Kinoflex question

Post by **John_Mann** » Thu May 05, 2005 6:01 pm

I am a professional still photographer by trade and am wanting to do some shooting with a kinoflex (quarz) super 8 camera this weekend. Unfortunately I did not have any time to check this thing out yet (I know I know). My question is regarding the metering for K40. I am assuming that when I switch the setting from tungsten to daylight that the daylight filter will be applied?...Comparing the metering on my Luna Pro SBC set at asa 25 for outdoor shooting is very different than the reading in the camera?...should I just go with the automatic setting or should I manually control according to that ambient settings on my external meter?

Anyone have any experience with this

Post by **yerzmyey** » Thu May 05, 2005 7:36 pm

Hi there.

Well, I'm not any connoisseur, but from this stupid instruction I conclude, that
SUN sign: the filter is applied.
BULB sign: the filter is off.

Regard,
Yerz

Post by **sooper8fan** » Thu May 05, 2005 7:40 pm

I haven't used your particular camera, but I know that if you just let the automatic exposure control do the job, you may get some abrupt results. What I mean is, your shot could look good then all of a sudden you pan over to an area that a little brighter or darker and the auto-exposure system will try and adjust on it's own. I recommend using your manual exposure control if you can. This way the exposure stays at a solid setting for the whole shot, and if you need to adjust on-the-fly, it can be smoother than letting the auto function do it. I hope this helps a little!
It would be great to see some of the footage when you get it processed!

Post by **Actor** » Fri May 06, 2005 4:55 am

I've heard that the built in light meters on Russian cameras are not very accurate. No personal experience though.

Post by **Old Uncle Barry** » Fri May 06, 2005 8:30 pm

Yes,dont get carried away with the in built meter on these cameras.Use a seperate meter and manually adjust aperture,this way will ensure good results if you get your metering technique right.

Post by **Rick Palidwor** » Fri May 06, 2005 8:31 pm

One major difference on thee cameras, compared to most super 8, is that there are no pins to detect the cartridge notch, which tells the meter the speed of the film you are using. The default is 50 ISO and if you are shooting a different speed film you use the dial with +/- to bias the meter accordingly. E.g. if shooting 100 ISO film, set that dial to -1 to calibrate the meter.

Rick

Post by **FILM-THURSO** » Sat May 07, 2005 2:44 am

From experience, the cameras are reliable on their internal metering but most of us tend to do our own thing once we've had the light meters' opinion(no matter what camera). The filter (when set to the 'sun' position) will take the K40 down to 25asa whatever. For appropriate meter readings you should set the exposure correction knob to +1 but as the camera is geared for Swella 50asa monochrome it's worth just opening the aperture a little wider than what the meter tells you. As you are a pro photographer you'll have instinct enough to achieve good results without fluffing the film. Have fun and enjoy super 8 movie-making.

One thing to note: the first thing that usually stops working on a Kino or Quarz is the light meter and you'll know when it's faulty because the needle just won't move when you point it at the light.