So I bought my adapter, what purchase is next?

[jrod81]

The title is a bit misleading because I still have not bought my dof adapter; however, I need to get financially prepared for the additional purchases that will follow once I do make the plunge.
Currently I am looking at the Letus, but who knows that might change... so lets assume I have made that purchase, what is next in order to make it work with an hvx200 (though i do have a jvc gy-hd200u at my disposal as well)...
Walk me thru it guys... I can price things on my own (because ebay will probably be used mostly anyway), but I need a list of things to look up first.
thanks a ton for the help
jared

[DM_rider]

Lenses, you'll need at least a 28mm or 35mm, 50mm, and maybe an 85mm or 135mm. If I had to pick two lenses it would be a 50mm and a 135mm. That would be my personal choice.

[SilverWolf]

Hd monitor would be nice as would a follow focus. Also look into some form of shoulder pads with grips if you plan on doing any handheld work

[Tomas Riuka]

oh my... jrod, next comes understanding, that you will need 5 times more money for
different accessories than you paid for adapter itself - HQ HD monitor, quality FF, FAST
lenses, raill support... What i suggest is go for the best, better slowly, but immediately
buy quality products, don't waste your time on cheaper rails, cheaper monitor... buy
the best, not to waste money.

[ANTshooter]

assuming you pick up your adapter with the manufacturer's own rails...glass is really the only thing you need next to shoot. some say zeiss lenses are the best of the best, personally I dont know but I'd like to find out. nikon glass is actually pretty good already.

for myself, when i started off, I got the sgpro rev3 flipped with rails, follow focus, and a nikon 50mm. some of the additional things that I had to consider were:

1. heavy set tripod to support the additional weight
2. ikan monitor for focusing (i later sold this because it just adds weight and i realized that for my purposes i'd rather click on magnify and find focus on the A1's LCD then add additional weight)
3. shoulder mount system which i haven't fulfilled yet
4. mattebox. it might look cool but i'm decided against getting one because it seems to be the easiest way to spend at least $800 on something that won't add $800 to your shot.

the point is, learn to CURB YOUR OBSESSIONS or SAY GOODBYE TO YOUR MONEY.

the only REAL thing you need to shoot with an adapter is RAIL SUPPORT and LENSES (you can probably survive with just a 50mm and using your feet). everything else is extra. but all of us here LOVE the extras.

[benbixby]

I wouldn't follow what is quoted below. If you have an unlimited budget, sure - why not, because money doesn't matter - but this doesn't sound like your case.

Buy what you can to get by now and produce, then sell off that gear and upgrade when you can. Calculate the depreciated value of this gear by researching a bit (marketplace, ebay, etc) for the gear you buy now to see what you'll be looking at as far as a return on the stuff once you decide to sell.


oh my... jrod, next comes understanding, that you will need 5 times more money for
different accessories than you paid for adapter itself - HQ HD monitor, quality FF, FAST
lenses, raill support... What i suggest is go for the best, better slowly, but immediately
buy quality products, don't waste your time on cheaper rails, cheaper monitor... buy
the best, not to waste money.

[Tomas Riuka]

i guess money is always an issue... i remember myself buying my first adapter and then
indifocus rails, ikan monitor, indifocus ff.... and then not be able to sell it for a reasonable
price, monitor having constant problems, no normal power solution etc..

you can work, but it's hard... and not pleasant.. instrument has to work for you, not you
working for it...

[Huy Vu]

Yes, rail is like a tripod, you should only buy it once. Cheaper gears ultimately force you to work harder to get the same result and cost you money in the long run. Always buy the best you can afford.

[jrod81]

so the list thus far (and not dealing with quality vs. saving money) is:
1. lenses (obviously)
2. rails
3. monitor
4. follow focus
5. tripod for locked down shots
6. hand grips/shoulder mount for handheld
does that look about right guys? at this point it seems the brevis is not holding its resell as well as the letus so i might go with that and start this little journey!
jared

[Tomas Riuka]

jrod,

agree with list. remeber, that rods, lens, monitor and ff you can use with any adapter.

for start, i suggest go with nikon 50 1.4, most popular lens.

[jrod81]

real dumb question and i apologize but is the 1.4 referring to a stationary fstop?

[Huy Vu]

1.4 refers to the widest (fastest) f-stop that the lens can reach. You can stop down from it.