14 replies to this topic

[Burak Oguz Saguner]

Hi every one!
I just recieved my 16mm Kodak k100 Turret. I have limited knowledge of the camera...

Couple of questions to start with...
What are the options for audio recording?
Any suggestions for lenses and angle viewfinders?

Any other knowledge that could be usefull.

Waiting for your replies...
Regards
Burak Oguz Saguner

Edited by Burak Oguz Saguner, 11 December 2006 - 09:23 PM.

[Clive Tobin]

...I just recieved my 16mm Kodak k100 Turret. I have limited knowledge of the camera...

You didn't get any finder objectives with the camera? The K-100 uses special finder lenses that are not the same as used with any other camera ever made. They may be hard to find now. The most common ones were probably made to go with the 15, 25 and 63mm lenses.

The taking lenses themselves are normal C mount ones. You could also attach a C mount zoom lens with reflex finder, which would solve the finder problem. The turret spring is a bit weak however so with a heavy zoom you might need to put a C clamp on it to prevent the turret front from sagging out of focus.

You don't have too many options for sound filming. Kodak used to make an electric motor drive shaft as an optional extra. It screws into the normally covered opening by the release lever. Connecting this somehow using a flexible shaft extension to an 1800 RPM AC synchronous motor will drive the camera at 24 FPS referenced to line (mains) frequency.

We have never made a crystal motor intended for this camera. However if you buy one of our TXM-20Ba crystal motors for a Bolex, and have a good machinist to make mounting for the electric motor drive shaft (if you can find one) you could set the motor to 30 FPS and this would drive the camera at an actual 24. Or you could use our TXM-20Be and set it to 31+ FPS which would be an actual 25.

[Michael LaVoie]

I have the same camera. I agree that it's registration is on par with a bolex. the parallax viewing is not however. It's a pain. Lining up the different crosses in the viewfinder with different lenses is tricky. Exposure is a 60th at 24fps I think. Mine actually runs at a fairly reliable 24fps. Not frame accurate of course but damn close. I've shot sync sound and matched it up easily. Not super long monologues or anything but standard dialogue is easy to shoot. So long as your far away enough that sound doesn't pick up the noise.

There's not much point in trying to make this camera crystal sync as Kodak never made magazines for it so you're limited to 100 ft spools. There's also no standard accessories. When I was in film school I saw someone trick out a Bolex with every conceivable accessory and it was the size of an air conditioner. Not fun to use on a feature. You still need to rent an SR or XTR for your main footage. Unless it's a short.

[Will Montgomery]

Mine came with a 15mm, 25mm and 50mm lens. I believe you could choose which lenses you wanted when it was new.

Unfortunately most of my shooting doesn't allow time to think through focus distance so the non-reflex thing was bringing me down. So I found a reflex c-mount zoom.



I thought it would be great until I realized that you can't really focus with this lens, just frame the shot and you must focus by distance guessing. Oh well. Looks cool though.

[Steve Donaldson]

Perhaps I can fill in a little bit more info about your K-100. It was designed for making coaching films for football. That's why the viewfinders are custom. The viewfinder provides you a view of what's in-frame, and what's out of frame, which is EVTREMELY useful for football filming. In my experience, viewfinders for 25mm and wider are easy to find. Viewfinders for 50 and 75mm lenses are a bit more rare. Additionally you will almost certainly pay more for the viewfinder than the c-mount lens to go with it. Also, the K100 is probably the fastest and easiest camera to load that you wil ever find. It's designed so you can reload between plays.

Regarding the frame rate, if you make yourself a loop of exactly 48 frames, you can use a stopwatch to check the film speed. Since the speed adjustment is continuously variable (no stops) you can adjust to exactly 24 fps by timing your loop. If you find that the camera comes up to speed more slowly than desired, the clutch is adjustable. The spring is good for about 40 seconds of shooting at 24 fps. You might notice the frame rate drops once you get toward the end of the spring though.

The Pan Cinor 17-70 zoom with split viewfinder was also used commonly in football films. I've seen many people use it with the c-clamp trick referenced above. You will find that you will lose about 1/3 of an f-stop because of the split viewfinder.

Good luck. The K-100 is a wonderful piece of gear, and it's virtually indestructable.

[Tomas Koolhaas]

Hi Guys,
Since you are all K100 owners I was wondering If I could ask how much you think my K100 package is worth...I am trying to sell it..its in perfect condition and I have Kodak Cine Ektar prime lenses and viewfinder lenses for each lens plus various adaptors: 63mm f/2.0...15mm f/2.5...25mm f/1.4...102mm f/2.7 (Lumenized).....50mm f/1.9.
Any input is appreciated.
Cheers.

[Will Montgomery]

Probably between $150 and $225.

[Tomas Koolhaas]

Probably between $150 and $225.

For everything....including the lenses??? I was lead to believe the the camera itself was worth around $200 and whole package was worth around $1,000 because the lenses where pretty hard to get hold of in good condition these days....maybe I was lied to : (

[Tomas Koolhaas]

I just did some more research online, from what I found the camera itself sells from between $150 to $350 (that seems high, but there was one for sale from a pretty reputable company for that much...without lenses). And the lenses seem to be worth between $30 to $70 dollars each...so my kit would be worth around $500 according to what I found on these sites.

[Will Montgomery]

I've seen that camera go with a 3 lens setup for $225 on ebay. With the other two maybe you can get more, I hope so. Let us know when you post it.

[April Friges]

Hi Everyone!
I Am a graduate student in the arts and am working on my thesis. I am interested in using the Cine-Kodak K-100 for my project but can only spend maybe $200.
Does anyone know where I can find one of these cameras? I've tried the obvious ebay and such. I'm in the LA area, so I suspect it should be fairly simple?
Thanks
April
afriges@gmail.com

[Will Montgomery]

Are you sure that's the camera you want to use for a graduate project?

It's a fine camera for what it does but you might be better off with a camera that you can focus through the lens. Perhaps even a Russian K3? Can be found on eBay for around $200.