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Michael Mann

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    Sound Department
  1. Hi James - thanks for the response. I have nothing against OCT-18 except I want follow focus: its an important function I want to use, and I miss it. With the 1m I find focussing fiddly, particularly for long shots, and want focus transition to be less unpredicable. The original lens I'm looking at has an electric motor, but was never an OCT-18 model. Oct 19 lenses reached a higher professional level: The more modern lomos are OCT-19 only as far as I understand.. particularly the better zooms. Also, I think the higher quality OCT-18 lenses are disappearing, as the Oct_18 to PL adapters are more widely available. Once upon a time OCT18s were the budget lomos, as the conversion from this mount to PL and others was deemed tricker than OCT19 to PL. As you are probably aware, they were even cheaper than the OCT-19s. For all but the most basic 18s however, this is no longer the case: the budget anamorphics have all but dissapeared in the past year or two for OCt-18,, but you still see them commanding ridiculous prices with adapters for RED etc.. I think its a shame: in retrospect I should have agressively built my lens collection when I first got the camera :-) When I think of the anamorphics I let slip away.... Cheers, m
  2. Well, dont argue with wisdom as they say :-) One last desperate attempt: How difficult would it be to convert an Oct19 lens if I had a spare OCt18 that we could cannibalize the mount from? I'm almost tempted to gaffer tape a solution :-)
  3. Greetings. I'm shipping some unprocessed Vision3 EK5207 250D from America to Norway, and just wondered if anyone had experience with Customs / X-ray difficulties while exporting stock? As I understand, 250D shouldnt get into too much trouble even if it gets scanned once or twice.. and the shipper has put some DO NOT X-RAY slogans on the packing. Is this sufficient prevention? Anyone got any horror stories? Thanks m
  4. Sadly I'm in Norway: facilities are few and far between, and cost of labour is extremely high. As it is, I'm happy enough with the 1M mostly, and the oct 18 lenses I have (The usual 28-35-50-75-135mm set, and a Lenar2 zoom Im pretty happy with) are fine for most of what i do.. Also there seems to be a significant price difference between oct-18 and other lenses anyway - part of the reason I want to stay oct-18, as its more reasonable. I do miss follow focus though.. andmy budget doesnt go beyond 1000 dollars, which barely pays for the lens that I want. Thanks for the responses, m.
  5. Hi, The lack of follow focus on the 1m is becoming a bit of an issue for me - and I was wondering if anyone had heard of an adapter to overcome this? alternatively I was hoping to find a 35OPF16E motorised zoom lens for oct18, but I understand this is unlikely as well. Has anyone made an adapter for a 1M to use oct-19 lenses? This would seem a cheaper option than modifying the camera housing, which I understand can also be done. Thanks, Mike.
  6. Hi, I've been scouring the web looking for practical advice on how to setup Video Assist on a Konvas 1M. The info is thin on the ground: I know people do it, but they tend to sell it as a service afterwards, resulting in not too much practical detail... I would like to do it myself, and am wondering if I can do it with off-the-shelf parts? I would also like to post my results here as I go, so that we can document the steps necassary to get this going. For the record I now have 2 Konvas cameras: a 1m and a 7m. I want to fit the 1m as a portacam, hence the need for assist. Practical requirements: I'm sticking with the "mount-to-eyepiece" method, as this is easiest to wangle: however we lose the eyepiece, so ideally we need a very accurate and high light sensitive (low lux)camera. Specifically I would like some advice on the recommended CCD camera types, and lenses, as well as best practise for mounting to the eyepiece, from anyone who has tried it. I've seen Sony and Pulnix cameras with lux ratings from 0.5 - 0.1 being used elsewhere. What are your experiences? Also: I've been told that this method is not good enough for fine focus, due to the low resolution and light density. Again: what are your experiences? Why can't a Konvas get a high quality video assist? Has anyone built a video assist that they felt was good enough to replace the eyepiece altogether? Step one: choosing a CCD: So far the best bet for low-lux seems to be some "enhanced" sony cameras on ebay: Simply put: If I choose the following camera: http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewI...em=350199204524 .. we seem to be on a good path (supposed 0.0001 lux) for a monochrome CCD camera. Any thoughts? For those that have already done it: what type of lens would you recommend to best fit the standard eyepiece. The crew that sell the above camera offer any lens down to 1.2mm to go with it. Also: At what point along the eyepiece would you mount the camera? Is there a better camera alternative (This one supposedly does 0.0001 Lux - which would be more than adequate for low light I believe, but needs to be taken with a pinch of salt). Lastly: Would you trust such a solution for fine focusing? Thanks for any help you can give. Mike.
  7. Greetings. I am planning an outdoors shoot in Norway in the autumn: Fields, forest and water @ dawn, daylight and dusk. We expect snowfall, so there will be ground / tree reflection even amid murky shadows. A zebra hunt basically. I'm trying to simplify the logistics by sticking to one stock, as this is a run and gun with preloaded cans (It will be too cold for anything else :-). Right now I'm leaning to Vision 3 5219 500T for the dawn/dusk shots, but wonder how useful it will be for full daylight if it gets too sunny/shiny? I'm also tempted to shoot filterless (as opposed to an 85) as we are looking for those icy blues.... What are your thoughts? Any recommendations towards the vision 3 250D instead? Has anyone shot snow in daylight with vision 3 250 or 500? Caveats: We are shooting with 2 x old Konvas 1M cameras, with very soft lenses (including a 42yr old zoom at f4.5). I'm new to these cameras, so I want as much leeway as possible for beginners mistakes :-) Ideally we want as little additional lighting as possible, for mobility's sake. The principals and dialogue will be shot closeup with perhaps a softbox or two to kill shadows. We'll have a generator parked nearby, and some spare spots, but I don't want to use them except to warm fingers. Any advice welcome. Mike.
  8. Hi, Well my ebay Konvas camera arrived: a thing of beauty. Sadly the turret lock lever was broken: possibly a shipping issue: It is snapped just at the thinnest part of the neck of the lever, beneath the thumb press part. At first glance it looks like I could possibly use some locktite or something to weld it together - but I wonder if anyone has this type of part spare? If you do please take contact, and we can work out a price? Also: when I'm fitting the part back into the latch, I notice that it never appeared a snug fit to begin with: the mouth of the lock lever is wider than the latches it is supposed to catch, resulting in a millimeter or so of jiggle room. Thus it appears that there is a bit of shake in the turret which affects the position of the lens, and might affect picture stability? Is this (lens jiggle) an issue at all? Is this why it seems that most people seem to go after the single lens 2m models, as opposed to the turret konvas? If this is an issue, is there a way to overcome it, by tightening the turret, for example? Thanks for any input you guys can give! Mike in Norway.
  9. Hi, I recently purchased a Konvas 1M camera (Standard 4 perf 35mm as I understand). I'm looking to try my hand at some widescreen shoots this summer - I live in Norway and I want a kind of Spaghetti-western meets "the vikings" kind of style, if you know what i mean: wide open fjord landscapes kind of tapestry backdrop. Anyway; I've been looking at Anamorphic lenses for the Konvas, but it appears shooting anamorph can give more trouble than its worth to a beginner cameraman (and Im a beginner), (more prone to artifacts, lens flares etc etc) and also the lenses arent that great for the Konvas unless I really pay up beyond a "reasonable amateur budget". Should I forget about going anamorphic and just shoot normally, doing widescreen in digital afterwards? Does anyone go this road? Is it practical or a waste of film? I thoguht perhaps I could map out the the shots to use only the bottom haf of the frame, and then blowup the lower half afterwards? (Kind of a poor mans 2 perf? can I call it 1 perf? :ph34r: ) In short: Does anyone have any advice, tips or tricks on how to shoot 35mm widescreen-style without gizmos? Cheers, Mike in Norway.
  10. Thanks for the informative answers! There's obviously a bit of a learning curve to this - and the hidden expenses can't be denied. In retrospect I should probably have had the camera shipped straight to service - but oh well. At most I've got a few hundred dollars a month budget for filmaking...and I need batteries to get the camera going. Should I worry about upgrading the motor straight off for 6volt? or invest instead in a general overhaul, relying on cheap camcorder batteries until I can afford to upgrade later? I am still a bit uncertain of batteries tho: An electrician I spoke to reckoned that a modern 7.2-7.4 videocamera battery should keep within the nominal voltage requirements of the 15EPSS (6-8.5V): and this manual seems to bear that out: http://www.antonbauer.com/downloads/2008Handbook.pdf.. I posted some more questions regarding this in another post: http://www.cinematography.com/index.php?showtopic=37111 (Motor options), and I hope someone can give me an answer on what is an immediate safe battery for the 15EPSS, as reading the forum it appears this will be good enough at least for the first stages of learning... thanks again for your time and responses! m
  11. Checking this guide: http://www.bhphotovideo.com/find/newsLette...-with-Power.jsp Panasonic cameras pulling 14wattsm and rated at 8V, use the following 7.2V, 7600mAh battery: http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/4653...on_Battery.html Would this type of battery give tolerable performance for an unmodified Convas with a 15EPSS? Is there a very great difference between the ratings for modern camera batteries versus the Convas? Cheers, Mike in Norway.
  12. Hi, Olex, just to clarify - do you think that a 6 volt battery will run an unmodified 15EPSS at all? Or do you recommend this only after performing your modification? I have one of the 15EPSS's and will probably need to upgrade it, but in the short term I just want it to run for a month or 2 while I practise my shooting skills :-) I have now realised why this discussion is so important, after trying to find 8.2 volt batteries and finding they are very rare - the closest I could find mass-produced was a 7.2 volt sony cam battery (6.9ah): http://www.altitec.no/product_info.php?products_id=715 is this an option at all? Ebay sells clones of these (7.4v, 6600ma) with a charger for 50 dollars, which sounds reasonable, if only they work :-) http://cgi.ebay.com/12H-Battery-Charger-Fo...A1%7C240%3A1318 Sorry if these are stupid questions. Cheers, Mike in Norway.
  13. Hi there, I just got bitten by the bug and splashed on a Konvas 35mm on ebay. I have no film experience. Im a musician attempting to make "episodic drama/musical shorts".I was actually just looking for a Super8 to start me off :blink: I started looking about 2 months ago, with a budget of about 600 dollars, and lurked the various forums. Funny thing was: On the Super8 forums everyone kept using the praise "that Canon 1014 shoot looks almost as good as 16mm!" and on the 16 mm forums I then went to check out it was "Crikey that Bolex shot looks good enough to be converted to 35mm!". That was how I started to read up on the Konvas. By the time I was lurking here, i had figured that Super8 wasnt going to do it, and really why go for 16 mm when the technique is the same for 35mm anyway? Then this popped along: http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewI...em=390043801342 Suffice to say. I might have got a bit carried away, but as I saw it at the time - I just spent what a "highend" Super8 costs to get into 35mm. Now Im determined to make the most of the experience. But obviously the more help I can get the better. Can I ask anyone who has a bit of time please advise me on what I will probably need to do to get this kit in order, apart from order some film. I'm already taking notes from Konvas.org. Should I send it straight to the shop for a cleanup? Do I need additional lenses? My budget is pretty blown this month, what with shipping costs to Norway etc, but maybe I can just start by cleaning it myself and giving it a paintjob? Thanks for your patience. Mike in Norway.
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