Beginner Planning for Camera & EX1/Letus Lens Sharing

[kzaiser]

Hello everyone.

Please be patient with a new guy here having nothing but point-n-shoot camera/camcorder experience. I've been doing some editing work on my family movies using Sony Vegas Pro 8, all in SD. I find that now I really would like to capture my kids in hi-quality HD video and hi-quality photos so I need your help. In the coming year, I will purchase a good digital SLR camera and the EX1/Letus.

The dilemma is the desire to not double up on lenses.

I like the Canon EOS XTi camera and it uses Canon EF lenses by default. I see that there are adapter rings to fit other lens makes/types but, as I have no experience with different lens types and any flexibility/restrictions they offer, can I stick with the EF lens series for the EOS and know that they will work well on the EX1/Letus? Any restrictions on auto-focus or image stabilization or can that be 'turned off' at the lens when used with the EX1? Maybe the rule of thumb is 'automated' lenses for camera-only and fixed f-stop, 'manual' lenses for both the camera and the EX1.

As for zoom lenses, will a fixed f-$top zoom work well on the EX1/Letus?

Primary subject matter will range between outdoor soccer games and indoor school plays and the occasional family vacation (won't be $eeing any of tho$e too $oon).

By the way, I'm not tied to Canon so if you have any thoughts on a good 10MP DSLR that can share a wide variety of lenses with the EX1/Letus, I'd love to hear your thoughts.

Thank you for any guidance.

-Kurt

[golf_bht]

Well I would recommend a canon EOS 5D for you to start with. I own one and love it very much. My collection of lens include 16-35 F2.8L, 24-70 F2.8L, and 70-200 F2.8L.

I haven't got my letus yet as they take a long time to q up. I am working my way to have the iris control on the letus. It seem like a complex protocal that need a lot more than just a volt meter.

you will get everything to work except the iris. you can order letus with canon EOS mount.

[kzaiser]

Thanks for the comments, golf. That looks like some nice, pricey glass. The 5D is just over $2k so I don't see it in the household budget for a still camera. I'm a weekend warrior so the 400D XTi, at between $500-$600, appears to fit my needs.

Can you expand upon 'the iris'? Is that the same as 'aperture'? I was not aware that any signalling was passed through the Letus which was why most folks have prime/fixed focal length lenses strapped to the Letus.

I guess I'm just trying to learn if EF lenses work well enough for the 'weekend EX1 warrior' or am I backing myself into a corner of sub-standard lenses. And, if they will indeed work well in general, which specific EF lenses will not work (image stabilized, auto-focus, lenses with servos, etc.)? I think that the fancy auto-this, auto-that lenses are best for the camera while fast, fixed lenses are best for the EX1. Can somebody confirm or correct my theory - so I can start building the kit before my wife finds out how much this is going to cost ;-)

Any and all opinions welcome.

-Kurt

[Kenn Christenson]

If I were you, I'd scrap the idea of getting a 35mm lens adapter for an EX1. The EX1 already has a nice lens. The primary reason these adapters are used is to reduce the depth of field, i.e. narrow the distance that remains in focus. For what you described (soccer games, family vacations) a 35mm adapter seems like it would be the last accessory you'd want to put on this camera.

A 35mm adapter also makes the camera extremely difficult to hand hold - without another (at the very least) $1.5K. Save yourself some bucks and MAJOR headaches and use the lens that comes with the camera.

[kzaiser]

Thanks Kenn. You will probably be proved quite correct after I get it and use it. I certainly would wait on the Letus to see it's really required. But if I do have that Ken Burns itch, it would be nice to know that the glass I had already collected for the camera would prove worthy of the EX1/Letus combo.

-Kurt

[Alan Bradley]

i agree. start with the ex1. get to know the camera. use it. learn it. then maybe delve into the 35mm adapter world. the ex1 lens is quite nice.