New Shoot 35 achromat: any reviews yet

[Bobonli]

In another thread, it's been mentioned that Shoot 35 will be releasing an upgrade for the Blade, optimized for the EX-1.


I'm holding off pulling the trigger on an adapter, waiting to see if the image will be in the same quality category as the Ultimate once the CA issues are addressed.

When can we expect a comprehensive review?

Thanks.

Bob

[Wayne Kinney]

Hi Bob

We will be shipping the new optics at the end of May with SGblade units.

I am sure there will be customer feedback and we also sent the new optics to Phil Bloom for his SGblade unit who will also report back.

There was another review by Peter Hoare done last week http://www.dvxuser.com/V6/showthread.php?t=169259

[hoarp001]

Hi,

The new achromat is pretty good on the EX1, edge to edge is really good (focus drops off slightly in the far corners but that's it) and CA is massivly improved. Only got minor fringing in very extreme situations, and none at all under normal shooting conditions.

I have got some footage here, but the director of the film has asked me not to post it until the film is edited.

If you would like to see I can maybe email you some full res grabs?


Pete (r Hoare)

[sblfilms]

Hey Wayne, I've been loving the SGblade since I got it a couple weeks back. Good stuff.

Any update on the RR3 ship date?

[Wayne Kinney]

Glad you are enjoying the SGblade.

We will be releasing RR3 at the end of May.

[golf_bht]

Hi,

The new achromat is pretty good on the EX1, edge to edge is really good (focus drops off slightly in the far corners but that's it) and CA is massivly improved. Only got minor fringing in very extreme situations, and none at all under normal shooting conditions.

Pete (r Hoare)

could you please explain the extreme situation a bit more. what king of condition I should be avoiding all together?

[DVXFlash]

Glad you are enjoying the SGblade.

We will be releasing RR3 at the end of May.

Can you tell me RR3 specialty? What kind of GG is it?

[Wayne Kinney]

RR3 will have even better light transmission.

[hoarp001]

We only got CA when the actor was infront of a huge bright window on a sunny day.

[shoook]

Could someone summarize what the appeal of RR3 is? I know RR1 is least amount of light loss and RR2 is best film bokeh. So does the RR3 fit somewhere in-between there?

[trez]

RR3 is going to loose even less light than RR1. I wonder if it makes any sense for me. RR1 light transmission is already excellent... How much more (less) can we get? Another 1/4 f-stop? If you have RR1 there probably won't be much point in getting RR3.

[DEPTH OF PHIL]

Does anybody have a working link to the the ex1 test with the new e2e/ca fix?
The link does not work on the shoot35 forum at least here in Los Angeles.
Thanks, keep up the good work Wayne.

[Wayne Kinney]

I think this one should work http://www.vimeo.com/3821671

[DEPTH OF PHIL]

I think this one should work http://www.vimeo.com/3821671

Thanks Wayne, Wow, i did see that, it looks great, since when does the UK have that kind of weather?
Makes me want a pint and a smoke now, thanks. I forgot is that rr1 on that clip?

When are you shipping the new kit and I would assume the non flip is even sharper on the EX series ? And what are the benifits of rr3?
Cheers

[el presidente]

We have nice weather in the south east UK.

Wayne..this is a great improvement...well done:thumbup:

[Wayne Kinney]

RR2 was used on that footage and we will be shipping the new optics with all SGblade orders from now.

The Non-Flip Tube is slightly better on the EX series and RR3 is aimed at better light transmission.

[Bobonli]

Anyone have a current review other than the footy links posted in previous threads?

I saw a comment on one site that the new achromat adresses only the CA issues and does not offer improved edge to edge sharpness. Can anyone (who has the new achromat) speak to this?

Thanks
Bob

[Wayne Kinney]

Hi Bob,

Orders with the new Achromat will only start shipping next week. I am sure that there will be a flood of footage soon.

[mvansomeren]

For those who are interested, the new Optics upgrade for the SGBLade is now available on the Shoot35 website. Just purchased mine. :)

It's located under the flip module link.

[Nomalz]

Ordered mine too ! :D

[Bobonli]

Any footage yet? Someone must have received theirs. I think the started shipping last week.

[Nomalz]

Orders started today, and my shipping date is june 23. Just a little more wait... :)

[Wayne Kinney]

There are currently 30 SGblade's that have shipped with the new optics installed. Once I see some footage posted, I will link to it here :)

[IanD]

Hi Wayne,

Are the new optics compatible with the older Rev3 Flip unit for the Sgpro?

Cheers,

Ian

[Wayne Kinney]

Hi Ian,

No, unfortunately they are not compatible.

[LuckyStudio 13]

any improvement with the new optic on the hpx170 ?

[Wayne Kinney]

There will be some improvement yes, including sharpness.

[DEPTH OF PHIL]

Uh oh, i think I want one one now as well,
Great News Wayne, hey are you ever going to release your Follow focus again?
Cheers

[Wayne Kinney]

hey are you ever going to release your Follow focus again?
Cheers

Yes, we are aiming for August.

[Lenilenapi]

I finally got a chance to set up my new Blade tonight on an Ex-1.
First preliminary observation is that the achromat is vastly improved.

Whether it is quite as good as the Letus I can't say yet but it seems well within tolerance even with the EX-1 wide open. Haven't tested for CA yet but nothing has jumped out at me on a chart, but I've just started looking.

Great job Wayne!


Lenny Levy

[Wayne Kinney]

Thanks Lenny, look forward to your findings.

[Nomalz]

Just got my dispatch mail and my tracking number for the upgrade ! Waiting for the package to cross the English Channel...

[Bobonli]

I finally got a chance to set up my new Blade tonight on an Ex-1.
First preliminary observation is that the achromat is vastly improved.

Whether it is quite as good as the Letus I can't say yet but it seems well within tolerance even with the EX-1 wide open. Haven't tested for CA yet but nothing has jumped out at me on a chart, but I've just started looking.

Great job Wayne!


Lenny Levy

Any footage to share, along with your impressions?

[Lenilenapi]

Sorry I've been very busy and haven't had a chance to really check thing out yet. Kind of frustrating.

[Bobonli]

I know Lenny has his and is evaluating. Is there not anyone out there that has footage with the new achromat?

Rather odd that there's nothing on Vimeo or even the Shoot35 boards with the new configuration.

[Tomas Riuka]

did i hear correctly that new achromat improves hpx 171 performance ??

[mvansomeren]

Actually, I shot some quick footage yesterday using the new optics to see if I could induce some CA. Its 2 min of just randome shots - most of which has some high contrast areas. Unfortunately, I didn't notice until after shooting that I had the A1 set to use a low light preset so it pushed RGB quite a bit and thus added some noise. Anyway, here's the footage. No CA so far that I can see :)

www.exposureroom.com/newoptics1 (http://www.exposureroom.com/newoptics1)

Specs for this video:
SGBlade + New Optics+ RR2
Nikon 105mm f2.5

[Wayne Kinney]

Thanks for posting! I can certainly see the improvement compared to your older footage.

Although there are now 45 SGblade's now out there with the new optics, you are currently the only user to post footage.

I shot some stuff last weekend but realized when I got back to capture that I had the cam in DV mode, not HD, so the footage is pretty useless :(

[mvansomeren]

Thanks Wayne,

I also posted on the Shoot35 forum. Hopefully, during this long weekend I will have an opportunity to get some better footage (and use the proper preset). I will then post it as well.

[Wayne Kinney]

Thanks, looking forward to it!

[astigmatic]

Just got the package today and did a test right away.. so um, all you adapter companies send your free shwagg to me first if you want to show the world the results of your efforts right away:)

shot on the Sony fx1000, rr1, canon FD 50L @ F/4

I must say I am really impressed. Edge to Edge is a thing of beauty and CA is greatly reduced to the extent of being a non issue.

NEW OPTICS:

http://i293.photobucket.com/albums/mm49/astigmatic44/new_optics.jpg

http://i293.photobucket.com/albums/mm49/astigmatic44/new_optics.jpg


OLD OPTICS:
http://i293.photobucket.com/albums/mm49/astigmatic44/old_optics.jpg

http://i293.photobucket.com/albums/mm49/astigmatic44/old_optics.jpg

[Tomas Riuka]

doh... 100 pounds again...

[Bobonli]

Thanks for posting! I can certainly see the improvement compared to your older footage.

Although there are now 45 SGblade's now out there with the new optics, you are currently the only user to post footage.

I shot some stuff last weekend but realized when I got back to capture that I had the cam in DV mode, not HD, so the footage is pretty useless :(


Did any of those go to EX-1 owners? :huh:

I came across a Blade review last night that was a little concerning. The owner complained of faulty battery charger and a flickering motion of the ground glass and had concerns the motor slows as the batteries drain.

http://marvelsfilm.wordpress.com/2009/04/02/my-dof-adapter-experiences/

Was this a one time issue or is it an engineering issue that has been addressed in the models currently shipping?

Thanks for your prompt responses
Bob

[Wayne Kinney]

Yes, this was a one time issue, his Blade must of had gremlins as it come across every possible issue it was unreal.

We have now completely replaced his unit and he is now very happy.

[hoarp001]

Forgot that I shot this a while ago with the Blade RR2 / EX1 / Zeiss primes, and the new achromat.


http://www.vimeo.com/4328265

The XY was off a little bit, fixed the problem easily with the XY adjustment. Did this video 10mins after getting the blade home, so it was a bit of a rush setup.

Most shots probably with the Zeiss ZF 85mm 1.8.

I would usualy expect quite a bit of CA on the shot of the wind chimes along the edge of the tubes, but there is none. Its a pretty good combo, edge to edge on the glass is right up to the edges, only dropping off in the very extreme corners. CA is pretty much gone, I tried making situations that would usualy result in bad CA and saw none.

Wish I had it for longer than three days :-(

[mvansomeren]

The 4th of July weekend brought bright, contrasty sun shine...a perfect opportunity to test the new Optics for the SGBlade. The goal was to try induce Chromatic Aberration(CA) by shooting images with dark and light high contrast colors. The unwitting participants in this footage obliged by wearing lots of high contrast outfits.

The new optics performed extremely well as CA failed to appear http://waynekinney.iforumer.com/images/smiles/icon_biggrin.gif .

Here's my second test of the new blade optics:

www.exposureroom.com/newoptics2 (http://www.exposureroom.com/newoptics2)

SGBlade w/RR2 Nikon 105mm f2.5 @ f2.5 & f4

p.s., I'm learning that it's harder to pull focus using a 105mm as opposed to a 50mm lens. I think in some cases, 105mm produces too shallow DOF. I think my next lens will be a 85mm ;)

[Kiko]

So I'm in the hunt for an adapter to couple with my Canon 35mm lenses. It's all new to me.

Thanks so much for the video, mvansomaren. I couldn't help noticing the "reflecting" of images as some of the people walked by...

woman at 1:30
woman at 2:40
man w/ dog at 2:55

Is this normal with the sgblade? What causes this?

Thanks.

[mvansomeren]

The reflections are from the mattebox glass filter. Nothing to do with the Blade. One day, I'll invest in individual filters for the lenses :)

[Tomas Riuka]

did anyone try this achromqt on hpx170? is it worth it ?

[Tomas Riuka]

bump.

Did anyone get this for hpx170 ? what are the results?

[Bobonli]

Tomas,

For whatever reason, people are not publicizing their results with this adapter. In one of the posts earlier in this thread, Wayne said there were a number of Blades out there (40?) but it's damn hard finding footage and reviews. I can only imagine that people buy it and then put it in a closet or can't be bothered to tag their shoots on Vimeo etc. My intuition is that the unit works and they don't see the value of telling anyone about it.

FWIW, I got tired of waiting for formal reviews and ordered it based on some private contacts I made. It should arrive this afternoon. I don't use the HPX so I cannot answer your specific question.

Bob

Incidentally, I'd like to know what deal Wayne has with United Parcel. The box left the UK yesterday and will arrive here in NY this afternoon. Meanwhile, a parcel I ordered over the weekend from Texas shipped Monday by the same carrier and wont arrive here 'til tomorrow. Go figure.

[bimdas]

I'm blown away by the images my sgblade produces. bought it 2nd hand off this forum and it finally arrived yesterday. I'm using purely old m42 glass with the old achromat and find the results amazing even in lowlight.