Anand Modi

I haven't used that particular zoom, but I shoot an Angenieux 28-70 2.6-2.8 on a Nikon SLR. Just got some slides back and it was sharp and contrasty, especially stopped down to 5.6. Shot directly into the sun on a few frames and flare was minimal.

I haven't shot any video with it.

I am a still film photographer and new to cinematography. I have an adoration of super 8 and purchased a canon 518 to start playing with this medium. I am having such difficulty focusing this camera even when zoomed in and curious if anybody has any helpful tips to help me through this learning curve. many thanks in advance...

No matter what, it's going to be tricky. The viewfinder on that camera isn't great, so focusing by eye, especially on the tele and or wide open end of the lens takes some skill and practice. The most reliable way I've found to stay in focus with the 518 is to try get at least a little stopped down and zone focus by judging distance and trusting the witness marks on the lens barrel (my camera's marks are still pretty accurate)

Arri on-board batteries for the SR I/II seem to be harder and harder to come by these days-- has anyone had any luck rigging other types of batteries to the back of the camera? I know 14.4v Anton Bauer and V-Mount batteries probably wouldn't work as they put out too much current when fully charged, but has anyone tried rigging a 12v or 13.2v NP-1 type battery to mount on the back of the camera? Is there anything I could use that's light enough and could mount to the on-board battery adapter?

If you're thinking about a k3, I have one with a TCS crystal motor for sale so it can shoot locked 24 and also ramp speed. m42 mount. PM if you're interested and I can provide pictures and more info.

1. Sound depends on the camera, but it don't think it would be a deal-breaking problem. If anything, you could wrap the body of the camera in a scarf or something to muffle the sound a bit.

2. I'd budget about $30 for raw stock, processing, and standard-definition transfer for each 50' cartridge you shoot (one 50' cartridge is about 2:45 of runtime at 24fps)

3. There would be no purpose for rails that I can see on a super 8 camera, and I've never seen a super8 with a video assist (though one probably exists).

4. Because the super 8 negative is relatively small, maintaining focus shouldn't be super difficult. If you have a smartphone, there's a Kodak app to calculate what will be in focus in case you don't feel comfortable judging though the viewfinder

5. Most Super 8 cameras (like the Canons I mentioned) have built-in zoom lenses that cannot be removed (like your GL2), so no need to worry about additional glass

6. YES. I'm sure there's a video tutorial somewhere on how to do it in premiere; I've been doing it in FCP for ages and I sort of enjoy it.

7. You could shoot with your GL2 as well, though the footage from the GL2 would look drastically different from the super 8. You could definitely use the GL2 as your audio recorder, though.

8. I've shot quite a bit with Canon 514's and 814's, and I like them. You can get one on ebay for $100-$200.

9. I wouldn't say it's harder; it just requires a little more coordination and forethought. Compared to even super 8, DV tape is basically free, so you'll have to learn to plan what you're going to do a little more and think a little bit more before you roll. It's a good discipline to develop, and it will make you a better video shooter.

If you've never shot any kind of film before, I'd also suggest buying an old 35mm SLR still camera and shooting some film, just to get a handle on the basic consequences of the exposure decisions you make.

good luck

I'd say .10-.13/foot for normal processing, .03-.05/foot for telecine prep (though some houses will waive this if you do processing and transfer with them), and $250-$350/hr (plus the cost of tape stock) for telecine to HDCAM/SR, budgeting anywhere from 2-4 hours of telecine time for every hour of runtime, depending on the amount of attention it needs/how much attention you ask the operator to give your footage.

I'm pretty sure the rate structures are the same for S16 and 35, it's just that you get roughly twice the runtime per foot on S16.

hope that helps.

I was looking for a slightly washed-out, low contrast look on a project last fall, and we thought about shooting all vision2; 7229 for interiors and 7201 for exteriors. Then we got an offer we couldn't refuse on 7219, and we decided to shoot everything on it. After testing, we chose to rate at 125 and pull 1 stop. For some exteriors, with an 85/ND.9 combo we were rating at 8 or 16. We nailed the look, and I couldn't be happier with the result.

Have any footage from this camera I could see?

I sure do. Just sent you a PM with a link.

Does anyone know anything about how this INCREDIBLE film/miniseries was shot? IMDB says 2-perf, a combination of Panaflex and Penelope, on a mixture of Kodak stocks. What I'm most interested in, however, is the beautiful, smooth, low-contrast look and the raised black level. Filters? Pull processing? Or is it all in the DI?

I've still got my K-3 and I have been able to find some transferred footage that was shot on it.

pictures of the whole business can be found here:

http://min.us/mvgdz4q

-anand

So here's what I'm thinking. I can afford a DSLR, a few primes and some lighting equipment. If I create a solid photography portfolio (fashion, nature, products, etc), will that help my chances of getting a scholarship? Do film school cinematography programs see potential in still photography?

I'd also suggest getting a 35mm film SLR and getting some experience with it. Manual Canon, Nikon, Pentax, Minolta, etc. bodies from the 1970s and 1980s are inexpensive and easy to find, and the lenses you buy for them will often be usable on modern DSLRs (Nikon, in particular, has kept their lens mount mechanically compatible for decades. Canon, not so much). It doesn't offer the instant gratification of digital, but a fully manual film SLR forces you to be methodical about controlling the light that comes into the camera.

Selling my Krasnogorsk K-3 kit!

Includes Krasnogorsk K-3 16mm body, with TCS crystal sync motor

12-volt battery

Meteor 17-69mm f 1.9 zoom lens (m42 mount)

pistol grip & shoulder stock

various filters and a couple metal 100' daylight spools

4-pin to 4-pin XLR battery cable

All in a black Pelican case

you can shoot locked 24fps with this camera, and it's quiet enough to shoot sync sound. I had it overhauled at DuAll Camera about 2 1/2 years ago, and it's had about 1000' run through it since. It's the M42 screw-mount (the old Pentax mount), so you can use a variety of cheap & fast still camera lenses on it.

I'd love to keep it, but I need some $$$ to get the negative from my latest project back from the lab!

$500

Anyone know of a seller that currently offers a re-centering ring for a Krasnogorsk-3 modified to S16mm. I see frequent references to this item in older posts but I cannot seem to find the item listed anywhere.

You could call Du-All Camera in New York. They did an overhaul on a K-3 for me a while back.

i want to make shoulder pad for 16 mm sr2 camera,is it possible or not,plz some one suggest me....

Memory foam works well-- you can buy a memory foam pillow for $30 or so and cut it to meet your needs.

I just did something similar to what Chris described - 3 1'x1' mirrors attached to a 3-sided plywood box. Primary red & blue gels on the mirrors. A hole drilled in the bottom of the box, fitten with a PVC pipe sleeve, sitting on a c-stand with the arm removed. We set the mirror box as close as we could get it to a 400W joker without it hitting the barndoors, and had a pair of hands to spin the mirrors on cue.

I've been given the task of shooting a black light music video using a canon 7D. This my first time using a DSLR to shoot a black light music video, was trying to get some feedback from anyone who has used the 7D to shoot a black light video. Thanks in advance.

I have no experience shooting 7D in blacklight, but I just gaffed on a Super16 film where we shot in a black-lit bowling alley. Here's what we did-- hopefully it's of some use.

The location demanded that we not light in any way that would diminish the existing blacklight effect (we shot during a 'glow-bowl' night at a bowling alley that was open to the public while we were shooting). I shined 2 650w tungsten fresnels against a wall in the deep background and put party colors on them to keep the background from falling off into total darkness.

To light the subject, I took a couple of 4' fluorescent fixtures from home depot and found blacklight tubes to fit them (they were about $20 a bulb to buy). I bounced that blacklight at close distance into foamcore boards that I had covered in plain white cotton fabric, which I had washed using detergent (the phosphor residue from detergent is what makes white clothing glow under blacklight). Depending on the distance from the bounce to the subject, I was able to get 1/2 a stop of light (from 10-12 feet away) to as much as 2 stops (4-5 feet away) from the bounce.

We still pushed the film a full stop (Fuji Reala 500D rated at 1000), and had to shoot a wide-open T1.4, but I just saw some still grabs from the telecine yesterday and it looks pretty good.

Good luck.