fellow Letus 35FE owners, i need help with my Letus35 FE

A

africanmarty

Well-known member
Nothing is wrong with the housing/product itself (i think) but the footage i'm getting from it is soft. refer to this example (720p):

http://stage6.divx.com/user/african...ps---Test-1-(HD-â??-High-definition

i thought my problem was that i hadnt focused on the GG propely, but today i focused on it again and i still got soft images... now i have a school of thought on this and that is that i am STILL not focusing properly on the GG and the footage ( i'm using the LCD atm to focus everything and maybe that just isnt good enough to get a crisp focus ) and that if i got an external HD moniter, i could focus everything perfect ( focus the gg properly/ the footage properly with the lens and all will be good.)

..BUT i have seen some grabs with the canon HV20 and the footage with these adaptors and they look perfect...(did they all have external HD monitors) why is mine soft ??? any suggestions ?

I had used a static DIY 35mm adaptor and got fantastic/sharp using the exact same SLR lens and canon Hv20 refer to this example (720p):

http://stage6.divx.com/user/african...V20-w/-35mm-DOF-adaptor-(HD---high-definition)

wich i focused on the GG and got good results...

why is it soft ? should i sent it back to quyen ? its fustrating me.....:furious3:
 
Is your backfocus set properly? Focus out to infinity on any of your lenses. Is the picture razor sharp? it should be. If not, your backfocus is off.
 
sorry what do you mean by back focus ? and focus to infinity on the lens.. are you able to dumb this stuff down for me please. Thanks.

do you mean set the SLR lens to infinity before focusing on the gg in the letus adaptor ?( becuase i didnt do that do that ) and when you say my back focus is off, is that my cameras focus on the gg ?

so if i had a spot on focus on the gg, but the SLR wasnt on infinity to start with before i focused on the gg that can make it out of focus ?

- Marty.
 
Last edited:
There are two things you need to check:

1. Turn the unit off and stop your 35mm lens down to f16 or so. Zoom your camera in on the 35mm projected image, and focus on the grain of the GG. This is critical and should be checked and set every time you mount the adapter.

2. Check that when the 35mm lens focus ring is set to infinty (sideways looking "8" on the lens) you have sharp focus. If not, you need to move the lens mount forwards or backwards until it is.

Good luck :-)
 
THis is what I mean:

1. Bolt the adapter on and turn it on.
2. Put on an SLR lens. Any lens. Adjust the barrel of the lens all the way out to infinity (as dennis said, the sideways 8).
3. Is the image in focus or not?

If not, the distance between the lens and GG is off. You must take off the end cap of the Letus where the SLR mounts. You will find the GG there. It looks like a microscope slide mounted on four white plastic arms. Move this back or forward until the image is perfectly in focus at infinity. A little movemen goes a long way, so don't go nuts.

A
 
I've experienced the same thing when playing around with a really cheap lens. And I mean REALLY cheap. So cheap I'm embarrassed I was even trying to use it. But, since you have had sharp results with the same lens on a different adapter, back focus is probably your next variable to adjust. As Dennis and Adam have suggested.
 
Make sure youre 35mm lens is at the widest open iris.
Double check with other lenses.
Try it outside so you are really looking far away at real infinity.
If you have a zoom it should keep focus from wide to tele when the Back Focus is correct.
 
Frist of thankyou so much guys for trying to help me, i really appriciate it. Heres the latest.Heres what i did.

Focused on GG ( so i saw every grain )
Put adapter on (forgot got to turn motor on)
Put on SLR lens ( i only have 1 - nikon 50mm).
Adjust the barrel of the lens all the way out to infinity
And the image did not appear sharp

( however if i played with the barrel that has infinity on it, i could focus on other things eg: if a perosn stood in front of the cam )when you guys said "Check that when the 35mm lens focus ring is set to infinty you have sharp focus. If not, you need to move the lens mount forwards or backwards until it is" do you mean that whole footage should be in focus ( with no depth of field ) like a normal camera would film without the letus on it ?.

Refer to these movies (720p):

F stop at 16 - focus at infinity:
http://stage6.divx.com/user/africanmarty/video/1699048/dvxuser-letus-help-2

F stop at 2 - focus at infinity :
http://stage6.divx.com/user/africanmarty/video/1699018/dvxuser-letus-help-1

so do you think the distance between the lens and GG is off ?
when you guys said "Check that when the 35mm lens focus ring is set to infinty you have sharp focus. If not, you need to move the lens mount forwards or backwards until it is" do you mean that whole footage should be in focus ( with no depth of field ) ?.

- Marty.
 
I can't see you downloads, but the answer to your question is NO.

At infinity on the lens (all the way at the end of the focus barrell) then stuff in the picture that should be at infinity (stuff far away try 50 - 100 yards, the father the better for some lenses) should at infinity. Not your hand 2 feet away.
 
did you mean the links didnt work ? or it woudn't play becuase you dont have divx installed ?

At infinity on the lens then stuff in the picture that should be at infinity ?
i'm not sure what u mean

(stuff far away try 50 - 100 yards, the father the better for some lenses) should at infinity. Not your hand 2 feet away.
i understand that my hand would not be in focus up close, while the lens is at infinity, but the footage if you can get the videos to load ( the park i filmed ) wasnt in crisp focus while the lens was at infinity.

Here are the links :

http://stage6.divx.com/user/africanmarty/video/1699048/dvxuser-letus-help-2
http://stage6.divx.com/user/africanmarty/video/1699018/dvxuser-letus-help-1
 
I don't have divx, but its a pretty simple concept. Footage that is far away should be in focus when the lens barrel is at infinity. If its not in focus somethings wrong. If the back focus is off either you will never be able to focus on stuff far away, or the lens barrell will go right them - focusing on distant stuff at an earlier point the going out of focus. Either way it means your back focus is off and then your footage markings won't seem accurate either.
 
so when i focus at infinity, what should i be focusing on? how far away should my 'subject' to the camera?
 
I was almost there following the instructions of Dennis Wood quoted below.

Dennis Wood said:
There are two things you need to check:

1. Turn the unit off and stop your 35mm lens down to f16 or so. Zoom your camera in on the 35mm projected image, and focus on the grain of the GG. This is critical and should be checked and set every time you mount the adapter.

2. Check that when the 35mm lens focus ring is set to infinty (sideways looking "8" on the lens) you have sharp focus. If not, you need to move the lens mount forwards or backwards until it is.

Good luck :-)
Click to expand...

Then right after his comment I found Taromina is suggesting to turn the unit on.

taormina said:
THis is what I mean:

1. Bolt the adapter on and turn it on.
2. Put on an SLR lens. Any lens. Adjust the barrel of the lens all the way out to infinity (as dennis said, the sideways 8).
3. Is the image in focus or not?

If not, the distance between the lens and GG is off. You must take off the end cap of the Letus where the SLR mounts. You will find the GG there. It looks like a microscope slide mounted on four white plastic arms. Move this back or forward until the image is perfectly in focus at infinity. A little movemen goes a long way, so don't go nuts.

A
Click to expand...

Can someone pls. clarify?
 
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