Cinematography with Motion Picture Cameras from Russia?

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35mm Kinor 5000 digital
35mm Kinor 5000 digital
Cinematography with Former Soviet Cameras is just as easy as if it were with French, German, or Motion Picture Cameras from other countries. The biggest difference is that the manuals are in Russian (but luckily, there are many good translations for cinematographers).

Cinematographers love to pick these inexpensive cameras up to have some fun, but once they do, they realize (rather quickly) that these cameras are extremely professional and can be worth their weight in gold.

The members of the Konvas.org discussion list use their Cameras for work (as well as play). The important thing to realize is that we use them for professional cinematography settings. These cameras and lenses should be highly respected, since they are a great addition to a film set. In both professional and hobby cinematography, their picture quality and extremely steady image can not be appreciated enough.

Konvas 2M
Bruce Taylor's Konvas 2M
A newer Motion Picture camera/lens combination will cost a fair amount more (often a newer camera/lens combo can cost well into the six figures), and when shot side by side with a Russian motion picture camera (one in good shape can often cost in the lowly four figures), it will most likely have a virtually identical end product. In other words, the quality of the image is fairly equivalent.

So yes, cinematography with a Russian Made Camera is both affordable and reliable, but even more importantly - it's just a very good idea!

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