Red Rock Image upside down?

Hi Taormina:

With the Letus Extreme, I am starting from scratch, other than I own 3 out of the 4 Nikon lenses that I will want for it.

You recommend the Cavision baseplate and rails? What about the Red Rock or the Cinevate base plate and rails? Is there a piece (block or ring bracket) I need to buy to support the Letus on the rails itself? My 105 F2.8D Micro is pretty long and heavy so I know that I need to also support the Letus, at least I think I will?. I am thinking of the Red Rock follow focus, it got a good writeup in the FF shootout in DV Magazine this month.

I am probably going to hold off on a matte box. I have actually been using the Cokin P System with a glass circular Pola and some Cokin ND grads and the results have been good. Would love a mattebox but I have to pay for the Letus, follow focus, baseplate, rails and an 85mm 1.4 first.

Any advice you have about baseplate and rails. I guess I need the 82 > 72mm step down ring too?

Best,

Dan
 
Hey Dan,

If you are ordering a new Extreme, order it with 82mm threads. That eliminates one more piece of equipment.

I have the cavision baseplate, and it is a nice solid unit constructed entirely of metal. It has enough elevation to support the Letus, because I run mine with the snorkel going down from the camera, not up.

If you do it this way, your follow focus and matte box will work. I recently swapped out the rails that come with it (10") and replaced them with Redrock rails at 18" length. Why Redrock? I didn't like the cavision carbon fiber rails. They would always bind and i could not slide the equipment off easily. When I change lenses, I must slide my matte box forward an inch or so. Now with the redrock rails being stainless, it's a breeze and buttery smooth.

Just because I ordered those rails from them I ordered their lens support as well. I have the lens support propping up the Letus itself, so all the letus holds is the lens. I've had my 135mm lens (almost 2 lbs) on this assembly with no problems.

The Cavision lens support is just as good, and comes with a nifty strap. Redrock's didn't come with a strap but i made one. The whole rig is very, very solid.

I have the Cavision FF and Matte box as well. The FF is excellent in quality, no backlash or play whatsoever. I am soooooooooooo happy with it. It looks like real cine equipment and is also made of metal. The matte box is OK, but not as well built.

Hope that helps,

Adam
 
Hi Adam:

I went to the Cavision website, Which one of these pups did you buy? http://www.cavision.com/rods/rods.htm I am confused as far as which one would be the hot setup withthe Letus 35 Extreme, a follow focus like the Red Rock and eventually a matte box. Too many choices!

Can your order these without the carbon rails? I agree, the metal rails seem like a better bet.

Thanks for your help in this, a lot of this stuff doesn't make sense until you have it all on a table in front of you and can assemble it and test it and see what works and fits.

All the best and thanks for advice,

Dan
 
I have the M2 and I really never have light loss issues. My Nikons are very fast, in the 1.2 1.4 range. 35mm up to 105mm. We have shot with it on the DVX and HVX and the final product looks excellent. I wouldnt say its the ideal setup for a run and gun situation but more of a film style setup with rails and a follow focus. I have heard nothing but great feedback on the LE and Brevis systems though. M2 service has been outstanding and they are working on a flip module also. I like the fact that Brian at RedRocks takes his time, trys to iron out any issues before he releases a product. If you havent looked at RR site lately, plz do. They have some great stuff that they are working on.
 
Dan,

I have the RS115IM. Their FF is very very good. On second thought, I'd probably buy the baseplate that has the 'heavy duty riser'. They didn't have that back then and it would be perfect for the Letus because you have to jack it up real high.

Not sure if you can order without rails. Think of them as a freebie?

Adam
 
Hi Adam:

Thanks for the specifics. I am going nuts trying to figure this all out, because of the 1.7" drop with the Extreme. It's obnoxious that Cavision won't put the prices of their stuff on their site. Did you have to pay duty on all of that Cavision stuff? How much is the Cavision FF? I may wait until Red Rock ships their matte box, I think it will be really good and affordable. Going to be too broke for a while anyway to spring for one, guess I'll just get by with my Cokin stuff for the time being.

Picked up a nice old AIS Nikon 50mm 1.4 on Ebay tonight, good price. I was a beta tester for the never released G35 static adaptor, back in the day, and I discovered that the D Series N modern Nikon lenses had actually really clunky, rough manual focusing feel because nobody manually focuses anymore. I used to have AIS manual focus lenses for my Nikons back in the day and the older manual focus designs seem to me to have a much smoother focus mechanism. Maybe with a good FF it doesn't matter? I would like to get an 85mm 1.4 but they are too expensive (around $600.00 to $800.00 used even). Guess it will be a used Nikon 85mm F 1.8. Would love to pick up the Zeiss but too much $$$ for now.

Thanks,

Dan
 
Dan,

Yes, you must pay duty from Cavision. But you can also buy most of Cavision's stuff through B&H. The prices are the same, believe it or not. I think the cavision FF was like 899 - you will not be disappointed.

I just bought all my primes as well. the 85mm was an interesting dilemma - the 1.4 had a much larger barrel diameter and actually would not fit my matte box as well. I settled for the (cheaper) f2 since most of my work is lit anyways. It's not a huge difference.

All my lenses have the redrock gears on them, that mesh with my FF. NOTE: Cavision's follow focus comes with a mod .65 gear that will not mesh with the industry standard mod .8 (32 pitch) gears on the redrock lens rings. You need to buy a mod .8 gear from them for $19 bucks.

Having a ff really makes focusing with still lenses waaaaay easier. Mind you, it was the first thing i installed on my HVX even when I didn't have an adapter. I can't stand that ring.
 
I have the M2 and as far as I can tell it's the lenes that eat up most of the light. Interior shots I'll admit I have to usually shoot wide open decreasing the DOF to inches at times.
I went cheap and got 1.8 instead of 1.4 lenses.

I use the marshall 7" monitor. RR FollowFocus baseplate and Rails. I love the 50mm cuz it blooms very nicely on back lit subjects and doesn't have the harsh video look of digital in blow out conditions. My 105mm looks great but doesn't bloom as well and looks a bit harsh at times in hard light situations.

The flip issue is really not a big deal to me. I don't see why it would be a problem for anyone. You get used to it. It is a bummer at times but so are a lot of things. It's certainly shouldn't rule out using the adapter. That's just silly.

I shoot handheld all the time with my 50mm. I don't use a brace to shoot hand held I use a strap. I padded the rear of the camera and the base. I can pull focus and move fast from high to low shooting angles. Sometimes I pull focus myself other times I have an assistant. Depends on the tightness of the space.

At first I was worried how well I would be able to shoot doc style. I shot a feature with the rig first and it seemed cumbersome. A few days in the doc style trenches and I got the feel. Once you learn the focus throw on the Follow Focus you can hit it on the fly timing your moves or that of your subject to the spin of the FF handle.

Also you get a great work out :) I have not weighed the camera out of fear but I assume it's pushing 30lbs all kit on.

I love the soft look of the M2. Would love more light tolerance. Don't mind the flip. Never had anyone complain about the gear as being cheap looking. My images and final edits and delivery speak for themselves. People have always seen my past work before I arrive on set as that's usually what got us all there to begin with. If your gear is what's impressing people you may want to re-evaluate your work. I'm just sayin'...

I would love lower prices on all gear. The Letus and others will definitely be evalutated before future adapter purchases. I am not brand loyal I am quality loyal so deliver a better product at a lower price and you got me.

FYI when I got the M2 it was not 1200 bucks. I did get the plate and rails with it which brought the price up to 1100. I also got the FF from Redrock and it kicks ass so far no issues and no play in the gears. Fits on my rails nicely and came with all the rings for every lens I use.

Hope this was useful info to some.
 
Thanks for the feedback hold it now. I am the opposite, most of my clients could care less what I am shooting with as long as the image looks good. Personally, I think my camera with the Letus, rails and FF is going to look pretty ungainly and kind of dorky, but who cares? I really only want the Letus for two situations...sit down interviews in small rooms and tabletop. I interview a lot with perhaps 5-10' between subject and BG so being able to throw that BG out of focus will make my art directing life so much easier ;-)

Same with tabletop, a lot of the time I just don't have enough BG to use my jib arm to it's full advantage but with the Letus, bye bye backgrounds, they just become a blur, even on wider shots. That will be awesome.

I will be shooting a couple of pilots this winter for my own company and I probably won't even use the Letus a lot for that stuff because it will all be on location, run and gun, two-camera hand held and I won't have an AC to pull focus most of the time. I only want shallow depth of field when I need it, I look at it as an effect more than a shooting style that I want to use all of the time. Like Orson Welles, I love deep focus too.

Best,

Dan
 
people keep talking about Run n' gun......

Dudes... an SGpro/M2/Brevis w/rails is a frigging joke compred to a small 35mm camera. Yesterday started as 1st AC on a 35mm feature, and the smallest 35mm camera they got for "handheld" was a Arri IIc. loaded up with battery, lens, 400' mag ( 4 minutes of footage, take that 8 gig card!) it weighs like 30 pounds.... i though i was gonna die just carrying it a block on my shoulder.

NONE of these cameras are even remotly that heavy cumbersom or difficult to work with....... quit complainin'!!!!!!!
 
Hi Timur:

I agree, the camera ops on Prison Break let me shoot a bit with one of their Panavision Millenium packages, shoulder mounted. That show is shot almost all handheld. The package I shot with weighed 74lbs. I will say, it's easy to get smooth shots with 74lbs on your shoulder.

The big difference to me isn't the weight, it's the length. If you take an HVX-200 with rods and a baseplate with a Letus 35 Extreme, follow focus, matte box, a Nikon 50mm 1.4, I agree, it won't weigh that much but it will be quite a bit longer than the Panavision. I think my rig, when all is assembled, will be approaching 21-22" long. Most of the shoulder pad setups I see from Cavision, etc. are kind of sucky and no matter how you slice it, with all of that stuff hanging off of a little HVX, the weight distribution will be way off, no matter what.

I am thinking about a DV Rig Pro. We used them on a TV pilot with the HVXs in 2006 and they worked pretty well, but of course, as you can see from the pictures, that wasn't including a 35mm lens adapter. http://www.kenstone.net/fcp_homepage/tv_pilot_hvx_200_brockett.html

My package will definitely a long, ungainly machine for run and gun but I will make it work. No bitching here.

Best,

Dan
 
Dan, have you settled on your rig yet? I'm having the same trouble you were/are figuring out how all this stuff fits. I'll be getting an HVX very soon. I've decided on the Letus 35 Extreme with Nikon mount but can't figure out which baseplate, follow focus and mattebox to get. I like what Adam says about the Cavision FF but it looks like it will only fit Fujinon or Canon lenses. So that leaves the RedRock FF. So if I do that, maybe I should go with the RedRock microRodSupport base? What about that 1.7" drop with the Letus?

Anybody who can help me figure out what will fit, I'd really appreciate it. This is such a good forum. Thanks.

Greg
 
Justin, is that any more hilarious than your hubris? These boards are populated by an atmosphere sharing information and the general desire to help fellow filmmakers out. If you have information that will serve to illuminate and enlighten, then how about it?
 
Justin, what lenses should we be using? I was at Birns and Sawyer in Hollywood this afternoon, working with our AC and DP, checking out a Varicam package. Besides the Canon primes we are renting, I was really impressed when they brought us over a Nikon 135mm still lens with a hard mount conversion. Here we are using a Nikon lens on a $70,000.00 Varicam, man, we must not know what we are doing.

Dan
 
gregstrange said:
Dan, have you settled on your rig yet? I'm having the same trouble you were/are figuring out how all this stuff fits. I'll be getting an HVX very soon. I've decided on the Letus 35 Extreme with Nikon mount but can't figure out which baseplate, follow focus and mattebox to get. I like what Adam says about the Cavision FF but it looks like it will only fit Fujinon or Canon lenses. So that leaves the RedRock FF. So if I do that, maybe I should go with the RedRock microRodSupport base? What about that 1.7" drop with the Letus?

Anybody who can help me figure out what will fit, I'd really appreciate it. This is such a good forum. Thanks.

Greg
Click to expand...

Yes, I have it ordered and it's starting to come in. The Red Rock base will not support the 44mm lensline offset of the Letus Extreme. I am not impressed with the fit in finish on the Cavision, it looks kind of rough and a bit cheap but it wasn't that expensive either. I think it will work fine.


Letus 35 Extreme
Cavision RS-115M http://www.cavision.com/rods/minidvFF.htm
Red Rock Micro FF
Red Rock Micro 18" rods
Red Rock Matte Box (as soon as it's released)
Nikon 28mm 2.8
Nikon 50mm 1.4
Nikon 85mm 1.8
Nikon 105mm 2.8 Micro

I guess Justin will think I am an unknowledgable schmuck for using Nikon lenses but there you have it. I will eventually get a couple of the Zeiss Nikon mount still lenses, they are nice but a little pricey at around $1,000.00 each.

Ebnjoy!

Dan
 
I had the LetusXL and liked it but now I have a Brevis and LOVE it... one problem, unless it has been remedied, is that the Letus Adapters have a zoom or crop factor. On my XL, a 50mm was more like a 100mm. On my friends older Letus he used on his DVX, a 50mm was more like a 75mm. Is this still true? If so, that is a BIG issue for many.




ash =o)
 
Dan, that's about what I had on my list. Except I have the RedRock micropod accesssory support so I can hook up a Noga arm and the Firestore. What you cleared up for me is the 44mm offset and the RedRock base. Does that setup require an 82mm > 72mm stepdown ring? Also, one more question, the lens gears that come with the RR FF, are those sufficient to cover your Nikon lenses? PS: for some real hilarity, have a look at Justin's "films".
 
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gregstrange said:
Dan, that's about what I had on my list. Except I have the RedRock micropod accesssory support so I can hook up a Noga arm and the Firestore. What you cleared up for me is the 44mm offset and the RedRock base. Does that setup require an 82mm > 72mm stepdown ring? Also, one more question, the lens gears that come with the RR FF, are those sufficient to cover your Nikon lenses? PS: for some real hilarity, have a look at Justin's "films".
Click to expand...

I am buying the Letus Extreme with the 82mm threads so no issue for me. Just specify the 82mm threads when you order.

The included lens gears are not adequate for my gear as I have a six lens package, I am buying a couple more "A" and "B" gears.

Best,

Dan
 
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