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krasnogorsk 3 Super 16mm


Joshua Cleland

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Really excited cause I just ordered my first 16mm camera and I also bought the widened gate to install separately for S16. Wondering about how many of you have experience with this camera.... What lenses do you like to use on it? I would love to see your footage!

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Caveat emptor. I have two of these cameras, one of which was already converted to super 16mm. They are great when they work but a pain in the azz when they don't. Both of mine are cursed with constant film jams and focus issues. I haven't been able to figure out if its a back focus issue or lens culmination issue causing the focus problems. I'm sending out to Bernie at super16 inc and hopefully these problems will get fixed. I want to capture some serious time lapse footage using this camera. Anyway, here's my footage. The footage was scanned by Visual Solutions in Maryland at 2K, edited in Adobe Premiere, and uploaded in 1080p:

 

16mm Film test k-3

Edited by Joseph Jay
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Do some searching under K3 on this forum and you'll find a ton of threads.

 

K3 is great to get into 16mm with. Like Joseph said, it's hit & miss on quality however so if you are lucky you'll be in good shape. Look for Pentax Super Takumar m42 mount lenses to use with this camera. They are fairly reasonable these days and work great on the K3 even in Super 16.

 

Keep your eye out for a re-centered mount on eBay or through Russian camera shops. Someone was selling them 5-8 years back and they make it easy to do a true Super 16 conversion with a re-centered mount.

 

Bernie at Super16Inc.com and Du-All camera in NYC are both good places to have your camera worked on. They can widen the gate for Super 16, widen the viewfinder if you like and Bernie does an amazing jaserbrighten process on the mirror that makes the K3 viewfinder MUCH brighter. I highly recommend taking to him about that.

 

Most people seem to like to remove the film guides right away, they tend to scratch the film and cause jams frequently. Just have to make the film loop yourself; easy once you do it a few times.

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I love my K-3, and I think it’s a great option for shooting 16mm on a small budget. I got mine from Adorama's Used department for $250, so it was a good deal for a K-3 that I knew would be in good condition. The biggest con however is that the stock lens widest focal length of 17mm isn’t as wide as I’d like for a lot of situations, and wider lenses for the m42 mount don’t really exist, except for the 8mm Peleng fisheye, which I use when I need to. Everything in this reel was shot with the standard 17-69mm, the Peleng 8mm, and rarely my Nikon 50mm f/1.4 (using adapter ring).

 

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I reckon you will love the camera. I have had no issues with mine, but I practiced loading it for ages first. Lots of M42 primes on eBay and the like. I listed heaps of 16mm links on my website, manuals, tech tips and really good K-3 links.

Mishkin.yolasite.com

 

Cheers, gareth

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  • 3 weeks later...

I have two K-3s. I bought one from a friend, and one off of eBay about 15 years ago. My friend bought his new and barely used it. I shot some footage with it and it looked great. The other one has a scuffed mirror, has been overwound, and I never used it. I got it out yesterday and wound it up, being careful not to overwind, and it's not running. I understand they're not hard to work on, but I don't have the time to mess with it. I'll probably sell it for parts or repair, and I should get at least a little for it since it has the stock/grip and the lens looks good. Now I want to go to the storage unit and get out the good one!

 

The one I shot with was easy to use. The shoulder stock is great -- though I probably shouldn't have been filming the CHP helicopter as it was landing. After 9/11. With a camera that looks like a gun. My only complaint is that the key-winding is a bit stiff. The crank on a Bolex is much easier.

 

I keep looking at it and thinking, 'Hm. Super-16 mod. I'll bet you could graft a Bolex 400' magazine shoe to it. And there have to be crystal motors somewhere!' But then I think, 'What's the point? I'd end up with a camera no better than my (standard-16) Arri 16S!' :P

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