Baltasar Thomas

I did something similar as Todd, and it works great. Bought a very large changing bag (quite cheaply) off of Amazon. Made a square frame out of small diameter PVC pipes. The frame goes inside the changing bag.

Another addition is a board (I used OSB wood) that lies inside the frame, on the bottom of the changing bag. I put 2 nails in the board, one for a 100ft spool and one for the Lomo spiral. The nails fit inside the center of the spool and spiral, so they don't go anywhere while I'm turning the spiral to load the film onto it.

Works quite well, I'll see if I can make a photo later today ?

EDIT: Forgot to mention, the pipes are easily assembled and disassembled as well. Quite convenient and lightweight.

something like a stereo microphone bar could also work :)

and it has the needed 3/8" screws already installed

Thx aapo! Great suggestion..!

Don't forget the staple tools of every film maker... Duct tape, plastic ties, and heaps loads of Velcro...

Velcro...how could I forget! Thanks guys, it'll probably become some sort of monster using several of these combined..! I'll post a pic of my set-up when it's in use.

Hi Michael,

Thanks for the extensive reply, haven't been able to further test the camera the past week. I suspect the camera's been tinkered with a bit, as you say. I'm going to run those tests you've described and see if I can correct it soon, I'll report back when there's progress, thanks a lot so far!

Hi Mark, something like that might do the trick! Hadn't thought of those, might be simple yet effective. Might be in the way of the filmdoor or wind-up crank though.

I suspect you';ll find that the camera noise will make for a poor quality recording. It would be better to keep the mic well away from the camera.

Hi Brian, thanks for thinking with me here. I'm aware of the noise of the camera and it not being suited to record sync-sound with for common purposes.

I still want to mount a mic on it though, because I need one to be accessible just before, during and right after filming.

Right now I'm thinking of gluing a cold-shoe mount on top of the camera. But I'd rather build a nice rig with a cheese plate, handle etc.

So if anyone has any suggestions..!

Hi everyone,

Upon reading my question most of you will probably be like: "...why?", but hear me out.

I'm looking for options to mount a recorder/shotgun-mic combo on a Krasnogorsk 3 camera.

For my own experimental documentary work I want to use my K3. I've used it a few times now. Hand-processed the film and am mostly satisfied with the results. I'm interested in using non-sync sound with the images. (Playing a lot with the sounddesign in the edit). For this purpose, the images are digitized. I finish most of my projects in digital.

I like the K3 for its simplicity and small size.

In terms of sound, I'm interested in the things that occur around the image, where the frame ends so to speak. Also - the things heard right before and after a scene.

I'll be recording on my own and that's why I need a quick and easy to use setup. Having to put the camera down to handle a recorder-mic combo like a Zoom H6 would be to slow and I think I'd quickly run into situations where I would have no place to put the camera for the time being.

Right now, I'm thinking of creating some sort of cage to mount a small recorder-mic unit like the Zoom F1 on top of the camera. Ideally, I'd be able to mount a rosette grip somewhere as well. The K3's is not making it easy on me though. I need to be able to access both sides in order to wind the camera and change the film, and I need to be able to access the back for the viewfinder.

So, there it is! If any of you can think of some DIY solutions to this problem please do share! Or if you know of some very modular cages that might be suited, that would be great as well!

Thanks!

So it works with the outer ring set to CLOSED at 6 o'clock.
I'm guessing, by the photo in your article, I should be able to turn the outer ring, without turning the inner ring. But I can't, so that might be stuck somehow.
I see there's two small screws holding the FADE control plate in place. I might just take a look and see if there's anything visible causing it to stick, unless you advise against it!

Still no luck I'm afraid!

The white dot of the outer-manual ring is at 12 o'clock. The white dot of the inner auto-ring is at 6 o'clock. Pulled down the M' lever a few times. It's set to speed and 18fps (tried 12 and 24 as well). Still no movement with the only thing indicating power being the red dot above the viewfinder image.

Guess all that remains is trying to open it up. Any advice on where to start? If I can't get it to work, maybe I can make someone happy with it to use for spare parts.

Thanks for all the help so far Michael!

*EDIT: The powerzoom buttons work as well, I just found out!
**EDIT: I might have misunderstood! With the outer-manual ring white dot set to 6 o'clock it works!

Is the little plastic notch on the inside of the turn screw mechanism in the compartment panel intact, or broken off / re-glued on? This is one of the main fail points of the construction of the camera... this, and the plastic shaft of the female screw cavity in the pistol hand grip.

The notch is intact.

Now, do keep in mind that if we surmise that there's potentially an electrical contact issue from the panel being too loose and the electric circuit with the batteries not being closed correctly, then your pushing the compartment further, bringing springs/batteries more into touch, should actually remedy the lack of electrical contact, and make the camera power up.

Yeah, I figured as much! Nothing happens when I push it back as well so I guess this can't be it.

Also: Is the camera completely dead, i.e. when the power switch is on ON, is the exposure meter changing the f-stops in the viewfinder as you move or zoom round? If that's the case, we can say that there might be a contact issue with the main switch (corrosion), or an IC on the electronic circuitboard has blown, which controls the master control of the camera. If some sub system work (exposure), we can narrow this down a bit more.

What I did notice just now is a red dot just above the image in the viewfinder, that's only visible with the power switched on, and only while pressing the trigger.

There's no F-stops visible however, and no change in the light meter.

Would the red dot indicate a dead battery perhaps? They're fresh batteries - so I guess there's still the chance of a contact failure somewhere in that case..?

If you go to this post here, www.cinematography.com/index.php?showtopic=26088&p=467106 , you will find two files to download, which are articles I penned for Super 8 Today magazine about how to operate the top 4 production cameras, one of which is the Bauer A512 (tou definitely made the right choice choosing this camera - I use mine since 96 alongside Beaulieu 4008-series models).

Great articles Michael! I understand the camera a lot better now. Unfortunately still can't get it to work for now. I did notice that the battery compartment for the two AA batteries is not as tightly locked as I would expect. It locks, but there is some room to push the door of the compartment even farther in when locked, pushing the batteries inside a bit farther as well. The door of that compartment comes off completely as well when I open it, is that how it was designed? I could make a short video if it helps?

Thanks a lot Michael!

Seems something went wrong while I was attaching the image, but we are definitely talking about the same button.

I'll check out those articles!

@Michael Lehnert

I've attached a photo, this is the M-setting you were talking about right? (still figuring out all the knobs, have a french manual that i've yet to decipher). I pulled it down a few times. Didn't change anything!

@tom lombard

I'm afraid the batteries shouldn't be the culprit either, at least, they're te right voltage and non-rechargeable.

Would be a shame if I can't get this beauty to work!

Might try opening it up next to see if there's any visible damage or dirt..

Hi,

Can anyone tell me if the Bauer A512 only actually starts the filming mechanism with a cartridge inside?
I picked up one of these for quite cheap and it looks to be in decent shape, popped in 6 fresh AA batteries, set the top switch to indicate the power to show the green dot, pressed the trigger and...nothing happens.

And if it is supposed to start up without a cartridge, any ideas as to what's causing the problem? The contacts of the battery compartment seem clean to me.

Thx!

Hi,

Came across this, might as well rekindle it instead of starting a new thread:

I would like to process some Ektachrome 7255 film myself. I know the film is ancient and I don't expect to get any 'good' results. Any image would be interesting. Did a bit of research and found out people have processed 7252 film with E6 with varying results. Was wondering if anyone here knows if the ECO-3 process going with the 7525 film is comparable to the ECO-1 process that was used for the 7255..?

Hi Josh, sounds promising! Definitely share when you're ready. Still trying to get my hands on a projector myself..

Hi Pol!

Thank you so much for this very comprehensive answer!

I will definitely take your advice to heart and start reading a lot about the different things required, starting with machine vision camera's. The simpler solution you mentioned with near full speed recording sounds ok, but like yourself, I really need to get the most out of the image.

I'll check back in (might be a while) when I'm making progress...!

Cheers,
Baltasar

Hi Everyone,

Thank you all for sharing your projects and knowledge. After browsing the internet for a few hours and considering a few different possibilities, I decided I want to build my own 16mm telecine machine based on the examples I've seen in this discussion. I've also decided I want to go for the frame by frame solution, as I don't mind the machine being slow as long as it's automated, and I think this should give the best results.

Now here's my, rather elaborate, question.

I'm a total beginner. In engineering as well as scripting (ok, I know some HTML, PHP and CSS that I've used for websites but yeah, very limited). So I was wondering if you guys could send me in the right direction as far as learning enough about a few things to set a sort of base level of knowledge before I start buying all sorts of material and tools I may or may not need.

What I understand is, I need:

A functioning projector
A stepper motor
Something to control the stepper motor

A replacement for the projector lamp (a cold light source?)

A camera (preferably some model that has a durable shutter..?)
Something to control the camera (is this where the arduino comes in..?)
A computer/laptop with software/script for capturing the images

So anyway, tinkering with the projector will be different for each model I guess, so it might not be interesting to go deep into that at this point - but in general, replacing a motor, light bulb..where would I start?

And as far as the scripting goes, I've seen you guys mention several different languages, programming options, what would you say is the best choice for a total beginner and where do you recommend I start?

Any help would be greatly appreciated. I might not be able to share a lot with you guys in return in the beginning, but I reckon if I document my process well, it could be very useful as a sort of start from scratch guide for just about anyone.

Baltasar