m2 Adapter Users - Satisified w/ your investment?

Couple questions...

First... it seems that everyone using an M2 has been going with Nikon lenses. Any reason for this? I want to purchase a Canon 20D package and then use those lenses with an M2 for video, but if there's an issue with the Canon lenses I might rethink everything.

Second... will the DVX M2 adapter fit the HVX? I want to buy an M2 for my DVX right now and it would be nice if it were compatible with the HVX I plan on purchasing down the road.
 
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People are using Nikon lenses because they're quality, they're cheap, and they're available everywhere. The lens mount hasn't changed in decades, so there are endless sources of high quality but comparably cheap manual focus lenses out there.

Canon lenses are fine, but do have one problem: there is no external aperture control. So to change the aperture you have to take off the lens, make the change on an SLR body, and then reattach.

The M2 is the M2. It will work with any camera (well, maybe not ANY...). However, you need a shim kit to use it with the HVX or many other cameras, so if you're definitely going that route, you may want to go ahead and buy that now.
 
The external battery will las all day no problem. I think if you buy the M2 its an essential accessory and Redrock should sell them on their site as a matter of course. the internal 9v battery will last an hour or so before it needs to be changed, bepending on weather conditions. personallly I want the GG to be spinning as fast as possible without burning out the motor and the external 9v battery does that. And of course it means that you don't have to take your whole setup apart, slide the M2 off the rails, find an alum key, take the M2 apart, then put it all together again and line it up etc. With two fully charged external batteries, you could shoot all day, and all night, without having to disemble the
M2. And to me for the less than $100 for two external batteries, it's a no brainer.

As for the image being out of fucus in the corners, I am 100% sure this is because of users setting it up. I orginally had the same problem but now I have edge to edge sharpness. The HVX's lens focuses down to the front of the glass, so you don't need spacers (which IMO cause the problem). The acromat sits right up against the HVX lens and Bingo! Lovely clear edge to edge images. The M2 works better on the HVX than the FX1/ZU1 because of this very reason.

As for why most people are using Nikon, as others have written, just go to Ebay and pick some great quality Nikon primes for next to nothing!(relatively speaking!)
I got all my lenses for £1100 ($1800) and I also use them on my Nikon D70s for stills, so I am double winner with them. Lenses I use are 17-35mm 2.8, 35-70 2.8 (quite cheap out there) You dopn't have to go so extravelgent. 50mm 1.4 lenses are cheap, as are 24 and 35mm. Want widescreen more than a 17mm? A 14mm Nikon prime will set you back around $1000, but virtually no vingetting.
 
dougspice said:
Canon lenses are fine, but do have one problem: there is no external aperture control. So to change the aperture you have to take off the lens, make the change on an SLR body, and then reattach.
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I was wondering if there is someone that had actually done this and worked. All I have is Canon EF lenses and looking forward to use them with M2. But is it really so simple ? :dankk2:
 
Steve Shovlar said:
As for the image being out of fucus in the corners, I am 100% sure this is because of users setting it up. I orginally had the same problem but now I have edge to edge sharpness. The HVX's lens focuses down to the front of the glass, so you don't need spacers (which IMO cause the problem). The acromat sits right up against the HVX lens and Bingo! Lovely clear edge to edge images. The M2 works better on the HVX than the FX1/ZU1 because of this very reason.
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What's the distance from the HVX lens to the achromat? I would like to compare that to the DVX lens distance.

I am fairly certain the M2 achromat isn't the right setup for a DVX. I've read all the comments on the Redrock forum, here, and elsewhere and blurry edges is a common theme with the M2/DVX combo.

I know it's not an alignment problem since I have verified that. Also, with an alignment problem the blur is uneven.

Note, these issues are what make these 35mm adaptors a real pain.
 
I'm using it with my DVX. (You can actually see some footage in the DVX screens section)

It's fantastic. It does not make everything better. IN fact it does not make it look like film or whatever, it makes it look as something totally new!

It's a new style that is actually pretty hot right now. The 35mm adapter style. I face it as a filter, like the black promist was in it's days. It is certainly a trend. But I have to admit I like this look so much, I'm actually using it in everything I do. And people who watch it do notice. I mean, check the clip I posted, about the planes. Now think that was shot plain video. Pretty boring...

And BTW, I only spent 950 bucks on my kit, total. 4 Nikon primes, plus indie package plus a magnet. It's working like a charm!
 
dougspice said:
Hahahahahaaaaaahahahahaha! You're funny.

I just got mine today, so I can definitely share the "setting it up is a pain in the ass" comments. Overall it's not too bad, but it's taken me about an hour to get the shims assembled and all that (the shim screws are too close to the casing, so you have to loosen them with 1/4 turns... really irritating but you only have to do it once.

I've had to set it aside for the moment but I hope to get it all tweaked and ready to go later this evening.
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You should have tried shimming the opposite end... where the rods meet the camera base instead of shimming the unit itself. Much easier, though the rods end up sticking out further. It's a pretty quick and easy operation.

@Steve -
Do you have a rez chart showing edge to edge sharpness? I've tried every zoom setting. I don't think it's my lenses (though I have seen ghosting and CA vary between lenses). I can also see that the GG itself is sharp from edge to edge. That leaves me thinking it's the Achromat. Also, which way around is your achromat facing?
 
HansK said:
What's the distance from the HVX lens to the achromat? I would like to compare that to the DVX lens distance.
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It is right next to the HVX lens.

HVX- 82/72 stepping ring - 72/55 stepping ring - Acromat.

If I could get a 82-55mm step down ring that would be even better.

Joelnet.
I have shot footage with a res chart with edge to edge sharpness. I couldn't do it with the FX1 but with the HVX I have managed it.
 
Steve Shovlar said:
It is right next to the HVX lens.
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Yes, as is mine on the DVX. But what is the measured distance from the HVX lens to the acromat lens? I would like to compare that distance.
 
Steve Shovlar said:
I have shot footage with a res chart with edge to edge sharpness.
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Care to share your tips? I get pretty decent results after an hour or so tweaking but there's still definite falloff of sharpness at the edges.
 
Set up your HVX like this:
HVX - 82-72 step down ring -72-55 step down ring - acromat - 55-72 step up ring - rubber hood - skylight - M2. Make sure the whole setup is aligned as best as you can get, and dust free. Use the HVX auto focus to focus in on the GG. I zoom in to 87. Switch then to manual and away you go.

Someone asked what way around the acromat goes. Well it can only go one way, and that is bowed side towards the HVX lens.

If you shoot at F5.6 you will also get sharper images. Using Tokina or a similar cheaper lens may cause problems. best to stick to Nikon, and they are cheap enough second hand anyway.

Hope that helps.
 
HansK said:
- Alignment is tricky unless hard coupling is used
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what do you mean? are you physicaly mounting the M2 to the HVX using some sort of ring? or are you saying that alignment would be less tricky if it were a "hard" connection?

the one thing i dont like about the M2 is the soft connection...it bothers me in many ways.

is there a way to hard connect the two? other then the weight put on the frontof the lens (i would still use rods to support) wouldnt it be better?
 
72-55 step down ring - acromat - 55-72 step up ring
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So adding these two extra adapter rings in some way is helping? Isn't that just creating extra distance between lens and M2 that I could just achieve otherwise? My settings basically match yours otherwise (I had zoomed to 89).

My understanding was also that the HVX starts to dramatically LOSE sharpness starting at f/5.6. True?
 
Rich, you can buy a 55mm coupling ring, which is like a spacer ring but is male threaded on both sides.

Now, I thought I would hard couple using one of these, but didn't think it right through. The whole thing was going together well.........untill I got to connect the M2! Now if the M2 was not on rails it might not have been a problem, as I would have just screwed the M2 onto the whole lot but litterally screwing it on. But you can't of course. So as you go along making this hard connection, you will get to the end and the last piece will cause the problem.

Perhaps you could get an engineering workshop to make a 55mm coupling ring with much longer threads on each sides, so you could screw one side in all the way, then screw the other side by unscrewing it half way back into the other part. That way the whole lot will be connected. Hope I am making some type of sense!!

http://cgi.ebay.com/55mm-55mm-male-...ryZ67358QQssPageNameZWD1VQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem
 
dougspice said:
So adding these two extra adapter rings in some way is helping? Isn't that just creating extra distance between lens and M2 that I could just achieve otherwise? My settings basically match yours otherwise (I had zoomed to 89).

My understanding was also that the HVX starts to dramatically LOSE sharpness starting at f/5.6. True?
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I would prefer to have the acromat smak bang next to the HVX lens, but the HVX is 82mm and the acromat 55mm, so I use two stepping rings to get them to join together. If there is an 82-55mm stepping ring you know of let me know and I will buy it to close the gap even further.

Also regarding sharpness it depends on which lens you are using. I found 5.6 to be good. The Polish director who posts clips on the Redrock forum and has had super sharp reults uses F8.
Cheers
Steve
 
We were looking at the M2, but with the shipping costs, duty fees, etc (we're based in the UK) we're now looking out for the SGPro which is made in the UK for £400 (£426.40 including delivery and Paypal %).
 
Showing what the M2 can do is pretty easy. I just whacked an 80-200mm Nikon 2.8 on the M2 and shot some cows in the field next to my house this afternoon with the HVX200. No colour correction or anything done to the footage which was shot on scene file F6, but you can see its pretty sharp edge to edge.

http://www.steveshovlar.com/cows.mov

The movie is quite compressed
 
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