Help me choose between pro35, Letus, SGpro, Redrock, Brevis

[Jak]

Hi all,

Been reading about Letus, SGpro, Pro35. I did not know that other companies except P+S technic made 35 adaptors, so this forum opens up my eyes. Great.

I am about start preproduction on a TV series, and I am looking for a look made with very shallow dof. I want to make a few tests so please help me out here.

I will shoot panasonic 2/3 camera, handheld. The budget allows for any kind of adaptor and any kind of film or video primes (except master primes). Cooke S4, ultraprimes, superspeeds, still-lenses.. I do not need zoom, only primes, and my aim is 1,3 throughout the full production.

I will experiment with anamorphic lenses - so we might end in scope..

- What is the different between the adaptors?
- Which one has the best looking quality?
- Which one has the lowest light loss?
- Is there any way to put the Leica 0.9 noctilus on an adaptor?
- What about canon or Nikon lenses

I hope that you will share your thoughts and experience with me.

Jak

[tmdist]

Hey,

I just bought a Letus Ultimate and I would highly recommend it. It is $4,500 but if your budget would allow it, you cannot go wrong. Its only got half a stop light loss and you can get nikon and canon mounts for it.
One of the advantages I find is the ability to shoot at most shutter speeds and apertures. It doesn't limit you which is great. Quality and edge to edge sharpness is fantastic too.

-Maksim

[Bobonli]

Welcome. This type of question has been asked here many times. You may want to start your research by searching this forum and reading the threads. Also there are several sticky posts at the top that compare the different adapters regarding light loss etc. All of this info is also available at the manufacturers' web sites on the tech specs pages.

Many of your questions are very subjective and almost un-answerable. "Best quality," for example is PURELY subjective and you'll get as many answers as there are adapters. Same thing with lens selection. So a forum search will get you on the right track.

Having said that, I just rented an Ultimate and it is fantastic. Whichever direction your research leads you, I'd strongly suggest you rent one before you purchase. $4500 for an Ultimate (and that does not include rails, follow focus etc) is a big hunk of change, so you want to make sure you're comfortable with it and it produces the effect you want.

[cheezweezl]

with a question like this, pretty much all you will get here is people telling you to buy the one they bought. i was lucky enough to be making my purchase around NAB time so i had the chance to check out all the ones on my list at the show before buying. the truth is, they are all great. some excel where others lack and vice versa. there isn't one i would say to stay away from. i would stick with the latest models. all of the companies making these adapters are still very young and still making great advances with each generation. p+s has been around a while longer than the rest but their prices are way off the grid for me. besides i have had some bad experiences with the mini35 which convinced me that no adapter is perfect.

i checked out the letus line and the redrock first hand. i couldn't get my hands on a sgblade. i love all of the footage i have seen from it but wouldn't buy one without checking it out first hand. all i played with were great. i went with redrock based on my needs but your needs may be different. i would encourage you to contact the various companies to try to arrange a demo. or if that doesn't work, buy one, but get a solid return policy in case it doesn't work out.

[Marduk]

hey jak, have a look here http://www.dvxuser.com/V6/showthread.php?t=169996
that should help you out and give you a hint of what everybody is using. i was just in the same boat as you until two days ago when i finally pulled the trigger on the blade. I really liked the cinemek g35 and was my choice but the whole light loss thing was bothering me so it was a toss between the letus elite, redrock m2e, and the blade. i went with the blade because of price, the look, the ability to quickly change between different RR's and alot of people were giving it good points for build quality but that i wont be able to tell until i get the unit in and test it out for myself.

Ninos

[Dino]

Since you are using a 2/3" B4 mount camera, it would make the most sense to use the P+S Pro35 or Letus B4 Compact or Pro relay lens with a Letus adapter such as the Ultimate. Putting any 35mm adapter on the end of an HD ENG zoom lens is not going to give you good results.

You didn't state whether buying or renting, but from a rental standpoint, the Pro35 is a good way to go and readily available, typically with PL-mount. The Letus setup costs much less to buy, but rental wise pretty close. The Letus relay lenses are true Academy vs. the Pro35 which is cropped an additional 18%, however vignetting could be apparent with some lenses using the Letus relays.

We rent the Letus B4 Pro relay and Ultimate with PL, Nikon and Canon mounts. The Letus package can save money when used with 35mm SLR lenses, ending up renting for around half the price of a Pro35/Zeiss Super Speed set based on our rates.

[DEPTH OF PHIL]

Jak, this is like choosing a companion, you going to get very close and it is important to find out their shortcomings and their strengths before you get into bed. This is a hard choice as everybody on this forum would agree, it was one of the hardest decisions we have ever had to make.

Check out Exposure room, Vimeo and of course this great forum DVX USER, i just joined and before that i think i was living in a box, actually just working in one! There are alot of experienced lads eager to help but i suggest watch the product tests and demos , learn the basic differences then ask away. Welcome!

[Smettli]

Well put, Phil.
I surfed around the dvxuser forum every day searching 35mm adapter info, test-clips etc. for over a year before deciding on which adapter to purchase.

Jak, after you have read up on the different adapters, try to watch as many clips you can with the different camera/adapter combos. That's my best tip! :)

[mcvideo]

hey jak, have a look here http://www.dvxuser.com/V6/showthread.php?t=169996
that should help you out and give you a hint of what everybody is using. i was just in the same boat as you until two days ago when i finally pulled the trigger on the blade. I really liked the cinemek g35 and was my choice but the whole light loss thing was bothering me so it was a toss between the letus elite, redrock m2e, and the blade. i went with the blade because of price, the look, the ability to quickly change between different RR's and alot of people were giving it good points for build quality but that i wont be able to tell until i get the unit in and test it out for myself.

Ninos

By no mean does that represent a TRUE number of what people are using.

[Dino]

Again, this is for a 2/3" camera. There are only two options that you can buy or rent today, P+S Pro35 or one of the Letus B4 relay lens models and 35mm adapters. All other 35mm adapters have no viable means of mounting to a 2/3" camera.

Cinevate and Evangelos relay lenses will change that when they are in production and delivering. It may be possible to mount other brand 35mm adapters on Letus and the yet to be delivered relays, but we just don't know, and even if they mount, it doesn't mean they will be optimal for the relay design. So, making any 35mm adapter selection without testing it with a B4 relay would be a waste of time, effort and money.

[Kenny_G]

The Letus Ultimate is a very good adapter, but way too high priced.
Look at the SGBlade and you will find a very good adapter for less than 1500 us$.
Important is that you don't get in to the adjustment scene every time you want to use the adapter. Just what someone said: Read and make your own judgement.
Look at CA, Vignetting, Light loss, Edge tot edge sharpness, back focus and other adjustments you have to make and of course the price.
I did my research and I ordered the SGBlade. I hope that when joined with the Sony EX3 I made a good choice. Time will tell.

[Dino]

Look at the SGBlade and you will find a very good adapter for less than 1500 us$.

I did my research and I ordered the SGBlade. I hope that when joined with the Sony EX3 I made a good choice. Time will tell.

How do you join an SGBlade with a 2/3" B4 mount camera?

[SPZ]

For a 2/3 camera, I would take Dino's wise advice and go Letus + Relay. I own a Cinevate Brevis and I love it. In fact, my Brevis loses less light than the the ultimate, but has a slightly worse bokeh (Cinefuse 1).

When the Brevis relay comes out, I'm sure to get one. But now, the only option is either Letus Relay or P+S. P+S is just not worth it due to dated tech and very high price.

[Evangelos Achillopoulos]

Jeff, Today or tomorrow I will post photos of the new modular GG.relay Rev.3, I'm in cooperation with Weyne to have my relay connected to blade... testing of the SG-Blade/GG.relay combo will come eventually in the following weeks...

[Lenilenapi]

That's very exciting Evangelos. i was hoping you would get together with Wayne.

[Dino]

Evangelos, it would be cool to test your relay with Lenny's Blade! Looking forward to the possibility of seeing that combination.

[Dennis Wood]

You can view the video in Cinevate's Video University regarding our 2/3" relay. It's the only multi-format zooming relay in the world offerning any framing to be used between cine and full SLR. It's in the final stages of tweaks and you'll see us taking orders now in a matter of weeks.

Any of our adapters sold in the last three years will work with this relay which is still slated at a price point of $2700 :-) It's important to note that our relay lens optical modeling is based on the Brevis flip design and that it's not a rebranded optic but rather a full ground-up design.

Cheers,
Dennis.

[GaryinCalifornia]

Tried a search... no luck... or not the right word combo...

But does anyone know if you get the Ultimate and pro relay is there a lower bundle price for getting both...

[jrod81]

hope this helps and doesn't stress you out more, but i have been looking and waiting for some new info on the version 5 (or V5) of the Handy35 which is suppose to fit "any camera." anyway, it is a product from turkey and is exceptionally priced! www.handy35.com