I exposed for 1/50 not for 1/30 second and got on-the-point printing lights in the rushes.

 

I found it more practical to cover the eyepiece with some kind of dark cloth, like black felt, easier to take off for focusing and checking.

Two more pieces of advice for shooting animation with a K-3:

 

1.Viewfinder accuracy can vary strongly between cameras, so shoot a short test with a test grid or animation field guide, then you will know how to interpret the viewfinder image.

 

2. Assuming you are using a standard Russian zoom lens, stop down to at least 5.6, especially when you are using diopter lenses.