Successful DIY adapters vs Latest from Brevis/Letus? And which Nikon/Canons work?

[Avenger007]

Just as title says. I started assembling parts for a DIY setup (similar to jetsetmodels.info version) and was curious if any of these DIY versions are worth putting the time and money into if they produce too much grain, bad light loss, mediocre bokeh, and vignetting.

My setup in theory was going to include a cinevate achromat, 2" asain barrel with a jetset vibrating GG holder and nikon mount. I need the adapter for professional shoots and a few independent projects, so looks aren't everything and maximum performance isn't crucial but I will spend the $1k+ on a good adapter if they are significantly better than what these DIY setups are producing. For example I've seen the Letus extreme handle zoom lenses pretty well, unsure how a DIY setup will.

Also quick question which I couldn't find in the search. Which canon/nikon lenses work? AI and AI-S from Nikon and any of the non-digital connection Canons right? Sorry if its been beaten to death. I didn't see anything in the stickies. If things went my way I would just toss my PL lenses on everything but a PL mount isn't cheap, even for DIY adapters.
Thanks

edit: forgot to ask what you guys think of the canon Ee-S, Ee-A and Nikon D focus screens as a ground glass.

[Jason Ramsey]

A lot of the adapters that are popular now started as kind of DIY type projects... But, the difference is they have evolved greatly from that point.

Cinevate for example has poured tons of money into r&d of their adapter and different accessories for it and so on. There is a reason that these adapters are a grand and more vs. the 50 dollar diy project.

Not saying you can't get good results from a diy build, but a lot of time, money, research, and other investment has gone into the development of the "name" adapters to make them what they are now.

I mean, if you want a "real" adapter, then buy one from a company that is in the business of making them. If you want to learn about them, or don't have the budget for one yet, or just want to screw around, or you are a tom thumb, then by all means build one... but you shouldn't expect results to be 'on par' with the Brevis, Letus Extreme, SGPro, etc, etc.

Later,
Jason

[hueso76]

I made a dof adapter whit a EE-s Screen and my Panasonic PV-GS 500 , zuiko 50 mm f: 1.1.8 , its look fine, but your loose 4 f stops ¡¡¡

[Dennis Wood]

I'm a huge fan of DIY. What we've discovered after significant R&D work though is that doing it yourself is not about saving money. It's about having fun with a project.

It's that that last 20 percent of image quality/light efficiency/usability that requires the investment in R&D..and is well beyond a DIY budget.

[Chenopup]

There is footage from some of the DIY adapters that I think is absolutely beautiful - of course it looks different from the higher end imagery that you can get out of the commercialized ones, but for certain projects, each lends itself as a tool, merely a paintbrush in the hands of the painter.

I think that because there is so much interest in these both from a professional / commercial arena as well as hobbyists, we've been very lucky to have as many surface as have. Lots of tools to work with - I just shot footage for 4 commercials yesterday using the Brevis - will probably look at either that with the flip or the Letus Extreme - I've also shot with the M2 - they all are merely tools, yet I'm also considering (time permitting...) building one just to play around.

Thanks to Dennis, Wayne, Brian V & Hien / Quyen as the front 4, I believe, for the great R&D and great products, as well as to all those who've instructed us in the DIY category with the long hours piecing things together late into the night...

I think we're just at the tip of the iceberg...

cheno

[Avenger007]

I find that theres just too much room for error and considering I don't have the time or money to invest in optics, im going to go with either a Brevis or Letus. I just wish there was a good comparison of the two. I saw the M2 vs Brevis on the cinevate forums and it really showed the strengths of the Brevis.

My main concern is sharpness between the two. Brevis appears to have a very slight hot spot in the center and create slightly softer images. However the advantage of swapping ground glass is such a major benefit and could potentially solve these concerns. The Brevis also appears to be more acceptable for upgrades.

Im going to wait until after this weekend when the new package pricing is released from cinevate for the flip modules. I want to see officially how much light loss the Brevis experiences.

I also don't want to wait very long for Letus to release a PL mount. Regardless, the footage I have seen from both adapters looks great. Easily worth the money considering the amount of commercial work they'll see. I can't wait to see them paired with a hydra HVX setup. ...and to think I considered a RED ;)

[Dennis Wood]

We just finished a series of tests using an HV20 baselined (using a waveform monitor) between f2.8 and f4, then comparing on a waveform monitor with the Brevis + 50mm f1.4 and Brevis flip module + 50mm f1.4.

Results looked like this:

Bare HV20 was locked at 1/250s shutter, pointed at a lit whiteboard and exposure locked at f2.8, then f4.0 for a baseline. Leaving the camera powered, we fitted the flip and non flip Brevis with a 50mm f1.4 attached.

1. HV20 (at 1/250s) from f2.8 to f4.0 showed a drop from 72 IRE to 52 IRE. This indicates that 1 stop on the HV20 results in a difference of 20 IRE at this exposure setting.

2. Brevis + 50mm f1.4 showed approx 59 IRE.

3. Brevis + 50mm f1.4 showed approx 56 IRE.

In other words, both Brevis setups showed less light loss than stopping the bare HV20 down 1 stop...about .7 and .8 stops respectively relative to the camera. These figures reflect the adapter total system loss with a 50mm f1.4 lens fitted. The flip module loss is almost insignificant at less than 1/4 of a stop relative to the camera. We also quantified the fact that stopping down the 35mm lens (CF1/L) does not result in anywhere close to predicted light loss. In other words, 2 stops down on the 35mm lens does not even closely reflect 2 stops required compensation on the camera. Fascinating stuff.

[Avenger007]

interesting research and thank you for sharing it.

Im going to wait on final pricing and configuration, but regardless it seems individuals like yourself really stand behind your product for both quality and customer service and that is what the community needs (and motivates my purchase :))

[Avenger007]

After seeing some footage from the forums, theres some great, sharp looking samples on cinevate's sight. I'd really love to see a direct comparison of the CFL1, 2 and 3. Some samples have added color correction/effects in post. Others have varied situations so it is difficult to judge the degree of change within the bokeh. Regardless, looking forward to seeing final flip unit.

So is there going to be a flip unit (built in flip) or is the flip only going to be an add-on unit?

[Dennis Wood]

Right now, users will have the option to use the Brevis flipped, or non-flipped. We'll look at an integrated solution if there's sufficient demand for it.

We've got some "flip" footage coming (as soon as it stops raining) that promises to be the best quality footage ever recorded from a Brevis adapter :-)

[Avenger007]

Does the cinevate rails system included in the preflip bundle support the flip module properly? Also, do the 45cm long rods included have enough length with the flip module attached to still support a matte box and follow focus?

[Dennis Wood]

Yes, yes, and yes.

[Avenger007]

thanks for all the help.

Wanted to send this question out again:

-Which canon/nikon lenses work? AI and AI-S from Nikon and any of the non-digital connection Canons right? Sorry if its been beaten to death. I didn't see anything in the stickies. If things went my way I would just toss my PL lenses on everything but a PL mount isn't cheap, even for DIY adapters.
Thanks

[Avenger007]

TTT for the above question