Konvas 2m 35mm camera.
 

hi- I recently purchased a russian konvas 2m camera off of ebay. eventually, I'll get around to modifying to a PL mount so i can get some nice lenses on there. And as of now it will be strictly an image gathering machine, due to the loud 55db noise level. These levels obviously prevent sync sound.(stick to my DV cam for that) There has been a thread here sort of on this topic, yes I did do a search first, and it's located here:

http://www.dvinfo.net/conf/showthread.php?postid=229687#post229687

This thread states a barney would bring a Konvas down to a "comfortable" noise level, but by no means levels with which to record sound near. Is there any other way to convert or modify a konvas camera as to bring down the noise levels suffienciently enough that, with the aid of a barney, sync sound might be possible?
The camera is fairly new (1993), and looks to be in good shape (although I have not tested it yet), the motor, if anyone needs to know, is a 19EP-16APK.
thanks-
-alex

Not really, no. If you are a really good camera engineer, you might try sound proofing the interior of the camera, but I wouldn't advise it. The reality is, the 2M was not made for that.

That being said, if your interest is in narrative film, it's not a complete loss. Sure, you can't keep your production soundtracks, but a lot of the time production soundtracks are thrown out and replaced anyway. I shot a short on a 2M once, and completely redid the sound in post and worked fine. I know some people advise against that particular methodology (and it can be a real pain) but I don't think there's anything really wrong with it.

And it's still a heck of a lot cheaper than renting an ARRI for 20 days.

No it is absolutely no loss. I planned originally to shoot, I think some people call it, "pure cinema", with no audio. I just thought sync might be a bonus if possible.

You are facing two difficult to achieve questions: baffling camera sound and recording the camera speed.

The first case is difficult to achieve on cameras that were designed to work "wild", as this camera probably was. A soft barney may only take you up to a point. Arriflex IIC and 16mm's Arri S, or the Eclair CM (which the Konvas resembles) only could be silenced with a full blimp, made of aluminum or fiberglass. The latter an be done if you know how to do it.

Then comes the sync question. For that you will need a sync output from the camera motor: does it have one? If it does you can use a Nagra to record and playback the sound.

I doubt there's a crystal motor for the Konvas or even a fiber blimp, but if there is that might the shortest way for sync sound. You should try investigating that in Russia sites, using Google of course, or ask Russina filmmakers.

The other way to do it, as many films did, is dubbing your audio in post-production.


Carlos

Well, as a matter of fact there is a crystal motor for the Konvas 2M.

A first Google search got a lot of results. Have a look at this one which seems to bring several paths for you to go have a look:

http://www.commiecam.com/resources.html

A blimp should be nice to find, but that might be difficult.

This Konvas really seems to be an Eclair CM3 clone, so many Eclair things should fit on it, particularly a Nikon to Eclair adaptor some American and French DOPs used with excellent results.


Carlos