Have you ever used the Russian Konvas 2M 35mm motion picture camera? Do you know anyone who has? Have you read any reviews of it at least?
What is your opinion of it?
I found this site, and people seem to think it’s a good camera.
There’s a guy in town who has an Arri 2B. He shot some stuff for a trailer (the trailer was made to generate interest – and funding – for a feature) alongside a ‘$100,000 camera’ that someone else brought. The images are identical. For the trailer, it didn’t matter that the 2B is MOS, since the dialog (which I assume was shot with the other, unnamed, camera) was ADR anyway. So I’m guessing the Konvas is similar to the Arri 2B. I’ve heard the optics are good, and I’ve had good results with the Meteor lens on my Krasnogorsk-3. Might be worth looking into.
I thought about shooting my ‘title sequence’ (in the MacGuffin thread) on 16mm because I love film. But if it turns out to be a feature film, it will be cheaper to shoot it on DV. So then I thought I could mount the Éclair or the Arri and the Panasonic side-by-side and film and tape simultaneously. That way I could get a direct comparison of the footage. Then I thought, ‘Why shoot 16mm?’ Well, because it’s cheaper of course. Not only do I already have four crystal-synch cameras to choose from (one silent, three MOS), but film stock and processing are cheaper as well.
But 35mm, man! The aspect ratio is better than 16mm, and I’ve seen Konvas kits that contain an anamorphic lens. If I want to go for a theatrical release (unlikely unless I’m very, very lucky) 35mm is better. But then I’d have to rent a silent camera. At that stage I’d have to look for investors. In any case, the title sequence will be short enough as to be affordable. I think.
Anyway, if any of you filmmaking Dopers (*cartooniverse? anamorphic?) have had experience with the Konvas, or know someone who has, I’d appreciate your input. 